EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Despite getting 16 kills from senior outside hitter Amy Zwissler (Bloomington, Indiana), the University of Southern Indiana volleyball team suffered a 25-22, 25-19, 25-23 Great Lakes Valley Conference setback to Bellarmine University Tuesday night at the Physical Activities Center.
 
USI (7-9, 2-5 GLVC) struggled to slow down Bellarmine's attack from the outset as the Knights hit a blistering .405 in the opening frame to grab a three-point win. The Screaming Eagles rallied from a five-point deficit to tie the set at 22-22, but two straight Bellarmine kills followed by a block allowed the Knights to escape with the one-set lead.
 
The Knights (12-4, 3-4 GLVC) used runs of 5-0 and 9-2 to build an insurmountable 20-11 lead in the second set. USI closed the gap to 21-16 with a 5-1 rally; but that was as close as the Eagles could get as they suffered the six-point defeat to fall into a two-set deficit.
 
USI was the aggressor early in the third set, but a 6-2 Bellarmine run put the Eagles into a 10-7 deficit. The Eagles evened the score at 11-11 moments later, but another 3-0 Bellarmine push once again forced the Eagles to play catch-up.
 
After falling behind by as many as four points in the third stanza, USI rallied to tie the score at 20-20 and later at 21-21. The Knights, however, answered with a kill and one of their seven team blocks to win two straight rallies; then closed the door on any USI comeback with a kill to earn the two-point win and three-set sweep.
 
In addition to Zwissler, the Eagles got 31 assists and seven digs from sophomore setter Erika Peoples (Bloomington, Illinois), while junior libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) and sophomore defensive specialist Haley Limper (Springfield, Illinois) added 16 and 13 digs, respectively. Freshman outside hitter Mikaila Humphrey (Floyd Knobs, Indiana) chipped in eight kills and 10 digs for the Eagles.
 
Bellarmine, which hit .305 as a team, got 17 kills and 14 digs from junior middle blocker Margaret Horihan, while junior outside hitter Hayden Dailey finished with 14 kills and a .481 attacking percentage. Sophomore libero Jordyn Kuchenbrod added 26 digs.
 
USI returns to action Friday at 7 p.m. when it hosts the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in its annual "Dig for the Cure" match. Fans are encouraged to join the Eagles by wearing pink to help raise breast cancer awareness. The Rangers (6-11, 4-3 GLVC) suffered a four-set loss to No. 13 Lewis University Tuesday night.
 
Note: Junior libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) moved past Janae Curnutt into eighth-place all-time at USI with 1093 career digs.