Southern Miss volleyball hosts Troy in Sun Belt home opener
Southern Miss will host Troy at the Wellness Center in Hattiesburg for its first home matches of Sun Belt play, with matches scheduled for 6 p.m. CT Friday and 4 p.m. Saturday. Friday's match is Gold Rush X Greek Night, and Saturday's match is the Golden Eagles' Pink Out.
The Golden Eagles enter the weekend 11-2 overall and 2-0 in conference play on a three-match winning streak. Southern Miss opened Sun Belt play by sweeping Louisiana Tech and followed with a 3-1 victory over the Bulldogs. Its 11 wins and .846 winning percentage lead the conference.
Southern Miss ranked first in the league in digs per set and service aces per set while allowing a conference-low 10.93 kills and 10.09 assists per set. Against Louisiana Tech, the Golden Eagles hit .241 over two matches, averaged 14.57 kills per set and totaled 102 kills while holding the Bulldogs to 71.
Setter Allie Hazelwood was named Sun Belt Setter of the Week for the second time this season after recording 83 assists, or 11.86 per set, against Louisiana Tech. She had 46 assists and 14 digs Saturday after posting 37 assists and five digs in Friday's three-set win. Hazelwood leads the conference with 10.74 assists per set for the season and has 494 assists.
Senior outside hitter Sadie McAda surpassed 1,000 career kills during Friday's sweep and finished the week with 37 kills. She recorded 15 kills and 10 digs Friday, then produced a season-high 22 kills and 24.5 points Saturday. McAda ranks second in the Sun Belt with 4.22 kills per set.
Sunni Sheppard collected 35 digs across seven sets last weekend, averaging 5.00 digs per set. She had 20 digs Friday and added 11 assists and two service aces across the two matches.
Troy is 6-5 overall and 1-1 in the Sun Belt after splitting two matches with Louisiana. Kalina Calvillo leads the Trojans with 3.45 kills per set, while Madison Marx averages 6.00 assists and Haley Nash leads the team with 3.16 digs per set.
Troy leads the all-time series 8-4 and has won seven straight meetings. The teams last met in 2025, when Troy earned two five-set victories in Troy, Alabama.
Source: Southern Miss Athletics.
