EVANSVILLE, Ind.—The University of Southern Indiana volleyball team opens Great Lakes Valley Conference play Friday at 7 p.m. when it visits No. 13 Rockhurst University in Kansas City, Missouri. USI concludes its first conference weekend the following day when it travels to Liberty, Missouri, to take on William Jewell College in a 3 p.m. contest.

Live stats for both matches can be accessed at gousieagles.com, while live video is expected to be available on gousieagles.com for the USI-Rockhurst match Friday night.

USI (7-1) has won five straight matches after a perfect 4-0 weekend at the Davis & Elkins Classic. Senior middle blocker Abbey Winter (Germantown, Illinois) led the Screaming Eagles with .378 attacking percentage to go along with 2.92 kills and 2.25 blocks per set.

Winter currently ranks second in the GLVC in both attacking percentage (.435) and blocks per set (1.77).

Rockhurst (7-1) has won six straight matches, including a three-set sweep of No. 5 Wayne State College last weekend. The Hawks are 12-2 all-time against USI, with the Eagles' last win over the Hawks coming in 2011.

The Eagles are 3-0 all-time against William Jewell, which enters this week's play with a 4-4 record after going 3-1 last weekend.

Following this weekend's matches, USI returns to the Physical Activities Center to host Quincy University and Truman State University September 25-26.

USI Volleyball Notes
-Digs leader. Sophomore libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) continues to play well in her first season as a libero. Farrell ranks sixth in the GLVC with 5.11 digs per set and currently has a .965 serve-receive percentage in 143 opportunities.

-Hard to beat. The Eagles have successfully fought off set point on two occasions this season, the most recent being the first frame in USI's four-set win over Slippery Rock University. USI rallied from a 24-19 deficit to win the opening game, 27-25. USI rallied from a 24-21 hole to win the second game, 26-24, in its three-set win over Kentucky Wesleyan College to begin the season.

-Record watch. Senior middle blocker Abbey Winter (Germantown, Illinois) broke USI's all-time record for block assists in USI's loss to Wayne State College; then surpassed the Eagles' record for total blocks since 2000 in its win over Southwest Baptist University.

-Pushing 200. Head Coach Leah Mercer is nine wins shy of her 200th career win. Mercer, the 2013 GLVC Coach of the Year, has a record of 191-127 (.601) in her 11 years at the helm of the Screaming Eagles.

-Oberbroeckling stepping up production. Senior right side hitter Erica Oberbroeckling (Westfield, Indiana) has increased her production this season. She is second on the team with 3.04 kills and 2.96 digs per set. She averaged 2.04 kills and 2.34 digs per set in her first three seasons at USI.

-Six rotation players. USI currently has three players who are six-rotation players—senior right side hitter Erica Oberbroeckling (Westfield, Indiana), junior setter Quin Shoultz (Columbus, Indiana), and sophomore outside hitter Shelbi Morris (Brazil, Indiana).