Volleyball Downs Southern Miss in Five-Set Thriller

Friday, November 7

Troy, Ala.

6 p.m.

Troy University

7-14,5-8Sun Belt

Southern Miss

14-10,6-7Sun Belt

Southern Miss.

Troy

Volleyball Downs Southern Miss in Five-Set Thriller

11/7/2025 10:02:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score Box Score (PDF)Josh Lauer Postmatch Press Conference Ella Broadhead Postmatch Press Conference Photo Gallery

By: Troy Athletics Communications

TROY, Ala. – The Troy volleyball team took down Southern Miss 3-2 (23-25, 25-20, 22-25, 25-16, 15-9) in a five-set thriller on Friday night in Trojan Arena. The Trojans (7-14, 5-8 SBC) are poised to clinch a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament with a win over the Golden Eagles (14-10, 6-7 SBC) tomorrow.

Troy won its sixth straight match against the Golden Eagles after outscoring Southern Miss 40-25 in the final two sets.

Ella Broadhead starred as Troy tied a season high with 10 blocks – the senior had seven total blocks to along with nine kills, three digs and an assist. Amiah Butler led Troy with 25 kills, also logging eighth digs and a block. Madison Marx and Jordan Sinness each recorded double-doubles, with 28 and 23 assists, respectively.

Set 1 – USM 25, TROY 23

Troy dropped a close set to start the match, recording three total blocks. Neither team led the set by more than five points. Butler led the Trojans with four kills in the set, but Southern Miss came back from a 22-18 deficit to take the opening set.

Set 2 – TROY 25, USM 20

Set two saw the Trojans even up the match while hitting .262 as a team. After leading 15-14 in the middle of the set, the Trojans went on a 5-1 run behind two kills each from Broadhead and Olivia Kwiatkowski. Broadhead finished the set with five kills, hitting .833 in the frame.

Set 3 – USM 25, TROY 22

Southern Miss fought back in the third set, winning another close one as Troy hit .081. With the score sitting at 20-19 in favor of the Golden Eagles, they pulled away with three straight points -- Lillie Johnson logged two kills. Butler paced Troy with five kills in the set.

Set 4 – TROY 25, USM 16

Momentum swung all the way towards Troy in a dominating fourth set – the Trojans hit .263 in the set and recorded three of their 10 service aces. While the set started close, Troy used a 7-0 run to take a 13-8 lead and didn't look back. In the fourth, Butler had seven kills, with Kalina Calvillo and Kwiatkowski pouring in two apiece.

Set 5 – TROY 15, USM 9

In the pivotal fifth set, Troy came out firing on all cylinders. The Trojans leaped out to a 5-1 lead, with Marx serving and Calvillo driving home two kills. The Golden Eagles couldn't claw back into the set, and the Trojans won on a block from Broadhead and Butler.

Quotable – Head Coach Josh Lauer
"It was a really competitive match tonight, we came out really tight and error prone but that settled down. I thought Amiah really helped us settle down and get in a really good groove to change the momentum of the match. Olivia was dynamite from the back row with 22 digs, and there was a lot of really good team play. Ella was fantastic tonight start to finish. We finished strong and it was a big win."

Notables

Troy has won six straight matches against Southern Miss, dating back to Sep. 2022
Troy recorded 100 digs on the night, its most in a match since Sep. 26, 2014 against Arkansas State, when it had 123
The Trojans tied their season-high with 10 blocks
Ella Broadhead set a career high with seven blocks
Broadhead also tied a career high with nine kills, which she last achieved on Nov. 9, 2023 against Georgia Southern
Jordan Sinness and Madison Marx logged their fourth double-doubles of the season
Olivia Kwiatkowski shattered her previous career high of 13 digs with 22 against the Golden Eagles
Addison Kersting set a career high with two digs

Up Next
The Trojans will celebrate Senior Day on Saturday as they wrap up their series with the Golden Eagles and look to clinch a spot in the Sun Belt Conference Tournament. Seniors will be honored prior to the match, and the last home showdown of the season will start at 2 p.m. in Trojan Arena.