EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Volleyball defeated two more GLVC-foes to improve to 10-2 on the season, sweeping Southern Baptist and defeating Turman State in four sets. The Screaming Eagles recovered well following a 1-1 weekend at the Missouri S&T triangular on March 6. 

No. 16 USI ramped back up following its 1-1 weekend on March 6 at the Missouri S&T triangular, where the Eagles lost only their second game of the season (then-No. 7 UMSL). USI showed out early and often in both matches, winning the first set against SBU by 14 points and Truman by eight. The Screaming Eagles bested the Bearcats in all major statistical categories enroute to the sweep, including kills (37 to 23), aces (8 to 1), blocks (5 to 3), assists (30 to 21), and digs (54-40). Truman State gave the 16th-ranked Eagles some trouble with a stingy net defense and by flying around for digs, defusing the Eagles' typical offensive bombardment; USI still prevailed through the tough matchup.

USI improves to 10-2 on the season with the two wins also claiming its sixth sweep of the year with the 3-0 cap of SBU. 

Against the Bearcats:
The Screaming Eagles swept SBU behind offensive fire power from its entire roster with six players recording three-plus kills and four individuals collecting at least one service ace. Sophomore Leah Anderson led the kill-effort with 12 (4.00 per set) for the match, pairing four aces to her offensive effort of 17.5 points. The big offensive performances for USI did not end with Anderson as junior Sidney Hegg and sophomore Katherine Koch both blasted six kills with Hegg recording 9.5 points and Koch nabbing 8.5 points in the match. The freshman pair of Abby Bednar and Abby Weber sent five and three kills at the SBU defense, contributing well to USI's total kill count of 37. 

Defensively against SBU, the Eagles thwarted a multitude of Bearcat attacks with Hegg collecting four total blocks, Anderson recording three, while Koch and Lauren English each gathered one. Senior libero Callie Gubera laid out for 15 digs to lead the Eagles, followed by Anderson and Weber each with nine and Koch, who had five. 

Against the Bulldogs:
USI faced a difficult matchup with Truman State but prevailed behind exceptional performances from two sophomores in Anderson and Koch. Anderson and Koch combined for 30 kills, 37 digs, and 36.5 points in the four-set victory over the Bulldogs. Koch marked a career-high with 21 digs (previous was 15 at Missouri S&T, 3/6/21) and gathered a seventh match this year with double-digit kills. Anderson collected a career-high of five aces (previous was four vs. Northwood, 10/18/19) in the match while she also posted season highs in points (21.5) and digs (16).Dishing out many of these kills was senior setter Casey Cepicky, who added another 43 assists to her career total which currently ranks fifth in USI history. 

Taylor Litteken also went for double-digit points in the Truman match, amassing 11.5 with nine kills, three blocks and an ace. Hegg recorded eight points for the Eagles with six kills and three total blocks, including the Eagles' only solo block of the match. 

The defensive effort was a team-showing for 16th-ranked USI, as as five players laid out for 15 or more in the four-set contest. Koch led the effort with her 21, followed by Cepicky, Gubera, and Anderson each with 16 and Weber with 15. USI's net defense did not stray from its team-based defense with six players recording at least one. 


NOTES:
Casey Cepicky now is only 12 assists from moving her name up AGAIN in the USI record book. Following the SBU and Truman State games, Cepicky has collected 2,657 assists (fifth all-time) in her career and now sets her sights on fourth, which is held by Carly Messman (2,669).

Katherine Koch and Leah Anderson both set career marks in their combined effort of 30 kills, 36.5 points and 37 digs against the Bulldogs. Koch set a high in digs while Anderson sent over a high in aces. 

Sidney Hegg blasted her first career service ace through the SBU defense in the third set to help push the Eagles to the sweep. 

Casey Cepicky recorded her seventh double-double of the season with her 43-kill,16-dig performance against the Bulldogs. The 16 kills mark a season-high for the senior as well.

Leah Anderson stockpiled 28 kills, nine aces, and 39.0 points in the two-match weekend. She led the Eagles in all three of those categories. 

UP NEXT:
USI Volleyball will be back in action outside of its GLVC division for the final time in the regular season next Saturday, March 20. The Screaming Eagles are scheduled to take on the Quincy Hawks at 9:30 A.M. and then Drury at 12:30 P.M. at the Quincy-hosted GLVC triangular at Pepsi Arena in Illinois. 

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