EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (18-12, 14-4 OVC) is set to hit the road for the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament, playing in the first round on Sunday, November 23^rd at 1 p.m. as the No. 3 seed against No. 6 Tennessee Tech University.
 
All games in the tournament will be streamed on ESPN+ for those with a subscription, and tickets can be found at the door at host school No. 1, Eastern Illinois University's Gardella Family Court, or on the OVC website.
 
This year's tournament will mark the second appearance for USI Volleyball. The first appearance was in Head Coach Jeffrey Aucoin's first year at the helm, when he led the team to a 10-8 conference record and 15-16 overall. The Eagles earned a five seed in the tournament and swept No. 4 Morehead State University in the quarterfinals. USI was knocked out of the tournament in the semifinals by No. 1 Eastern Illinois University.
 
The Screaming Eagles are coming off a series sweep in the regular-season finale on the road at Western Illinois University this week, taking the first game in three sets, and battling for the second win in five sets. Three Eagles earned OVC Player of the Week awards as a result of the victories. In her first OVC award of her career, junior Ashby Willis was named the Co-Offensive Player of the Week. Freshman Aysa Thomas was named Co-Setter of the Week, her eighth weekly award in her debut season. Carley Wright earned her second Freshman of the Week honor this season for her performance against the Leathernecks.
 
In her second consecutive week with an OVC award after earning Freshman of the Week on Nov. 17^th, Thomas led an efficient offense at WIU, recording 84 assists, 31 digs, and six kills. In the first match, she marked her 20^th double-double this season with 28 assists and 11 digs. She dished out a career-high 56 assists and 20 digs in the second win.
 
Leading the offense in the WIU series was the Co-Offensive Player of the Week, Willis, who tallied 36 kills, 37 digs, four aces, and four blocks. She marked her 30^th double-double of her USI career in the first match with 11 kills and 13 digs. The junior marked a career-high 25 kills in the second match, and she also tied her career-high 24 digs. She averaged 4.50 kills per set and 4.63 digs per set, maintaining her consistent, well-rounded play.

Following kills leader Willis was Wright with 26 kills, 10 digs, and three blocks. She broke her career-high with seven digs in the first game. The freshman added 15 kills in the five-set second match.

The Eagle's defense has been a consistent factor all season, from the back row and at the net. Ranking at the top of the league leaderboard consistently this season in the team's digs and blocking. In Wednesday's win at WIU, the team tallied 130 digs, breaking a record for single-game digs that was previously set in 1990. This effort was led by sophomore libero Audrey Small, who broke her career-high by adding 36 digs. The team finishes regular season play ranked third in the NCAA and first in the OVC, with 17.85 digs per set. At the net, the team finished number one in the conference for blocks with 253 total, averaging 2.24 per set. This feat was led by junior McKenzie Murphy, who has tallied 120 blocks so far this season, maintaining a 1.10 per set average.

 
About No. 6 Tennessee Tech:
TTU is coming off a split series with Eastern Illinois University this week, sweeping the Panthers in the first match and falling in four sets in the second. EIU secured a share of the conference title with the win over the Golden Eagles and was named the No. 1 seed for the tournament. In their tournament history, this year's competition marks the Golden Eagles' 30^th appearance, winning the title in 1997 and 2008. In the 2024 tournament, TTU was knocked off by the winner of the championship, Lindenwood University, in the semi-finals round.

Earlier this season, USI split its series with TTU, winning the away match but falling to the Golden Eagles in the second half of the series at home. In the sweep at TTU on October 28th, the Screaming Eagles tallied 38 kills, hitting a .250 team hitting percentage. With 54 team digs and six blocks, USI was able to keep the TTU offense at a .113 hitting efficiency in the game. When TTU came to Liberty Arena on November 5^th, it was an all-out battle for the four sets, as the Golden Eagles aced USI seven times and maintained a .233 hitting percentage. Sophomore Alayna Peirce tallied 17 kills against USI in the match, while Bella Powell and Jordyn Milhouse tabbed 10 kills each. TTU continues to hold the lead in the series history between the two schools at 7-1 wins.
 
For updates on the Screaming Eagles in the OVC Tournament, fans can follow USI Athletics on Facebook, Instagram, and X for game coverage, as well as online at usiscreamingeagles.com.
 

2025 OVC Volleyball Championship Schedule
 
Sunday, November 23
Match 1 - No. 2 Morehead State vs. No. 7 SIUE, 10 a.m. (ESPN+)
Match 2 - No. 3 Southern Indiana vs. No. 6 Tennessee Tech, 1 p.m. (ESPN+)
Match 3 - No. 1 Eastern Illinois vs. No. 8 Lindenwood, 4 p.m. (ESPN+)
Match 4 - No. 4 Southeast Missouri vs. No. 5 Little Rock, 7 p.m. (ESPN+)
 
Monday, November 24
Match 5 - Winner Match 1 vs. Winner Match 2, 3 p.m. (ESPN+)
Match 6 - Winner Match 3 vs. Winner Match 4, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)

Tuesday, November 25
Match 7 – Semifinal Winners, 6 p.m. (ESPN+)
 
ALL TIMES CENTRAL