CHARLESTON, Ill.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball falls to No. 2 Morehead State University in the semifinal round of the Ohio Valley Conference Tournament Monday night.
 
This match marks the program's second semifinal appearance in the OVC Tournament semifinals, after falling to No. 1 Eastern Illinois University in the first appearance in 2023. The 2025 Screaming Eagles finish the season 19-13 overall, recording the most season wins in the program's Division I era.
 
This match was the third time USI has met Morehead State this season, previously dropping the series at MSU in the opening conference matches in September. MSU took a share of the OVC title after finishing league play 15-3.
 
Set 1: MSU 25, USI 21
The Screaming Eagles struggled to defend against the Morehead State offense in the first set. MSU took off with an early lead that USI couldn't catch up with, even with a five-point serving run from junior Ashby Willis later in the set. Willis added five kills to the board, followed by freshman Carley Wright and junior Leah Coleman, who had three each. Libero Audrey Small and Willis each picked up six digs.
 
 
Set 2: USI 27, MSU 25
The Screaming Eagle block game was the winning factor of the second set as the team put up seven total blocks. The blocking managed to cut the Morehead State hitting percentage from the previous set in half to .143. The net defense was led by middle blockers Bianca Anderson and McKenzie Murphy, adding three each. Coleman led the offense on the USI side of the net, adding six kills, and with no errors, she hit a match-high .462 percent.
 
Set 3: MSU 25, USI 22
The third set was a point-for-point battle for the lead, as the two opponents tied the score seven different times. Morehead State responded with a dominant offensive set, as OVC Player of the Year M.E. Hargan added eight of the Eagles' 19 kills. Murphy managed to add two more block assists, along with Coleman's solo, the team tallied three blocks in the set. Seven Screaming Eagles recorded a dig for the back row defense, led by setter Aysa Thomas and Willis with five each. The two junior outside hitters, Coleman and Willis, each added three kills.
 
Set 4: MSU 25, USI 21
The Screaming Eagles kicked off the fourth set with a 5-0 lead, driven by Small at the service line. With eight tie scores and three lead changes until the final five points, the final set was a point-by-point battle to survive to move on to the championship round. Willis landed four more kills, followed by Wright and Coleman with three each. Small had her best set, picking up 10 digs to try and keep the Eagles alive. Anderson put another two blocks up to try and stop the MSU offensive attack.
 
For the game, the Screaming Eagles finished with 81 digs as a team, averaging 20 a set, along with 13 blocks as a team. OVC Freshman of the Year, Aysa Thomas, added another double-double to her season with 38 assists, 10 digs, along with four kills and two blocks.
 
Two Eagles reach career achievements in the tournament. Small added 21 digs in each game, moving to 509 digs this season and 1,015 digs in her career. The sophomore played her first year at the University of Northern Alabama before transferring to USI this season. She tallied 506 digs with the Lions last year. The second Eagle was All-OVC First Team honoree Willis, who reached 1,000 career kills in the semifinal match. She finished with a double-double, adding 16 kills to lead the team and 20 digs. The junior played her first season at Purdue University-Fort Wayne, where she tallied 277 kills, and in her two seasons as a Screaming Eagle, she recorded 735.
 
After a disappointing 8-24 finish of the 2024 season, the Screaming Eagles were predicted to finish last in the league. They leave the tournament this year as a three seed, finishing in third place in the OVC regular season, the highest in school history.
 
For updates on USI Volleyball in the off-season, fans can follow USI Athletics on Facebook, Instagram, and X for game coverage, as well as online at usiscreamingeagles.com.