EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana volleyball team rallied from a two-game deficit, only to fall to No. 23 Rockhurst University 30-22, 30-27, 21-30, 20-30, 15-11 Friday night at the Physical Activities Center.

USI (7-6, 2-3 GLVC) hit just .039 in game one and watched the Hawks post a .317 attacking percentage in game two as it went into the intermission facing a two-game deficit.

The Screaming Eagles, however, came out of the break firing on all cylinders as they stormed back with attacking percentages of .268 and .283 in games three and four, respectively. USI, which recorded seven of its 14 blocks in games three and four, grabbed large leads early in both frames as it evened the match at two games each.

Rockhurst (11-4, 4-2 GLVC), however, used a 5-0 run early in the fifth game to turn a 3-3 tie into a comfortable 8-3 advantage. USI fought back, narrowing the deficit to 12-10, but could not get any closer as it lost for the second straight outing.

The Eagles got a solid outing out of senior setter Stephanie Wilson (Terre Haute, Indiana), who was just two kills shy of a triple-double after finishing with 51 assists, eight kills, a .533 attacking percentage, 19 digs, and five blocks. Sophomore right side hitter/setter Melanie Pund (Ferdinand, Indiana) also nearly finished with a triple-double after recording 13 kills, 24 digs, and eight assists.

Senior middle blocker Molly Rahman (Ferdinand, Indiana) and freshman outside hitter Brittani Oliver (Indianapolis, Indiana) led the Eagles with 15 and 14 kills, respectively, while sophomore outside hitter Courtney Bealor (LaPorte, Indiana) finished with 13 kills. Rahman and Bealor also had six and five blocks respectively, while sophomore middle blocker Ashley Henricks (Greenwood, Indiana) led USI with a match-high seven blocks.

Junior libero Amber Gogel (Ferdinand, Indiana) finished with a team-high 28 digs, while Bealor and sophomore defensive specialist Julia Ridley (Madisonville, Indiana) added 17 and 13 digs, respectively.

USI returns to action Saturday at 3 p.m. when it hosts Drury University at the PAC.