One of the more interesting matchups this weekend will be Southern Miss receiver DeAndre Brown against Tulsa defensive back DeAundre Brown. Both are sophomores that were members of the Conference USA All-Freshman team last year and they both wear number 5. Should be fun to watch.
Through two games this year, coach Larry Eustachy's starting line up has several new faces. Eustachy, who is rumored to be on a very hot seat, did a nice job bringing in impact players who could start immediately. The most impressive being guard Maurice Bolden, a 6'10" redshirt junior. The only returning starter from last year to get the same nod this year is guard R.L. Horton. Returning players Andre Stephen, Sai'Quon Stone and Gustavo Lino, who all started at various times last season, are all coming off the bench. Only Stone has seen action in both games this year. Lino has yet to play.
Southern Miss snagged a few Conference USA post-season volleyball honors today. After leading his team to the C-USA regular season title, Golden Eagles head coach Ricci Luyties was unanimously voted C-USA Coach of the Year. Luyties guided the Golden Eagles to a 14-2 C-USA record and a 26-4 overall mark.
Sophomore Kelsea Seymour was named Co-Setter of the Year. She guided USM to its first C-USA title and finished fourth in assists per set (10.60). She ended the regular season with 19 double-doubles, second most in the league, and dished out a season-high 60 assists twice (vs. UCF and Rice). Those 60 assists account for two of the top five single-match best for a league match this year. She shared the award with Rice's Meredith Schamun.
In addition to the specialty awards, Angela Hlavaty, Ashley Mell and Seymour were named first team all-conference. Maia Ivanova was placed on the second team.
Let's hope Richard Giannini can keep Luyties in Hattiesburg. The last successful volleyball coach at USM (Santiago Restrepo) was lured away after having an incredible season in 2003.
