EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (0-3, 0-0 OVC) will be on the road for the first tournament this season as the Screaming Eagles are set to face three opponents in the Kent State Invitational in Kent, Ohio this weekend. USI faces Oakland University (1-2) Friday at 9 a.m. before dueling with host school, Kent State University (2-1), Friday at 6 p.m. The Eagles end the weekend with a battle against Cornell University (0-0) Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
Game Coverage
Information about USI Volleyball, including live stats, video, and audio broadcasts, is available on USIScreamingEagles.com. 
 
Tickets
Tickets for the Kent State Invitational can be found here.
 
Screaming Eagles Headlines:
Battle of Evansville. University of Southern Indiana and University of Evansville debuted the new NCAA Division I cross-town rivalry after the Eagles transitioned from NCAA Division II in early 2022. The Purple Aces got the best of the Screaming Eagles, winning the match, 3-0. This was the first regular season matchup between the two programs since October 1992.

Opening Weekend. USI kicked off the 2022 campaign against Murray State last weekend. The Eagles lost 3-2 in Friday's opening matchup before falling in Saturday's match, 3-1. USI was 2-0 in the opening frame, but a combined 1-6 in sets two through five.

Offensive Struggles. The Eagles' offense has not produced the past two matches, nabbing 34 versus Murray State on Saturday and 28 kills against Evansville on Tuesday. In comparison, USI tallied 59 kills against Murray State on Friday. On a brighter note, USI finished with a season-high .236 hitting percentage off 72 attempts against Evansville.

Season Leaders. The Eagles are led offensively by junior outside hitter Leah Anderson who has 36 kills and 40.5 points while junior outside/right side hitter/setter Katherine Koch leads with 81 assists. Defensively, freshman libero/defensive specialist Keira Moore is atop with 42 digs with a .966 reception percentage after 12 sets.

Abby Duo. USI sophomore combination Abby Bednar and Abby Weber have been producing key numbers for the Eagles. Bednar tallied 10 kills versus Murray State on Friday while Weber recorded 14 kills and another 10 on Tuesday against Evansville. The Abby duo are the only Eagles to touch double-digit kills this season.

Guarding the Front Lines. Sophomore middle blocker Lauren O'Neill has stood tall at the net for USI, earning a team-high 14 blocks in three matches. As a team, the Eagles have out blocked its opponents, 27-21, while earning 52 blocking assists, one solo, and over two blocks per set.

Minimizing Errors. Despite the slow start, the Eagles have been limiting its mistakes on offense. USI has just 62 attack errors compared to its opponents' 71 and have recorded 28 service errors in comparison to its opponents' 40.

About Oakland. The Golden Grizzlies have started the season 1-2, receiving losses from Butler and Eastern Illinois before defeating Akron in the Top Dawg Challenge. As a team, Oakland has produced 129 kills with a .141 attacking percentage and just 67 errors. The Grizzlies also have dished out 117 assists and received 213 digs.

Leading the Grizzlies. Redshirt-sophomore Patti Cesarini leads the team with 40 kills and 3.08 kills per set. Senior Madison Ross has recorded a team-high 47 assists while sophomore Emily Wichmann has secured 65 digs with 5.00 digs per set.

About Kent State. The Golden Flashes look to add onto its 2-1 season after defeating UAlbany and Robert Morris in the JMU Invitational. Kent State's offense has been stellar, racking up 162 kills with a .233 hitting percentage. The Flashes also have dished out 153 assists and 33 service aces. Defensively, Kent State has 176 digs with 29 blocks, 54 assists and 2 solos.

Leading the Flashes. Four players have 20 or more kills to start the season including senior Savannah Matthews who has a team-high 38 and 2.92 kills per set. Graduate student Alex Haffner has already reached the 100-assist plateau after accumulating 113 in 13 sets. Three Flashes have recorded 10 or more blocks, featuring fifth-year senior Lana Strejcek who has 16.

About Cornell. The Big Red look to compete in its first match of the season. Cornell will face Oakland and Kent State before meeting USI on Saturday. Last season, the Big Red finished 7-15, 3-11 in the Ivy League.

Leading the Big Red. Cornell lost its top three attackers from last season, meaning senior Joanna Chang will step up after accumulating 149 kills in 2021. Senior Emma Worthington finished with a team-high 562 assists last fall while sophomore Jackie Baker recorded 242 digs. Junior Sydney Moore will take over as the lead middle blocker this season after tallying 48 blocks last year.

Record Book Watch. The Eagles have one player climbing up the USI Volleyball Record Book:
–Leah Anderson is seventh in service aces (140) and 18th in kills (913) all-time.

More Information. For more information about USI Volleyball and Athletics, go to USIScreamingEagles.com or follow USI Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.