Hornets Volleyball Earns Bid to NIVC Tournament, Set to Face Southern Mississippi In Opening Round

MONTGOMERY, Ala. | The Alabama State women's volleyball team (20-14, 15-2 SWAC) earned a bid in the 2022 National Invitational Championship Tournament. The Lady Hornets are slated to play the University of Southern Mississippi (18-11, 10-6 SBC) on Thursday (Dec. 1) at 3 PM in the opening round hosted by Troy University.

The winner of Alabama State and Southern Mississippi will go on to face the winner of Troy University and UT-Martin which follows at 6 PM on December 1.

MATCHUP PREVIEW

ALABAMA STATE

The Lady Hornets volleyball team put together an impressive 2022 campaign, finishing the regular season on a 12-game win streak and boasting a 15-1 record in conference play. They picked up back-to-back sweeps over Alabama A&M and Jackson State to advance to the SWAC Championship where they fell short to Florida A&M, respectfully.

Thursday's meeting will be the fourth meeting all-time between both programs. Southern Mississippi leads the series 3-1. Alabama State won the last meeting, 3-2, last season inside Lockhart Gymnasium on November 4, 2021.

The Lady Hornets finished the season with 226 service aces (1st in SWAC), 1395 kills (4th in SWAC), and 1861.5 points (3rd in SWAC). On the defensive end, Alabama State ranked second in the league in blocks with 240.5 total across 120 sets played.

SOUTHERN MISSISSIPPI

Southern Mississippi finished the season with an 18-11 record and a 10-6 record in Sun Belt play. Their season ended with a 3-1 loss to Georgia Southern in the Sun Belt Conference tournament on November 17.

FOLLOW THE ACTION

The match will be streamed live on ESPN+ starting at 3 PM on Thursday, December 1, 2022.

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