Miami Volleyball Rolls Past Southern Miss, 3-1

Miami Volleyball Rolls Past Southern Miss, 3-1

Sept. 4, 2010

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Murfreesboro, Tenn. – Five players finished with double-digit kills for the University of Miami volleyball team on Saturday, helping the Hurricanes roll past the University of Southern Mississippi, 3-1 (26-24, 25-15, 22-25, 25-23), at Alumni Memorial Gym in Murfreesboro, Tenn. The match was part of the Blue Raider Bash host by Middle Tennessee State University.

Miami (5-1) got five kills from freshman outside hitter Alexandria Johnson in the opening set, giving the `Canes a 16-13 lead midway through the frame. Juniors Lane Carico and Christine Williamson each contributed four kills in the set to give UM the 26-24 victory, after trailing at 24-23. A kill from Johnson and another from Cooke gave the `Canes the win.

In the second set, USM (4-2) led, 7-5, before sophomore Lizzie Hale served up an ace to help a 5-1 UM run, allowing the Hurricanes a 10-8 advantage, following a kill from Williamson. The Golden Eagles’ Halie Ecker and Ashley Mell each registered five kills in the second set, but UM’s Williamson’s six kills were too much to overcome. Miami raced out to the 25-15 win, giving the Hurricanes a 2-0 lead in the match.

The third set went to USM behind the play of Mell, picking up 11 of her match-high 26 kills in the contest. Both teams hit strong in the set, each collecting above a .340 clip – with USM managing a .349 attack percentage on 20 kills through 43 swings. Miami’s Carico and Ali Becker each staked four kills in the set, though falling, 25-22.

The fourth set was as exciting as the previous, with 11 ties and seven lead changes throughout the frame.

With USM up, 22-20, after a service ace from Ecker, Miami embarked upon a 5-1 run that was started by a Golden Eagles attack error. Williamson then claimed a kill, and Becker added a solo block (one of her match-high seven on the afternoon), giving the `Canes a 23-22 lead. A Carico kill ended the set and match, 25-23.

Two USM players led the Golden Eagles with 20-plus kills, including Mell with a match-high 26. Behind her was Ecker with 21 kills. Setter Kelsea Seymour setup the offense with 46 assists, and a host of Golden Eagles charged the defense with Mell and Lisa Knecht each finishing with 14 digs.

Miami was led offensively by five players in double-digits for kills. Carico led all players with 13, followed by Williamson (12), Becker (10), Johnson (10) and Cooke (10). Redshirt junior Katie Gallagher setup 55 of the team’s 61 assists. And it was freshman libero Ryan Shaffer heading up the defense with 19 digs, followed by Carico’s 16 digs.

For Carico, a native of Manhattan Beach, Calif., this afternoon’s match was her fourth double-double of the year.

Miami will now prepare for Georgia Southern later this evening at 7.

For more information on the University of Miami volleyball team, please log on to www.hurricanesports.com. Once there, you will find up-to-date news, stats and information regarding the Hurricanes volleyball program.