EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball is set for the final series of the 2025 regular season as the team hits the road to Western Illinois University to take on the Leathernecks.
 
Game one is on Tuesday, Nov. 18, at 6 p.m., and game two is on Wednesday, Nov. 19, at 2 p.m. Both games will be available on ESPN+ for those with a subscription, and on live stats for free.
 
The Screaming Eagles are coming off a series sweep, hosting Lindenwood University last week, winning both matches in four sets to wrap up their regular-season home games. USI finished the series remaining in the third spot in the Ohio Valley Conference standings with a 12-4 conference record and a 16-12 overall record.
 
For her performance in the Lindenwood series, setter Aysa Thomas was named the conference's Freshman of the Week for the fourth time this season. She tallied 74 assists, 19 digs, 11 kills, and four blocks over the two games. She set a career-high, landing seven kills in the first game, and tallied her 19^th double-double this season with 35 assists and 10 digs.
 
Leading the offense against the Lions were junior outsides Ashby Willis and Leah Coleman, who added nearly half of the Eagles' kills in the series. They both played their best games in the second game of the series. Willis tallied 18 kills and 10 digs for her 15^th double-double of the season, hitting a season-high .425 hitting percentage. Coleman tallied 14 kills in game two and eight in the first game.
 
On the other half of the net, leading the Eagles' block game were senior Bianca Anderson, freshman Carley Wright, and junior McKenzie Murphy. Anderson added 12 kills and seven total blocks in her final regular-season games, playing in Liberty Arena. Wright added 21 kills from the right side, hitting a .391 percent for the series, and she added six blocks. Leading the net defense was Murphy, who added eight blocks in the first game and two more in the second. Murphy ranks first in the OVC for her 113 blocks this season, averaging 1.11 per set.

About Western Illinois:
USI has a short history with the Western Illinois Leathernecks, with the first matchup between the two programs taking place in the 2023 season. WIU leads the series 3-1, after winning the last three matchups. The Leathernecks sit in the ninth spot in the OVC standings, with a 4-12 conference record and a 7-22 overall record.

In WIU's last series, it was swept in straight sets by Southeast Missouri State University. Graduate student Keyana Cruse leads the team in kills as an outside hitter. She has 369 kills so far this season for a 3.32 per set average. Cruse has been named the OVC Offensive Player of the Week once this season. She ranks high in the conference for her defensive game as well, tallying 96 blocks for a 0.90 per set average, and has the most digs on the Leathernecks, too, with 431 this season. With a three-setter offensive scheme, the offense is driven by Jaleah Bauss, Alysia Perez, and Madelyn Norton. Bauss boasts the most assists with 373 so far this year, averaging 4.01 per set. Libero Karlie Lane leads the back court behind Cruse with 309 this season for 3.40 per set. Head Coach Dale Starr has been leading the helm for WIU since 2022 and has led the program to its first conference tournament appearance since 2013 last season.
 
The battle for the first seed in the OVC Tournament is still up for grabs in the final week of the regular season. The Eagles will need to sweep their road series at WIU, and have results from Eastern Illinois and Morehead State fall their way to take the spot.
 
For updates on the Screaming Eagles' final two regular-season games, fans can follow USI Athletics on Facebook, Instagram, and X for game coverage, as well as online at usiscreamingeagles.com.