Aug. 31, 2007

Box Score

RUSTON, La. -- - The Golden Eagle volleyball team split matches on Friday at the Louisiana Tech Tournament, posting their first victory of the season with a 3-0 win over Jackson State before losing to Central Arkansas, 3-0, in the night cap.

Southern Miss (1-4) placed three players with double-digit kills against Jackson State, led by Morgan Johnson and Ashley Petrinec with 12 kills each. Angela Hlavaty added 11 kills, while Maia Ivanova recorded 12 digs and four service aces. Amy Flarity also added 10 digs. Jackson (1-5) was led by Nicole Walker with nine kills.

Both teams battled back and forth early in game one, before JSU took a 17-16 lead. Southern Miss then ran off five unanswered points, taking a 21-17 lead. The Golden Eagles closed out the game on a 9-4 run for the 30-21 win.

Southern Miss popped out to a 7-6 lead, before using a 14-5 run to take a commanding 21-11 lead. The Golden Eagles took game two, 30-16, behind a .633 attack percent in which the Eagles only committed one attack error.

The Golden Eagles recorded 18 kills in game three, on their way to a 30-14 win. Petrinec led the way with six kills, helping the team to a .361 attack percentage.

Central Arkansas (5-0) knocked off the Golden Eagles in their second match of the day, 3-0, 30-21, 30-22, 30-25.

Central Arkansas built as many as a 10-point lead in taking game one, 30-21. The Sugar Bears out hit Southern Miss .361 to .098. Amanda Huntoon recorded 10 kills for the Eagles. Natalie Lundquist led UCA with 12 kills.

UCA (5-0) jumped out to the early lead, but Southern Miss was able to battle back to within three points, 18-15. UCA then used a 12-7 run to close out the game for a 30-22 win.

Southern Miss popped out to a 6-1 lead early. The Golden Eagles built as many as an eight-point lead, 18-10, before the Sugar Bears used a 15-5 run to take the lead for good, 25-23. UCA went on to win game three, 30-25.

Southern Miss continues play in the tournament, facing the host Louisiana Tech in a 10 a.m., match.