EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana volleyball team starts a tough three-match road stretch Friday when it travels north to take on the University of Indianapolis at 6 p.m. (CDT). The Screaming Eagles play at Saint Joseph's College Saturday at 3 p.m. and at No. 20 Southern Illinois University Edwardsville Tuesday at 7 p.m.
USI (7-3, 1-1 GLVC) opened GLVC play last weekend with a 3-0 loss to No. 22 Rockhurst University and a 3-0 victory over Drury University while Indianapolis (9-3, 2-0 GLVC) opened with a 3-1 victory over Bellarmine University and a 3-0 triumph over Northern Kentucky University.
The Eagles' match with Indianapolis Friday is a rematch from the 2005 conference tournament in which the Greyhounds ended USI's streak of five consecutive GLVC Tournament finals appearances with a 3-1 victory in the quarterfinals.
USI defeated the Greyhounds in five games during the regular season prior to the conference tournament last year and is 8-3 against Indianapolis since 2000.
Senior outside hitters
Emily Ryan (Batesville, Indiana) and
Chelse Doubler (Griffin, Indiana) lead USI with 4.15 and 3.73 kills per game, respectively. Ryan leads the GLVC in points per game (5.14) and is second in kills, while Doubler is second in the league in points (4.82) and fifth in kills.
Junior setter
Stephanie Wilson (Terre Haute, Indiana) ranks first in the league with 11.80 assists per game, while junior middle blocker
Molly Rahman (Ferdinand, Indiana) is third in the GLVC in attacking percentage (.368) and sixth in the conference in blocks per game (1.14).
Freshman middle blocker
Ashley Henricks (Greenwood, Indiana) has helped USI's defense, which is second in the conference in opponent hitting percentage (.141). Henricks is second in the GLVC in blocks per game (1.38), while junior libero
Cara Keever (Ft. Wayne, Indiana) is 10th in the GLVC with 3.89 digs per game.
USI leads the series with Saint Joseph's since 2000, posting a 4-1 mark against the Pumas. The Eagles also lead the series with SIU Edwardsville, posting an 8-7 mark against the Cougars since 2000. SJC (1-9, 0-2 GLVC) hosts SIU Edwardsville (10-2, 3-0 GLVC) Friday, while the Cougars visit Indianapolis Saturday before hosting USI.
