EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball is set to host an Ohio Valley Conference battle against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville in Liberty Arena this Friday and Saturday.

Friday's match, played at 6 p.m., will feature celebrations for USI's Graduate Students. USI will celebrate Senior Day for four seniors, Bianca Anderson, Keira Moore, Jordan Troutman, and Mariah Minor, following Saturday's match, played at 2 p.m.

Admission to both games and all USI Volleyball home games this season will be free, courtesy of ProRehab. Both matches will be streamed live on ESPN+ for subscribers.

The Screaming Eagles are coming off a two-game win streak against the University of Arkansas-Little Rock last weekend. After the Little Rock sweep, USI remains undefeated at home against OVC opponents and sits in the fifth spot in conference standings.

Freshman Aysa Thomas continued her consistent performance leading the offense. She dished out 88 assists, 33 digs, and six kills in the Little Rock series. She set for 53 assists in the second win of the series, tying her career high.

Anderson connected on 27 kills with Thomas to lead the team in kills. She was followed closely by junior Ashby Willis, who tallied 23 kills over the two games.

Freshmen Carley Wright and Ava Carpenter both made an impact at the net, tallying double-digit kills. Carpenter came off the bench midway through the second game to swing momentum for the Eagles. She recorded a career-high 10 kills to help the Eagles get the win.

The Eagles' back court stayed consistent in both games, tallying 164 digs for 18.22 digs per set. Led by libero Audrey Small, who picked up 51 digs over the two games, averaging 5.67 digs per set. After the series, the Screaming Eagles rank first in the NCAA for team digs per set with 17.96.
 
Scouting the Opponent:
The Cougars, who sit just one spot above USI in OVC standings, are 6-3 in their conference record, and 11-9 overall. SIUE is coming off a series sweep at the University of Tennessee-Martin, winning both matches in four sets. This week's matches mark the 32^nd time the two schools have met. SIUE leads the series history 21-10. The Cougars have taken the last three matches, the Eagles' last win on 10/6/23 in four sets.

Leading the Cougar offense this season has been sophomore Sophie Robinson, who has tallied 236 kills, averaging 2.95 per set. Senior libero Olivia Hogan has recorded over 300 digs this season, averaging 3.88 per set. Head Coach Kendall Paulus is in her ninth season at the helm, 15^th year with the SIUE team, with a record of 111-129.

To stay updated on USI's Senior Day celebration weekend in Liberty Arena, fans can follow USI Athletics on Facebook, Instagram, and X for game coverage, as well as online at usiscreamingeagles.com.