EVANSVILLE, Ind. - University of Southern Indiana Volleyball touched down in the sunshine state last night for a supracompetitive three-game invitational at the University of Florida this weekend. USI takes on three new opponents including Ohio State University on Friday at 3 p.m. CT, University of Florida on Saturday at 3 p.m. CT, and University of South Florida at 12 p.m. CT. All three matches will take place at Exactech Arena at Stephen C. O'Connell Center on the campus of University of Florida. 

"We're excited for the opportunity to get out of our region and compete against a different caliber opponent that we're accustomed to seeing," said head coach Jeffrey Aucoin. "We know what we have to execute as a group this weekend in order to compete. Each of our opponents will bring a unique challenge to us, but we've had many talks about this upcoming weekend as a team and we're looking forward to embracing the challenge." 

Game Coverage/Tickets
All three matches will not be broadcasted on ESPN+. However, you can follow along with live stats and in-game updates at USIScreamingEagles.com or follow @USIAthletics on X, Facebook, or Instagram. @USIAthletics will provide in-depth live updates on Twitter as the matches progress. University of Florida and University of South Florida will offer a radio link attached above for Saturday and Sunday's games. Tickets are seven dollars each day general admission at the door or online at the links attached above. Buying the one-day general admission tickets grants access to both games each day. 

USI Headlines
USI comes off strong start at Bradley. The Screaming Eagles left the three-game CEFCU Invitational at Bradley Univeristy 2-1, beating University of St. Thomas 3-1, losing to Depaul University 2-3, and avenging their narrow 2023 loss against Bradley by beating the Braves 3-0. 

New Faces Making Massive Debuts. Aucoin reeled in two massive pieces in graduate transfer RS Jasmine Green (Rockwall, Texas) from Bradley University and sophomore OH Ashby Willis (Mount Carmel, Illinois) from Purdue University Fort Wayne. Green returned to Bradley University Friday recording a career-high 18 kills in her Screaming Eagles debut. She followed that performance up with a 19-kill night against Depaul University. Green's performance earned an all-tournament selection. Willis impacted the game defensively with 56 digs (4.67 DPS) in three matches along with eight total blocks. She also fired home 25 kills and seven assists, doing it all for the Eagles. 

Winning Recaps. USI rattled off three-straight set victories after dropping set one to St. Thomas in the season opener to win 3-1. Set three featured a massive 11-0 late run after trailing 14-20. Green shinned in her debut with 18 kills and a .517 hitting percentage. The Eagles picked up another win on Saturday sweeping Bradley. The clear statistical advantage was USI committing only 14 errors, compared to the Braves 27. Junior Bianca Anderson (Chicago Heights, Illinois) dominated with 10 kills and 5 blocks.

Opening Weekend Individual Leaders. USI showed off their balanced game last weekend as five different Eagles headlined the five major statistical categories. Green dominated offensively with 43 kills (3.58 KPS) in 12 sets played. Junior Keira Moore (Newburgh, Indiana) locked down the defense with 64 digs (5.33 DPS). Senior Carly Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Indiana) picked up where she left off in 2023, totaling 106 assists (8.83 APS). Anderson denied 12 blocks and junior Jordan Troutman (Henderson, Kentucky) finished with four serving aces.

Year 3's the Charm. For the first time in USI's NCAA Division I era, the Eagles own a winning record at 2-1. USI has built their volleyball program up, going 1-22 in their first year of D1 play in 2022. Aucoin arrived in 2023, where they climbed to 15-16. 

Double Trouble. After a season ending injury in 2023, Troutman returned to the court impacting the match vs. Depaul with 18 assists along with seven digs and four service aces. Sobieralski led the way in assists recording a monstrous 49 assists in the season opener to go with her 106 on the weekend. 

Rising Sophomore. OH Leah Coleman (Hoover, Alabama) nearly doubled her production from 2023 in just the first weekend. The sophomore not only brings exuberant energy to the gym everyday, but also the produces explosive offensive production. Coleman fired home 30 kills (2.5 KPS) recording a career high 13 against St. Thomas. 

1,000 Digs Club. Senior outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) surpassed 1,000 career digs finishing with 33 on the weekend. Weber has served as a model of consistency since the moment she stepped on campus in 2020. She becomes the 14th Eagle to achieve 1,000 digs. 

About Ohio State. OSU enters play at 2-0 receiving votes for the top-25, beating Florida International University and University of Northern Iowa. Outside hitter Emily Londot was the Buckeye's preseason All-Big Ten selection as she racked up 546 kills on a .223 hitting percentage in 2023.  Four different players Buckeye's finished with 20+ kills between the first two matches. Mia Tuman shinned as the setter with 86 assists, while Olivia Hasbrook led defensively with 30 digs. 

About Florida. The Gators play this weekend ranked #10 nationally. The gators took care of business last weekend at Colorado State University, 3-1 in front of 7,500 fans. UF also beat University of Northern Colorado and Michigan State in Fort Collins. Setter Alexis Stucky and OH/RS Kennedy Martin were the Gators Preseason All-SEC team selections. However, multiple Gators contributed including Isabel Martin's 40 kills, Taylor Park's 114 assists winning SEC Freshman of the Week, and Ellie Mckissock's team-leading 37 digs. 

About South Florida. The Bulls started the season 0-3 against three elite opponents including #20 Florida State University 0-3, #25 University of Georgia 0-3, and University of Califorinia Santa Barbara 1-3. Setter Caroline Dykes and outside hitter Maria Clara Andrade earned spots on the AAC Preseason Team. Andrade totaled 33 kills, while Dykes set up attackers 87 times through the first three games.