EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana travels south to the University of Arkansas at Little Rock this weekend for two matches with the Trojans on Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. The matchup marks a pivotal opportunity for either team to make a swing in the Ohio Valley Conference standings as both teams are currently tied for fourth at 3-2.
 
Coverage/Tickets
Both matches will be broadcasted on ESPN+ at the links above, along with in game updates @USIAthletics on Twitter, and post-game updates on Instagram and Facebook. Live Stats are also available at the links above. Tickets can be purchased at Jack Stephens Center or at the link above.
 
Weekend Headlines
Five Set Thrilling Loss to UT Martin. USI came out slow on Tuesday night against the Skyhawks and struggled to recover falling just short in five sets (15-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-21, 13-15). The big statistical differences were blocks as the Skyhawks swatted 15 to the Eagles seven. Senior middle hitter Paris Downing led the Eagles offensively with 13 kills for the first time this season as junior libero Keira Moore tallied a season high 29 digs.
 
Program History at EIU. USI snatched both games in Charleston last weekend earning their programs first wins against the Panthers. Thursday night was a five-set thriller where the Eagles captured sets four and five shocking EIU late with their energy. Sophomore transfer Ashby Willis from Purdue Fort Wayne had her best night as a Screaming Eagle tying her career high of 19 kills as the Eagles have started to use her heavily in clutch situations down the stretch from the outside. Five different Eagles grabbed double-digit digs. The Eagles followed Thursday night's performance with a dominant 3-0 sweep leaving Charleston with a winning OVC record (3-2). Willis led the Eagles once again with 11 kills as senior setter Carly Sobieralski finished the week with 134 assists at 10.34 per set. The Eagles smashed a season high .310 attacking percentage continuously beating EIU to the net with a relentless attack outworking the Panthers.
 
Digging Into the Record Books. Former Castle product, Moore surpassed 1,000 career digs on Tuesday night with a season high 29. She became the15th Eagle in the USI record books to surpass the 1,000-dig mark. In 2023, Moore earned 498 digs which was the fifth best single season mark in USI history as only as sophomore. Senior Abby Weber surpassed the mark in the first weekend as she currently sits at 11th with 1,116 career digs.
 
Preseason Player to Watch Anderson's Success. The Eagles were predicted to finish sixth in the Ohio Valley Conference in the 2024 preseason poll, with junior middle hitter Bianca Anderson chosen as the player to watch. She's tallied 170 kills on an efficient .300 attacking percentage. Anderson can keep the defense guessing with powerful strikes up the middle or elusive slides.
 
Sobieralski's Domination. Sobieralski continues to drop dimes leading the OVC with 637 total. The senior ranks seventh all-time in assists at 2,416, eclipsing the 2,000 marks against Ball State. She also earned OVC Setter of the Week for the fourth career time in the final week of non-conference play. Sobieralski has tallied 20+ assists in every game this season along with adding 13 double-doubles. The senior is averaging 45.4 assist per game in OVC matches at 10.81 assists per set. She's also averaging 11.8 digs and 4.2 kills per match in conference play.
 
Mixing Up the Attack. USI uses a variety of attackers from different angles to confuse the defense. Moreover, seeing one player earn high percentages of the teams' kills is usually not the case. Four different matches this season, USI has had four different Eagles tally double digit kills. Five different USI attackers have over 100+ kills in graduate senior Jasmine Green (160), sophomore Leah Coleman (158), Downing (110) Willis (178), and Anderson (170). Any Eagle can take over on any given night making the USI incredibly tough to prepare for as an opposition.
 
Set Trends. The Eagles struggle this season has been getting ahead, losing 11 of their 17 first sets. However, recently they have started to reverse the trend winning five of their past seven first sets dominating the Panthers last weekend. Opponents have outscored the Eagles by 52 (360-412) in first sets and by 20 in third sets (361-381), but the Eagles are positive in second, fourth, and fifth sets.
 
Looking to Improve at the Net. USI has been out blocked this season 224 to 168. The difference is in large part due to multiple power conference teams USI played in the non-conference slate. Furthermore, USI out blocked the Panthers 15-13 this weekend as they showed significant improvement. The Eagles have been out blocked 11 of their 17 matches but are 4-4 in the past eight.
 
USI at Little Rock Notes. Both squads have earned two wins as the all-time series history is currently at 2-2. Little Rock's victories came in 2022 against a 1-28 USI squad in eight sets. The Eagles victories came at home last season with victories of 3-1 and 3-0. The Trojans OVC player to watch was sophomore outside hitter Bella Cherry who sits in second on the team in kills (169). Senior outside hitter Jeilia Fullerton leads the Trojans with 214 kills. Little Rock uses two setters with 300+ assists each in sophomore Dariana Valencia and sophomore Kaylee Smith. The Trojans statistical strength is in digs at third in the conference. Their flaws are hitting percentage and service aces both 8th in the OVC. The Eagles strength is in assists (3rd) and kills (4th). Their flaws are in blocks (8th) and service aces (10th).