DETROIT - The University of Southern Indiana volleyball team split the final day of the Warrior Invitational Saturday, defeating Ursuline College in four sets (25-20, 25-19, 17-25) before falling to the host Wayne State University in three (22-25, 20-25, 18-25). 

The Screaming Eagles (3-4) were led on the attack by freshman right side hitter Katherine Koch (Belleville, Illinois) with 17 kills on a .371 hitting percentage between the two matches, including her third double-digit performance in her first seven collegiate appearances.

Junior setter Casey Cepicky (St. Louis, Missouri) and freshman setter Kelsie Vanitvelt (Grand Blanc, Michigan) each posted a double-double against Ursuline, their 21st and first career double-doubles, respectively. Cepicky ended the day with 52 assists and 17 digs. Vanitvelt posted four service aces for the day on top of her double-double in the morning match.

USI Volleyball returns to Evansville next weekend to open the USI Invitational against Ohio Dominican University Thursday night.

Game 1: USI 3, Ursuline 1

The Eagles snagged the first set, 25-20, from Ursuline on the back of two five-plus point stretches. USI grabbed the lead for good with a 6-0 run to a 10-7 advantage, then shut the door on the Arrows with a 5-0 run to 21-14.

Senior middle blocker Amanda Jung (Belleville, Illinois) collected all five of her blocks for the match in the first frame, four of which came in the 6-0 run early in the set.

The second frame closed, 25-19, in favor of USI. The two squads traded six-plus point runs in this set, with the Eagles sealing the set with an 8-1 run to a 21-17 cushion.

Four Eagles each tallied three kills in the second frame: Koch, Coleman, senior outside hitter Lindsey Stose (Elkhart, Indiana) and freshman outside hitter Jordan Martin (Huntertown, Indiana).

USI took the fourth set, 25-20, to seal the victory after using a 7-0 run to jump out to a 19-12 advantage. Koch notched her third double-digit performance in kills for the season on the first point of the mid-set run.

Senior libero Mikaila Humphrey (Floyd Knobs, Indiana) corralled 18 digs against Ursuline, her most in a single match since posting her career-high 21 at the end of the 2016 season.

Game 2: Wayne State 3, USI 0

The Eagles fell behind 8-2 early on in the opening set, battled back to within one point, 22-23, before ceding the frame to the Warriors, 25-22.

Koch paced the first set on the attack with four kills, followed by Anderson and Coleman with three each. Koch finished the match with seven kills, tied for second-most for USI with Stose.

USI struck first in the second set, opening up a 10-3 lead early on. Wayne State recovered with a 9-1 run to close the frame, 25-20, in favor of the Warriors.

Stose tallied five kills to lead the attack in the second. Sophomore middle hitter Taylor Litteken (Foristell, Missouri) added three kills and a pair of blocks.

The Eagles ceded the match dropping the third set, 25-18. The Warriors took the lead at 5-4 and never looked back. Anderson surged for five of her USI-leading nine kills in the final frame.

Cepicky accumulated 31 assists and seven digs in the match. Three other Eagles posted at least seven digs: Stose (8), Humphrey (7) and Vanitvelt (7).

Warrior Invitational All-Tournament Team

Anderson and Coleman were named to the all-tournament team of the Warrior Invitational. Anderson posted 35 kills, 22 digs, six blocks and five aces over the weekend. Coleman posted 30 kills on a .356 hitting clip, 15 blocks, and 14 digs.

Up Next

USI Volleyball travels back to Evansville following the conclusion of the Warrior Invitational Saturday to host the USI Invitational starting Thursday at 7 p.m. against Ohio Dominican.

The Thursday-night matchup will be the inaugural regular-season contest to be held in the new Screaming Eagles Arena.