The University of Southern Indiana volleyball team took out five years and 10 matches worth of frustration as it stormed past its nemesis, Northern Kentucky University, in three games Saturday afternoon at the Physical Activities Center in Evansville, Indiana. With the win, the Screaming Eagles, who have won nine straight matches, improve to 20-6 overall and 9-2 in the Great Lakes Valley Conference while the Norse fall to 19-8 overall and 10-3 in the GLVC.
The 20th win marks the third straight season that USI has reached the 20-win plateau. It is the first time in the program's 23-year history that the Eagles have recorded three straight 20-win seasons.
After spotting NKU an early 4-0 lead in game one, the Eagles stormed back to tie the game at 6-6. USI pushed points to take a commanding 15-8 lead. The Eagles hit .304 as they won the first game 30-25 and took a 1-0 advantage in the match.
The win in game won broke a streak of 13 straight games in which the Eagles had fallen to the Norse.
USI used the momentum from the first-game win to breeze by NKU in game two and take a 2-0 lead in the match. The Eagles hit .529 in the second frame as it claimed a 30-20 victory.
Up 2-0 and comfortably in front of the Norse in the third stanza, USI had to survive a late rally to claim a 30-26 victory in the third game. USI was up 28-19, at one point in the third frame, before NKU closed the gap to three points.
The Eagles withstood a .625 attacking percentage by the Norse in the third game as they went onto the 3-0 victory.
Senior outside hitter
Shannon Wells (Merrillville, Indiana) and junior setter
Kim Boehmer (Cincinnati, Ohio) came up big for USI. Wells recorded a match-high 18 kills and 12 digs while Boehmer notched a match-high 52 assists and led USI's attack to 58 kills and a .366 attacking percentage.
Sophomore middle hitter
Natalie Atzinger (Louisville, Kentucky) provided 11 kills and a .500 attacking percentage while senior outside hitter
Kristina Kavanaugh (Montgomery, Indiana) dished in 11 kills and seven digs.
USI will host Kentucky Wesleyan College this Tuesday, November 5, as it continues its bid for a GLVC regular season championship. The match is slated for a 7 p.m. start at the PAC.
The Eagles, who are now in the driver's seat to host the GLVC Tournament, will host Southern Illinois University Edwardsville and the University of Missouri-St. Louis next Friday and Saturday, November 8-9, at the PAC. If the Eagles win their final three matches, they will host the GLVC Tournament as the number one seed.
