Oct. 9, 2008

HATTIESBURG, Miss. -- Southern Miss plays the last of a four-match home stand, when the Golden Eagles host UAB and Memphis in a weekend series, Oct. 10 at 7 p.m., and Oct. 12 at 1 p.m.

Southern Miss (12-6, 2-3) is coming off a pair of C-USA home five-set victories over East Carolina and Marshall, posting the first conference wins of the season. Ashley Petrinec registered two double-doubles with an attack percentage of .323. Angela Hlavaty tallied 27 kills, 19 digs and seven blocks. Sarah Jane Bowden recorded a .413 attack percentage in the series.

Petrinec and Cherry continue to lead the Golden Eagle attack with 157 and 152 kills, respectively. Sears and Bowden lead the team in total blocks and attack percentage. Maia Ivanova leads the team in digs with 235.

Heading into the weekend, five players have registered 100 or more kills through the 18 matches. As a team, the Golden Eagles are hitting .180 as compared to their opponents' .131. Southern Miss also has recorded 86 service aces, while averaging 12.00 kills and 13.33 digs per set. The team continues to out block its opponent to the tune of 2.35 to 1.97 blocks per set.

Following the UAB and Memphis matches, Southern Miss hits the road for a pair of matches at Rice and Houston.

Scouting UAB UAB (14-3, 4-1) comes into the match riding an eight-match winning streak. The Blazers are led by senior outside hitter Ivana Bozic, who leads the team in kills (3.17) and digs (3.18) per set. Setter Nevena Stefanov leads the way with 10.34 assists per set, ranking third in the league. Coach Kerry Messersmith is in her third season at UAB. As a team, the Blazers are averaging12.73 kills and 14.83 digs per set with an attack percentage of .251. UAB leads the series with Southern Miss 18-15.

Scouting Memphis Memphis (12-7, 3-2) will face UCF before playing against the Golden Eagles Sunday. The Tigers' Katlin Inglish leads the team with 181 kills, followed by Rebekah Strickland with 165. Setter Laura Côté needs only one assists to become the second setter to reach the 5,500 milestone. Emily Underwood leads the team in blocks, while ranking tops in the nation and league. Coach April Jauregui is in her first season. Memphis is averaging 12.11 kills and 13.74 digs per set with an attack percentage of .206. Memphis leads the series with Southern Miss, 21-11.