HUNTSVILLE, Ala.—The University of Southern Indiana volleyball team started the second day of the UAH/Holiday Inn Express Invitational with a 30-20, 30-18, 28-30, 30-14 victory over the University of Montevallo, but fell to host University of Alabama-Huntsville 24-30, 25-30, 23-30 Saturday afternoon.

USI (6-6) got 16 kills from senior middle blocker Laura Ellerbusch (Newburgh, Indiana) and 15 kills from junior outside hitter Emily Ryan (Batesville, Indiana) in its win over Montevallo. Junior outside hitter Chelse Doubler (Griffin, Indiana) and freshman middle blocker Meg Buschman (Reynolds, Indiana) chipped in 14 and 13 kills apiece, while sophomore setter Stephanie Wilson (Terre Haute, Indiana) finished with 61 assists.

Defensively, the Eagles had five players with at least 11 digs in the contest. Freshman libero Amber Gogel (Ferdinand, Indiana) had a match-high 20 digs, while sophomore middle blocker Molly Rahman (Ferdinand, Indiana) finished with 16. Wilson racked up 14 digs, while Ellerbusch and junior defensive specialist Amanda Probst (Wheeler, Illinois) finished with 11 digs apiece.

Ellerbusch and Rahman also finished the Montevallo match with seven and four blocks, respectively.

Against Alabama-Huntsville, the Eagles got 16 kills from Ryan and 12 from Ellerbusch, but 31 attacking errors spelled doom for USI as it fell back to the .500 mark. As a team, the Eagles attacked at a .110 clip for the match, including a .091 clip in the second game and a .053 clip in the third game.

On a positive note, Wilson recorded 39 assists in the match, putting her five away from her 2,000th career assist. Probst and Rahman each had 14 digs, while Doubler finished with 10 digs.

The Eagles will start conference play on the road September 16 when they take on Drury University in Springfield, Missouri. That match is slated for 7 p.m.