EVANSVILLE, Ind.—University of Southern Indiana Volleyball rallied from a 10-2 deficit in the deciding frame Tuesday night to defeat visiting University of Evansville 30-28, 31-29, 23-25, 16-25, 15-11 in an exhibition match at Screaming Eagles Arena.
 
Sophomore outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) served up the final seven points of an 8-0 run that saw the Screaming Eagles turn an 11-7 deficit into a four point win.
 
Anderson, who led Division II with 44 aces a year ago, had all of her three service aces in the run that pulled the Eagles from the brink of disaster after USI claimed the first two frames and looked to have a decided edge in the third.
 
UE took an early lead in the opening set, but USI battled back and the two teams needed extra rallies to settle game one. USI got back-to-back kills from Anderson and sophomore right side hitter Katherine Koch (Belleville, Illinois) to take a 29-28 lead in the first set, while a kill from senior middle blocker Sidney Hegg (Menasha, Wisconsin) secured the one-set lead for USI.
 
Koch had 12 of her 13 kills in the first two sets as USI overcame a late UE rally to edge the Aces in the second frame, 31-29, to build a commanding two-set lead in the match.
 
USI, which saw a 21-14 lead evaporate in the second frame, lost a pair of four-point leads in the third set as the Aces rallied for a 25-23 win to keep the match alive.
 
UE hit .325 and got five of Melanie Feliciano's match-high 19 kills in the fourth set as it raced away with a nine-point win to send the contest into a deciding frame.
 
The Eagles could not get anything going in the fifth set as the Aces surged out to an eight-point lead. However, Koch came up with a kill and then served three straight points to cut USI's deficit in half.
 
Following a UE point, the Eagles got a kill from Anderson to get the Eagles to within 11-7. Anderson racked up an ace in the next serve and, following a pair of UE attacking errors, served up another ace to even the set at 11-11.
 
Hegg's kill in the next rally put USI in front 12-11 and, following a kill by freshman outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) and another Anderson ace, the Eagles found themselves with an improbable match-point. Like she did to end the opening set, Hegg came through with a kill to give USI the five-set victory.
 
In addition to her 13 kills, Koch added five assists and a team-high 20 digs. Anderson added 13 kills, while Weber finished with an 11-kill, 10-dig double-double. Hegg added nine kills, a .412 attacking percentage and four blocks, while senior setter Casey Cepicky (St. Louis, Missouri) added 45 assists, 16 digs and four blocks.
 
Senior libero Callie Gubera (Thorntown, Indiana) added 18 digs in three sets of work.
 
USI, which played in front of an estimated crowd of more than 700 fans Tuesday night, opens the regular season September 3 when it takes on preseason No. 23 Wheeling Jesuit University at the University of West Florida Springhill Suites Invitational in Pensacola, Florida.
 
Notes
• USI is receiving votes in the AVCA Top 25 Preseason Coaches' Poll, which was released Monday afternoon. The Eagles are essentially ranked No. 28 as they are receiving 145 votes.