The University of Southern Mississippi volleyball team opened the Rebel Volleyball Classic with a 3-0 victory over Central Arkansas on Saturday at the Gillom Athletics Performance Center. The Golden Eagles then fell to host Ole Miss in four sets.
Southern Miss improved to 4-1 on the season after sweeping Central Arkansas 25-18, 25-17, 35-33. Sadie McAda led the team with 17 kills in the match, while Diana Wells added 11. The Eagles hit .226 as a team and recorded 51 kills, holding Central Arkansas to a .105 hitting percentage.
Later in the evening, Southern Miss battled Ole Miss in a match that saw the Rebels take the first set 32-30. The Eagles responded with a 25-20 win in the second set to even the match. However, Ole Miss secured the third and fourth sets, winning 25-23 and 25-14, respectively, to claim the match.
McAda totaled 34 kills across both matches, and Wells contributed 20. Setter Allie Hazelwood dished out 78 assists in the two matches, boosting her Southeastern Conference-leading assists per set to 10.6.
The Golden Eagles will return home next week to host the Southern Miss Invitational at the Wellness Center. They will face Houston Christian on Thursday, Lamar on Friday, and Southern and Jackson State on Saturday.
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