EVANSVILLE, Ind. - The University of Southern Indiana volleyball team earned a split on the second day of the USI Invitational on Friday, dropping a hard-fought three-setter to Arkansas Tech University (23-25, 28-30, 19-25) before extending a long-time streak over Kentucky Wesleyan College in three sets (25-16, 25-16, 25-19).

The Screaming Eagles (5-5) found solid offensive performances from freshman outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois), senior outside hitter Lindsey Stose (Elkhart, Indiana) and senior middle hitter Elexis Coleman (Joliet, Illinois).

Junior setter Casey Cepicky (St. Louis, Missouri) racked up 57 assists to orchestrate the attack, added 13 digs. Senior libero Mikaila Humphrey (Floyd Knobs, Indiana) kept the ball in play with 19 digs.

Game One: ATU 3, USI 0

The Eagles jumped out to an 8-0 lead to open the set and held a 22-21 lead before coughing a 25-23 set loss to the Golden Suns. Stose tallied five kills for a .714 hitting clip in the first frame while Anderson collected six digs.

USI again held a 21-20 lead before going into extras in the second frame. The tension escalated until a pair of Suns kills ended the frame, 30-28. Anderson led the way in this set with six kills, Humphrey transcended the double-digit mark in digs after two.

The Eagles clawed back to within three points nearing the end of the set before a decisive 4-1 run ended it for the Suns. Anderson completed a double-double (13 kills, 11 digs) in this one, her third of the season; Stose came within one kill of a double-double as well.

Game Two: USI 3, KWC 0

USI held advantages for almost the entirety of the match, including just one lead change between the second and third sets. The Eagles also posted a .308 hitting clip as team, including a .417 mark in the second.

Anderson posted 13 kills on a .393 hitting rate to lead the charge.

Coleman stuffed the Panthers at the net with six of the team's 14 blocks, tying her season high, one shy of her career mark. She also added seven kills and the highest hitting rate of any hitter with more than 10 attempts (.500).

The Eagles extended their winning streak over Kentucky Wesleyan to 34 matches with the three-setter Friday. USI hasn't surrendered a set to the Panthers since 1996, have not lost since 1995.

Up Next

USI Volleyball returns to wrap up the USI Invitational Saturday at 7 p.m. to do battle with the Kentucky State University Thorobreds at 7 p.m.

The USI Invitational will feature four additional matches on the day prior to the USI-KSU bout, starting with Kentucky Wesleyan and Arkansas Tech at 10 a.m.