EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana had a lot riding on its match Saturday and responded with a 30-16, 34-36, 30-25, 30-23 victory over the University of Missouri-St. Louis at the Physical Activities Center.

With the victory, USI (15-13, 9-10 GLVC) guaranteed itself its eight-straight winning season and, more importantly, a spot in next weekend's GLVC Tournament.

The Screaming Eagles stormed out of the gates, using a stifling defensive effort to disrupt the Tritons' attack in game one. USI forced Missouri-St. Louis (14-18, 10-9 GLVC) into 11 attacking errors and a negative .019 attacking clip to run away with the first game and take a 1-0 lead in the match.

After dropping a thriller in game two, the Eagles rallied from an early five-point deficit in the third game to take a 2-1 lead in the match. USI's attack fired on all cylinders in game four as the Eagles hit .378 to seal the victory.

Senior middle blocker Molly Rahman (Ferdinand, Indiana) led the Eagles with 17 kills, a .325 attacking percentage, and seven blocks. Rahman, who was honored with fellow classmate Stephanie Wilson (Terre Haute, Indiana) prior to the match, tied the school's all-time mark for block assists (319).

Sophomore setter Melanie Pund (Ferdinand, Indiana) set the Eagles offense to a .264 attacking percentage. Pund, who directed five Eagle attackers to 10 or more kills, finished with 60 assists, 13 digs, and six blocks.

Freshman outside hitter Brittani Oliver (Indianapolis, Indiana) and sophomore right side hitter Kathi Hindman (Carmel, Indiana) each had 13 kills, while junior middle blocker Meg Buschman (Reynolds, Indiana) and sophomore outside hitter Courtney Bealor (LaPorte, Indiana) each added 11 kills. Oliver also had a career-high 22 digs, while Buschman added six blocks.

Defensively, USI had five players with at least 13 digs. Freshman defensive specialist Janae Curnutt (Arcadia, Indiana) led USI with a career-high 24 digs, while sophomore libero Julia Ridley (Madisonville, Kentucky) and junior defensive specialist Amber Gogel (Ferdinand, Indiana) finished with 23 and 13 digs, respectively.

Depending on the outcome of the Drury University/Southern Illinois University Edwardsville match, which is scheduled for Sunday, the Eagles will play either SIU Edwardsville or the University of Indianapolis in the first round of the GLVC Tournament Friday in Indianapolis, Indiana.