FOLEY, Ala. – Both teams from the west division won on the opening day of the 2025 Sun Belt Volleyball Championship inside the Foley Events Center in Foley, Ala. Fourth-seeded Troy and fifth-seeded Southern Miss won first round matches to advance to the Quarterfinals beginning on Friday.
Match 1: (5W) Southern Miss 3, (4E) Georgia State 0 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
Southern Miss (17-11) used a nearly 74% sideout percentage to advance to the Sun Belt Volleyball Championship Quarterfinals. The Golden Eagles won in consecutive sets, 25-18, 25-20 and 25-18.
Southern Miss led the scoreline for most of the match, as the Golden Eagles finished the first set winning 15 of 18 sideout opportunities. They followed with a 15-21 performance in the second set and 12-18 in the final frame.
Georgia State (18-10) finished with 33 team kills and were led by Akira Burt with nine. Sun Belt Libero of the Year Marta Lazzarin picked up a team-high 14 digs and was perfect in her 15 receptions. The Panthers finished with seven team blocks and a .096 hitting percentage.
The Golden Eagles were led by Sadie McAda, who picked up a double-double on 16 kills and 14 digs with three blocks. Brynn Botkin also tallied a double-double with 14 kills and 13 digs with a pair of block assists. As a team, Southern Miss recorded 46 kills and posted a .240 hitting percentage in the win.
Southern Miss advances to face the No. 1 seed from the west division in Arkansas State on Friday, November 21, at 1:30 p.m. CT.
Match 2: (4W) Troy 3, (5E) Marshall 1 | Box Score | Photo Gallery
Marshall (15-15) used momentum to take the first set 25-16. The Herd led 11-9 in kills and limited the Trojans to a .026 hitting percentage with six blocks.
Troy (10-15) did not trail in kills for the remainder of the match. The Trojans stormed out in set two with an 18-6 advantage in kills to win 25-20. The Trojans rallied in the third and fourth set 27-25 and 25-13 to earn the 3-1 victory.
In the third set, Troy led 24-20 on set point. The Herd answered with a trio of blocks and a service ace to finish off a 6-0 run and find themselves on set point, 25-24. Troy answered the call to finish the set on a 3-0 run to lead 2-1.
The Trojans led from the start of the fourth set and totaled 12 kills with six service aces in the fourth set alone. Marshall held the advantage at the net with an 18-2 margin in team blocks. Troy led 9-3 in service aces, 60-50 in digs and 57-30 in kills.
Troy advances to face the number one seed in the east division and regular season champions James Madison in the Quarterfinals on Friday, November 21, at 4:30 p.m. CT.
2025 Sun Belt Volleyball Tournament Schedule
November 20-23, 2025 | Foley, Ala. | Foley Sports Tourism Complex
First Round – Thursday, November 20
Match 1 - 1:30 p.m. CT – (5W) Southern Miss 3, (4E) Georgia State 0
Match 2 - 4:30 p.m. CT – (4W) Troy 3, (5E) Marshall 1
Quarterfinals – Friday, November 21
Match 3 – 11:00 a.m. CT – (2E) Coastal Carolina vs. (3W) Texas State [ESPN+]
Match 4 – 1:30 p.m. CT – (1W) Arkansas State vs. (5W) Southern Miss [ESPN+]
Match 5 – 4:30 p.m. CT – (1E) James Madison vs. (4W) Troy [ESPN+]
Match 6 – 7:00 p.m. CT – (2W) South Alabama vs. (3E) Georgia Southern [ESPN+]
Semifinals – Saturday, November 22
Match 7 – 2:00 p.m. CT – Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4 [ESPN+]
Match 8 – 5:00 p.m. CT – Winner Match 5 vs. Winner Match 6 [ESPN+]
Championship – Sunday, November 23
Match 9 – 4:00 p.m. CT – Winner Match 7 vs. Winner Match 8 [ESPN+]