EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana volleyball team opens Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament play Friday at 1:30 p.m. (CST) when it faces Missouri University of Science & Technology in the opening round at the Indiana South Sports Academy in Indianapolis.
USI (16-15, 12-6 GLVC) enters the single-elimination tournament as the top wild card and No. 4 seed from the East Division, while the Miners grabbed the top seed from the West Division after finishing the regular-season with a 19-12 overall record and a 15-3 mark in GLVC play.
Friday's outing marks the first meeting of the year between USI and Missouri S&T. The Eagles lead the all-time series, 4-0, after defeating the Miners in four sets last year in Rolla, Missouri.
The Screaming Eagles, who have been plagued by a rash of key injuries, likely need to win the GLVC Tournament to qualify for the NCAA II Midwest Region Tournament for a third straight season.
Due to the injuries, the Eagles have been forced to make several position changes, including moving outside hitter
Fawn Ryan to a middle blocker. Senior right side hitter
Emily Meyer and freshman right side hitter
Erica Oberbroeckling also have been forced to see action as outside hitters.
Oberbroeckling is coming off a strong effort this past weekend as she averaged 4.25 kills per set in USI's four-set losses to Lewis University and the University of Wisconsin-Parkside.
Junior libero
Kayla Heldman also had strong outings against Lewis and Wisconsin-Parkside. Heldman, who averaged a blistering 7.88 digs per set last weekend, needs just three digs to break the school's all-time single-season record of 475, which was set by Amanda Probst in 2004.
If the Eagles defeat Missouri S&T in the opening-round Friday, they will face the winner of the Lewis-University of Missouri-St. Louis match Saturday at 4 p.m. in the semifinals. The championship match is Sunday at 1:30 p.m.
Lewis, which swept the Eagles during the regular-season, enters the tournament as the No. 2 seed from the East Division, while Missouri-St. Louis is the No. 3 seed from the West Division. Missouri-St. Louis defeated USI in its only meeting of the regular-season.
Other first-round matches include the University of Indianapolis, the top seed from the East Division, against Wisconsin-Parkside, the second wild card winner. Bellarmine University, the No. 3 seed from the East Division, takes on the No. 2 seed from the West Division, Rockhurst University.
The Eagles, who are looking for their first GLVC title since 2004 and their third overall, swept the regular-season series with Bellarmine, split the regular-season series with Wisconsin-Parkside, and was swept by Indianapolis.
Live stats for Friday's match can be accessed at gousieagles.com.
