Sept. 20, 2007

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- - The Lady Eagle volleyball team opens Conference USA play, hosting Rice on Friday before traveling to Houston for a match on Sunday.

Southern Miss (9-7) is coming off a 3-0 win over Southeastern Louisiana on Tuesday night in Hammond, La., extending its winning streak to six. Mari Ruddick and Amanda Huntoon paced the Eagles with 11 and 10 kills, respectively. Jillian Neave recorded 39 assists and a team-high 14 digs. Maia Ivanova had 13 digs and Ruddick added 10 digs as well.

Morgan Johnson paces a balanced Eagle attack with 165 kills. Four other players have 100 or more kills on the season, including Ashley Petrinec with 148, Huntoon has 105, Angela Hlavaty has 104 and Ruddick has 102. Maia Ivanova continues to lead the team in digs (224) and service aces (23). Neave is averaging 11.31 assist per game.

Rice (5-8) comes into the match following a 3-2 loss to Stephen F. Austin. Jessica Holderness leads the team with 164 kills and digs with 165. Five other Owls have 100 or more kills on the season. Meredith Schamun is averaging 10.91 assists per game.

Houston (6-6) opens C-USA play against UCF on Friday. Justine Farmer paces the Cougars with 242 kills, followed by Lucy Charuk with 157. Amanda Carson leads the team in digs with 174, while Robin Fitzgerald is averaging 9.83 assists per game.

Following the weekend series, Southern Miss returns home host Marshall (Sept. 28) and East Carolina (Sept. 30).