EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The University of Southern Indiana volleyball team christened the Screaming Eagles Arena with a three-set knockout (25-12, 26-24, 25-15) of Ohio Dominican University Thursday night.
The Screaming Eagles (4-4) were paced offensively by freshman outside hitter
Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) and senior middle blocker
Amanda Jung (Belleville, Illinois). The pair collected 20 kills and five blocks in total.
Freshman setter
Kelsie Vanitvelt (Grand Blanc, Michigan) recorded her second double-double of the season with 11 assists and 10 digs, supplementing the starting rotation.
Senior libero
Mikaila Humphrey (Floyd Knobs, Indiana) led the way in the back row with 11 digs. Junior setter
Casey Cepicky (St. Louis, Missouri) directed traffic for 18 assists.
1st Set: USI 25, ODU 12
The Eagles took the lead at 5-4 and never looked back, reaching their largest lead of 14 points at 22-8.
Four Eagles tallied kills in the first frame: Anderson (3), Jung (2), Humphrey (2) and senior middle hitter
Elexis Coleman (Joliet, Illinois) (2).
2nd Set: USI 26, ODU 24
USI blasted 19 kills on the Panthers in the second frame, though it needed all of them to overcome the second-set charge from ODU.
Five Eagles collected at least three kills in the frame, led by freshman right side hitter
Katherine Koch (Belleville, Illinois) and senior outside hitter
Lindsey Stose (Elkhart, Indiana) with four each.
Four Eagles picked up four-plus digs as well, led by Cepicky with six.
3rd Set: USI 25, ODU 15
Anderson did most of her damage to close the book on the Panthers in the third with six of her 12 kills. She also tallied three digs and two blocks.
The Eagles took a 6-5 advantage and ran away with the match from there, jumping out to an 11-point 23-12 lead.
Up Next:
USI Volleyball hosts Arkansas Tech University Friday in the fourth match of the USI Invitational.
Shorter University and Arkansas Tech square off at 10 a.m. to open the second day of play, followed by Ohio Dominican and Kentucky State University at 12:15 p.m. before USI's 2:30 p.m. start.
The Eagles return for the nightcap at 7 p.m. to do battle with Kentucky Wesleyan College.