EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (8-9, 4-2 OVC) goes into the weekend tied for most conference wins in the Ohio Valley Conference but will have a tough task of facing Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (7-8, 1-3 OVC) on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. The Screaming Eagles look to end their drought against the Cougars who hold a seven-match winning streak over USI dating back to when both teams were members of NCAA DII and the Great Lakes Valley Conference.
 
Game Coverage
Information about USI Volleyball, including live stats, video, and audio broadcasts, is available on USIScreamingEagles.com. 
 
Tickets
Admission to all USI Volleyball home matches is free, courtesy of Tri-State Orthopaedics.
 
Screaming Eagles Headlines:
Eagles Earn First Road Sweep. The Screaming Eagles stole a pair of road matches from Tennessee State last weekend, 3-1. This is the first road win of the NCAA DI era.
 
You Have To #OVCit. USI comes back home to host SIU Edwardsville on Friday and Saturday. The Eagles and Cougars are familiar with each other as they faced plenty of times when both were members of NCAA DII and the GLVC. SIUE has won seven straight against USI after defeating the Eagles twice last season.
 
Dig Pink Night. USI Volleyball will honor those who have been or are currently being affected by breast cancer during Friday's match. Fans are encouraged to wear pink to show support and spread awareness.
 
Mental Health Awareness Day. USI Volleyball will host a Mental Health Awareness Game on Saturday as promoted by the OVC Student-Athlete Advisory Committee (SAAC). This night is dedicated to removing the stigma surrounding mental health discussions in today's society. USI invites all attendees to wear green to support mental health awareness.
 
OVC Players of the Week. Senior Leah Anderson was unanimously voted as OVC Offensive Player of the Week while junior Carly Sobieralski was named OVC Setter of the Week. Anderson led the league with 49 kills while Sobieralski earned a conference-leading 113 assists in 12 sets played. This is the first-ever weekly honor for the Eagles since joining the OVC.
 
Nationally Acclaimed. Due to USI being in the DI reclassification period, the Eagles are not ranked in the NCAA statistical rankings. However, USI would rank 10th in aces (120), 29th in aces/set (1.90), and 43rd in total attacks (2,216). Senior Leah Anderson would stand 13th in total attacks (685), 20th in total points (274.0), 32nd in total kills (227), 36th in attacks per set (10.87), and 42nd in aces (27) while junior Carly Sobieralski ranks 47th in total assists (556). (as of 10/2)
 
Double-Doubles. Three Eagles have secured double-doubles this season. Junior Carly Sobieralski leads the team with eight double-doubles while senior Leah Anderson and senior Abby Bednar have each totaled five.
 
Best of the Best. Senior Leah Anderson has earned a conference-leading 227 kills and 274 points and has earned double-digit kills in the last eight matches. Junior Carly Sobieralski leads the OVC with 556 assists and has nabbed four 40+ assist matches. Junior Paris Downing has excelled at the net, securing a league-leading 63 blocks.
 
OVC Leaderboard. USI ranks third in service aces per set (1.90) and opponent aces per set (1.37), fourth in opponent hitting percentage (1.90) and blocks per set (2.02), and fifth in opponent kills per set (12.21). The Eagles are fourth in the OVC standings going into the week.
 
OVC Leaders. Senior Leah Anderson has her name in three categories, nabbing second in points per set (4.35) and fourth in kills per set (3.60) and aces per set (0.43). Senior Abby Bednar sits third in aces per set (0.44) and fifth in points per set (4.01) and kills per set (3.27). Junior Carly Sobieralski ranks fifth in assists per set (8.83) while junior Paris Downing and sophomore Keira Moore round out the leaders with Downing being fifth in blocks per set (1.00) and Moore in seventh in digs per set (3.63).
 
Team Leaders. Senior Leah Anderson leads the pack with 227 kills with senior Abby Bednar trailing close behind with 203 kills. Anderson and Bednar also lead the team with 27 aces each. Junior Paris Downing has nabbed 63 blocks while sophomore Keira Moore has added 229 digs. Junior Carly Sobieralski has shown true potential in the passing game, putting up 556 assists.
 
20 and Over Club. Four Eagles have earned 20 or more kills or digs this season. Senior Leah Anderson was the first when she had 20 digs in the win against New Orleans. Junior Carly Sobieralski had 23 digs in the loss to Bradley and sophomore Keira Moore secured 20 digs in the win over Tennessee State. Senior Abby Bednar is the lone Eagle to have 20+ kills, nabbing 20 in the loss to Bradley.
 
About SIUE. The Cougars go into the weekend 7-8 overall and 1-3 in OVC play. SIUE earned their first conference win last weekend against SEMO, 3-2. Defensively, the Cougars hold the most blocks per set (2.40) and second lowest opponent aces per set (1.35) in the conference. SIUE also owns the third most points (16.22) in the OVC.
 
Leading the Cougars. Priscilla Jones has led the Cougars in a couple of categories including kills (148) and blocks (59) while standing sixth in blocks per set (0.98) and eighth in hitting percentage (.298) in the conference. Jones was also voted as OVC Co-Defensive Player of the Week on 9/18. Alyse Drifka leads the pack in assists (292) while Sydney Hummert holds on to the aces lead with 21. Abi Banitt has totaled a team-leading 213 digs for SIUE.
 
More Information. For more information about USI Volleyball and Athletics, go to USIScreamingEagles.com or follow USI Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.