ST. CHARLES, Mo. – Senior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) posted a season-high 24 kills as University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (11-15, 7-8 OVC) picked up a big win on the road against Lindenwood University (13-13, 9-6 OVC) at Hyland Arena on Thursday night, 3-1 (25-23, 25-21, 26-24, 25-22). The Screaming Eagles' magic number to get into the Ohio Valley Conference tournament is now two after the win and a loss from the University of Tennessee at Martin.
 
USI put up a relentless effort in the opening frame and took down Lindenwood, 25-23. The Lions started off strong with a 5-3 lead until the Eagles returned the favor by scoring six of the next seven points. The run began with kills from senior outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) and junior middle hitter Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana) before Leah Anderson earned an ace. Bednar continued to surge with another kill before sophomore middle hitter Bianca Anderson (Chicago Heights, Illinois) closed out the stint with her first kill to make it 9-6. USI led by as many as four until Lindenwood shot out with a 5-1 run to knot it up at 18 apiece then later took a 21-20 lead. The Eagles quickly retaliated and scored five of the final seven points to secure the win. Leah Anderson was dynamic in the final push to the finish, scoring four kills. USI and Lindenwood put up 16 and 17 kills, respectively, with the Eagles producing a 0.424 hitting percentage.
 
A 5-0 USI run closed out the set and handed the Eagles the 25-21 victory. USI jumped out to a strong 5-2 advantage after Downing racked up a trio of kills. Lindenwood was able to tie it up and keep it close until the Lions went up, 13-11, after a 4-0 run off a pair of kills and aces. Both sides continued to trade punches until Lindenwood ultimately had a 21-20 advantage. The Eagles clutched up and scored five straight points off three kills all from Leah Anderson. USI's defense forced seven Lindenwood errors that proved costly.
 
The Eagles were able to force extra rallies, but it was Lindenwood who came away with the 26-24 win in the third frame. Leah Anderson dropped in a kill to begin the frame with USI carrying past Lindenwood, 4-1. Leading 7-6, the Eagles extended their lead to four before the Lions hit the throttle and scored eight of the next 10 points to make it a 14-12 game. Lindenwood continued to thrash USI and led by as many as five until the Eagles retaliated with a 5-2 surge off a couple of kills from junior outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) and an ace from Bednar. With the Lions on the verge of closing out the set, the Eagles continued to stay close and tie the match at 24 after three crucial errors from Lindenwood. Despite the late effort, USI could not make the comeback as Lindenwood captured their first win of the match. The Lions posted a match-high 18 points in the frame while the Eagles had a match-low 10 kills.
 
An early lead for USI lifts the Eagles past the Lions and steals the road win, 25-22. USI jumped out to an early 10-4 advantage with the help of three kills from Bednar and one kill from junior setter Carly Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Indiana). The Eagles continued to roll past the Lions and led by as many as seven late into the set. Trailing 20-14, Lindenwood lit up and put up four straight points to close the gap. Leah Anderson tacked on a pair of kills to extend the lead until the Lions once again cut the deficit, 24-22. Even after the scare from Lindenwood, Bednar threw down the game-sealing kill to secure USI's seventh conference win. The Eagles put up 17 kills and held the Lions to just 10 kills in the set.
 
Leah Anderson recorded a season-high 24 kills for her sixth-straight double-digit kills match and also produced nine digs and a team-high four aces. Downing added three blocks while Sobieralski tallied a match-high 37 assists to pair with 14 digs for her 14th double-double. Sophomore libero/defensive specialist Keira Moore (Newburgh, Indiana) nabbed 16 digs for her sixth straight double-digit digs match and 22nd this season. Senior libero/defensive specialist Audrey Crowder (Avon, Indiana) had a solid night with a season-high nine digs in the win.
 
As a team, the Eagles had 56 kills, 47 assists, and eight aces to pair with 60 digs and five blocks. The Lions produced 56 kills, 53 assists, and five aces with 64 digs and 10 blocks.
 
NEXT UP FOR THE EAGLES:
The Eagles close out the road schedule tomorrow afternoon against the Lions with the first serve set for 5 p.m. USI has a chance to drop their magic number down to one if the Eagles win and/or a UT Martin loss tomorrow. Other teams that can play a part include Western Illinois University and Southern Illinois University Edwardsville which are teams USI holds the conference tiebreaker over.