SPRINGFIELD, Ill. - University of Southern Indiana Volleyball opened the 2019 season with a split at the Capital Classic on Friday, dropping a five-setter to Winona State University in the morning session before defeating the University of Charleston in three sets in the evening.

Freshman outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) led the Screaming Eagles against Winona State with her first collegiate double-double, collecting 19 kills and 17 digs.

Senior middle hitter Elexis Coleman (Joliet, Illinois) and freshman right side hitter Katherine Koch (Belleville, Illinois) teamed up for 21 kills on a combined .703 hitting percentage and six blocks against Charleston.

Junior setter Casey Cepicky (St. Louis, Missouri) collected 63 assists on the day, contributing to USI's 95 team kills over the two matches.

Game 1: Winona State 3, USI 2

The Eagles opened the match with a 25-21 victory in the first set. Anderson collected seven kills, aiding USI to 18 kills for the opening frame.

USI took the fourth set, 25-19, after it dropped the second and third sets, 25-18 and 25-20, respectively. Cepicky racked up 45 assists through four frames, the eventual total she finished with. Anderson had crossed the double-double threshold through three sets.

The Warriors jumped out to an 8-0 lead in the fifth set: a run to strong to overcome en route to a 15-6 loss in the fifth set. Anderson, Koch, and senior outside hitter Lindsey Stose (Elkhart, Indiana) all collected double-digit kills from the match, while Coleman blocked six Winona State attacks.

Game 2: USI 3, Charleston 0

The Screaming Eagles jumped out to an 8-2 advantage over Charleston in the first set, tallying six kills and a pair of service aces. USI went on to finish the first frame 25-14, with seven different players scoring on the attack: Koch, Anderson, Coleman, Stose, Cepicky, sophomore middle hitter Taylor Litteken (Foristell, Missouri) and sophomore middle blocker Sidney Hegg (Manasha, Wisconsin).

Coleman thumped the Golden Eagles with four kills and three blocks, leading USI to a 25-8 second-set win. The Screaming Eagles noted five service aces in this frame and a .650 hitting mark in the second frame.

USI's three-set victory conluded with a 25-13 third set. Coleman led the Screaming Eagles with 11 kills and four blocks for the match, followed by a 10-kill effort from Koch. USI concluded the match with a .507 hitting percentage, the highest for a single match since November 1, 2011 (.512 - v. Urbana University).

Up Next

USI Volleyball returns to the campus of the University of Illinois Springfield Saturday to battle the host Prairie Stars to conclude the Capital Classic. The non-conference match between Great Lakes Valley Conference foes starts at 11:30 a.m. Coverage of the match can be found at glvcsn.com/uis.