Tribe Falls to Southern Mississippi, 3-1

09/07/07 11:15PM

IRVINE, Calif. - The William and Mary volleyball team fell to Southern Mississippi, 3-1 (26-30, 30-25, 30-26, 30-23), on Friday evening in opening day action at the UC Irvine Invitational. W&M is now 3-3 on the season, while the Golden Eagles improve to 3-5.

Junior Jill Nowadly established a career high with 28 digs, while sophomore Jillian Brown registered a team-high 16 kills. Sophomore Lauren Powell and freshman Erin Skipper also tallied double-digit kill totals with 11 and 10, respectively. Junior Kim Mount also played well and recorded a double-double with 52 assists and 17 digs.

Things looked good for the Green and Gold early in the initial game, as the squad jumped out to a quick 7-1 advantage following a kill by Brown. However, Southern Mississippi battled back with a 9-3 run to even the score at 10. Neither team was able to pull ahead by more than three points until late when the Tribe broke open a 21-21 tie with an 8-3 spurt, helping it earn the game one win. Skipper came up big in the initial set with six put-aways, while Mount dished out 15 assists.

The teams once again found themselves tied at 10 in the second frame, but the Golden Eagles gradually pulled ahead shortly thereafter. While the Tribe fell behind by as many as six points, 24-18, it charged back by scoring five of the next six points to draw within two after a kill by Skipper. However, Southern Mississippi was able to hold on and took the second game.

Unlike the first two games that were tightly contested early, W&M fell behind 7-1 during the initial stage of the third set. Although the Golden Eagles extended the margin to as many as 11 points, 24-13, the College responded to the challenge with an 8-1 run. The Tribe narrowed the margin to just two, 27-25, after a kill by sophomore Katie McCarney, but Southern Mississippi escaped with the win. McCarney led W&M in the frame with seven kills on .357 hitting (7-2-14).

The Golden Eagles utilized a 16-3 run early in the fourth game en route to claiming the set and the match. Brown had six put-aways in the frame on .455 hitting (6-1-11).

W&M will return to action on Saturday with a pair of matches. The College will take on No. 5 UCLA at 11 a.m. (PT) before squaring off against UC Irvine at 7 p.m. (PT).

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