Mississippi State
Southern Miss
Newsome Racks Up Career-Best 18 Kills, But USM Rallies In Five-Set Thriller
September 08, 2009 | Volleyball
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STARKVILLE, Miss. - Southern Mississippi spoiled a career night for Bulldog middle blocker Ashley Newsome and the Volleyball Bulldogs Tuesday night at the Newell-Grissom Building. Newsome piled up a career-best and match-leading 18 kills, but USM (7-1) rallied to overcome a 2-0 deficit and claimed a 3-2 win over the Bulldogs (2-6) before 342 fans on State's home court.
"She was almost unstoppable and most definitely was our go-to player tonight," said first-year MSU head coach Jenny Hazelwood. "But in a match like this, we needed some other players to step up. We had a ton of freshmen and sophomores on the court tonight, and matches like this are just part of the learning process for them."
The Bulldogs got a little younger this week after medical exams revealed the knee injury sustained last weekend at Missouri State by sophomore middle blocker Mandy Mellencamp was a season-ender. The Prescott, Ariz., product, one of four 31-match starters for State in 2008, will undergo surgery next week and will be lost for the remainder of the season.
Newsome, now with a team-leading 86 kills and 34 blocks thruogh eight matches, hit .485 for the night with just two hitting errors, and backed that offensive showing with a team-leading five blocks.
The Bulldogs raced impressively to an early advantage in the match, taking the first two sets 25-15 and 25-21. But USM returned from the break to claim the next two sets, 25-21 and 25-23, and then raced to a match-clinching 15-6 decision in the fifth set.
USM's one-two punch of Ashley Mell and Lauren Sears did much of the damage for the Golden Eagles. Mell tallied 17 kills and Sears, hitting at a sizzling .538 clip, added 16 kills.
"Our serving was a lot tougher in the first two sets, and that made it easier for us to defend," said Hazelwood. "But we missed some serves in the third and fourth sets and our confidence level seemed to drop. We have to learn how to find a way to put teams away."
Caitlin Rance finished with 10 kills and 13 assists for her first career double-double, while Ioana Demian added nine kills and 10 digs.
Freshman setter Hillary Parker tallied 20 assists and 14 digs to notch her third double-double of the year, while junior libero Kayla Woodard, who entered the week with an SEC-leading 105 digs, took match honors with 20.
USM, in claiming its 12th win in 62 matches with the Bulldogs, led State in kills (67-53) and digs (78-60) while the Bulldogs held a 10-7 advantage in total team blocks.
State continues its season-longest home stand this weekend, playing host to Arkansas State Friday and Northwestern State and Eastern Michigan Saturday in the MSU Bulldog Invitational.
