Aug. 24, 2007

Box Score

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CINCINNATI, Ohio -- - Southern Miss dropped its season opener in three games, 30-25, 30-23, 30-25, to Cincinnati in the State Farm Bearcat Invitational Friday night.

Southern Miss (0-1) was led by Mari Ruddick with a team-high 12 kills, while Maia Ivanova recorded a team-high 15 digs. Ashley Petrinec also added 10 digs. Ruddick also recorded six services. Cincinnati's Jenny Custer led all players with a match-high 15 kills, followed by Jessie Nevitt and Jessica Elley with 13 kills apiece. Jaime Frey had 18 digs.

"This was a good team to open the season with," Head Coach Ricci Luyties said. "We did some good things, but we also have a lot of things to work on as well. I thought we played hard."

The Bearcats (1-0) took advantage of 11 Southern Miss attack errors in taking game one, 30-25. Ruddick led the way for Golden Eagles with four kills and three service aces. Elley and Custer combined for nine of the 16 kills, while the team finished the game with a .231 attack percentage.

Southern Miss continued to struggle offensively, recording only 13 kills in dropping game two, 30-23. The Bearcats put down 20 kills, while hitting .359. Ruddick recorded six kills and added two more services.

Southern Miss opened a 4-1 lead in game three, only to see the Bearcats outscore the Golden Eagles, 9-3, to take the lead. Cincinnati put down 20 kills as compared to 10 kills for Southern Miss and won game three, 30-25. Morgan Johnson tallied four kills and two blocks.

Southern Miss returns to action on Saturday, when the Golden Eagles play Maryland in a 9 a.m., match, and conclude play against Oakland at 4 p.m.