HATTIESBURG, Miss. - The Spring Hill College Sandy Badgers faced a familiar foe twice Saturday and emerged with a split of two matches against Southern Mississippi.
Southern Miss won the first match of the day, 3-2, before Spring Hill responded with a 3-2 win of its own in the nightcap. The teams have met six times this season, with the Sandy Badgers winning four of the encounters.
"We are excited to have another top-quality program in our area in Southern Miss and they have definitely pushed us to get better,"said Sandy Badgers head coach Shawn Taylor. "We struggled in the early going (Saturday), as Southern Miss came out with a little more fire and were much more aggressive. We dropped both the No. 4 and 5 matches and our depth is usually to our advantage. So, losing at those spots put a lot of pressure on our top three pairs.  Al (Allison Weimer) and Caroline (Herrera) continued their string of success as they picked up a win at the 3's. Dropping the match at the No. 2's meant Southern would come away with the team win. It didn't impact our effort at the 1's, as Kassandra (Fairly) and (Payton) Gidney pulled off an exciting comeback, making the switch down 11-17 and having already lost the first set. I really felt like our pairs that just got after it were the ones that had success."
Herrera and Weimer pulled out a 21-11, 16-21, 15-11 win over Kellie Garraway and Breleigh Favre at No. 3 and Gidney and Fairly rallied for a 20-22, 21-19, 15-9 win over Kylie Grandy and Abbey Wilson in the No. 1 match.
Southern Miss (9-18) took the other three matches to earn the victory in the opener, with Piper Matsuomoto and Lindsey Legg knocking off Spring Hill's Taylor Hurst and Brittany Bilotti, 21-10, 21-18 at No. 2, Olivia Hepworth and Cyan Blackdeer edging past Sarah Senft and Emily Greim, 23-25, 21-16, 15-6 at No. 4 and Madison Lawler and Jessica Austin beating Emily Sullivan and Emmarose Neibert, 21-17, 21-18 at No. 5.
Taylor made some adjustments to his lineup for the second match of the day and made an analogy involving recently retired NBA player Manu Ginobli when speaking to his players.
"We had to regroup quick and wanted to make a few adjustments to the lineup," said Taylor. "The challenge is that per NCAA rules, we are very limited in the movement of players in, out, up, or down within our lineup. With the jersey retirement of (NBA standout) Manu Ginobili, I found it fitting to discuss the importance of roles and what each person brings to our program. Cassidi Sterrett has been our Manu, as she's been called upon to play at different spots in the lineup with a multitude of partners. Her energy and effort are contagious.
"Leanne (Sorrell) is another player that has just been getting after it," Taylor continued. "Leanne partnered with Sully at the No. 5's for the second match. After shuffling the deck, we had Cassidi at the 3's with Taylor (Hurst), which allowed us to push Al (Weimer) and Carol (Herrera) up to the 2's. We fell again at the No. 4's and 5's. This time, however, we were able to sweep the top 3 and get the team win." 
The second match was just as close as the first, with Gidney and Fairly beating Grandy and Wilson, 21-19, 17-21, 15-13 at No. 1, Hurst and Sterrett winning, 21-19, 21-15 over Garraway and Favre at No. 3 and the No. 2 pairing of Herrera and Weimer pulling out an 18-21, 21-18, 15-12 victory over Matsumoto and Legg to get the Sandy Badgers the victory.
Blackdeer and Hepworth won 21-10, 21-12 over Senft and Greim at No. 4 and Austin and Lawler held off Sullivan and Sorrell, 16-21, 27-25, 15-8 at No. 5 to account for the Golden Eagles' victories in the second match.
Spring Hill (13-8) is back in action on April 12 at the Battle on the Bayou Tournament hosted by LSU at Mango's Beach Volleyball Club in Baton Rouge, La. The Sandy Badgers will take on Louisiana-Monroe and Nicholls State at noon and 3:45 p.m., respectively.
"We look forward to finishing our regular season at LSU next weekend before we head to the AVCA Small College Championship (in Tavares, Fla.) over Easter (April 19-21)," said Taylor.

Saturday
at Southern Miss Beach Complex
Hattiesburg, Miss.
Southern Miss 3, Spring Hill 2
1. Payton Gidney/Kassandra Fairly (SHC) def. Kylie Grandy/Abbey Wilson (USM) 20-22, 21-19, 15-9
2. Piper Matsumoto/Lindsey Legg (USM) def. Taylor Hurst/Brittany Bilotti (SHC) 21-10, 21-18
3. Caroline Herrera/Allison Weimer (SHC) def. Kellie Garraway/Breleigh Favre (USM) 21-11, 16-21, 15-11
4. Olivia Hepworth/Cyan Blackdeer (USM) def. Sarah Senft/Emily Greim (SHC) 23-25, 21-16, 15-6
5. Madison Lawler/Jessica Austin (USM) def. Emily Sullivan/Emmarose Neibert (SHC) 21-17, 21-18
Ext. Cassidi Sterrett/Leanne Sorrell (SHC) def. Lindsey Smith/Chloe Klusman (USM) 21-18, 21-16
Spring Hill 3, Southern Miss 2
1. Payton Gidney/Kassandra Fairly (SHC) def. Kylie Grandy/Abbey Wilson (USM) 21-19, 17-21, 15-13
2. Caroline Herrera/Allison Weimer (SHC) def. Piper Matsumoto/Lindsey Legg (USM) 18-21, 21-18, 15-12
3. Taylor Hurst/Cassidi Sterrett (SHC) def. Kellie Garraway/Breleigh Favre (USM) 21-19, 21-15
4. Cyan Blackdeer/Olivia Hepworth (USM) def. Sarah Senft/Emily Greim (SHC) 21-10, 21-12
5. Jessica Austin/Madison Lawler (USM) def. Emily Sullivan/Leanne Sorrell (SHC) 16-21, 27-25, 15-8
Ext. Kinsley Hanback/Lindsey Smith (USM) def. Patty Blood/Ryann Horkery (SHC) 24-22, 21-17