EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball season kicks off the 2025 season this Friday and Saturday hosting the USI Invitational inside Liberty Arena, home of the Screaming Eagles.
USI will take on three opponents over the two days, starting with Valparaiso University and Saint Louis University on Friday at 1 p.m. and 7:30 p.m., respectively, and finishing up with Northern Kentucky University at 2 p.m. Saturday.
Admission to all USI Invitational games, and all USI Volleyball home games this season will be free courtesy of ProRehab. The three games the Screaming Eagles participate in this weekend will be streamed on ESPN+, available to those with a subscription.
The Eagles look to start fresh after a difficult ending to their 2024 run, finishing 8-22 overall and 3-15 in OVC play for 10
th in the final OVC standings. USI finished their season in a tough loss against Morehead State University, who went on to compete in the NCAA Tournament after winning the OVC automatic bid.
The 2025 Screaming Eagles squad includes nine returning players from the 2024 team. Senior
Bianca Anderson returns after earning All-OVC honors for her performance last year. She tallied 288 kills and was responsible for over 40 percent of the team's blocks. She will lead the team this year as captain and look to continue her dominance in the middle position.
Another key returner for the Eagles is junior
Ashby Willis, who was named to the OVC Player to Watch list earlier this month. She led the team with 307 kills in 2024, averaging 10.5 kills per match in OVC play.
Returning libero
Keira Moore starts her final year as an Eagle ranked sixth in all-time career digs in the USI record book. She tallied a personal single-season best of 516 digs and became the 15
th Screaming Eagle to record 1,000 career digs, which she reached after tallying a career-best 29 against University of Tennessee at Martin in 2024. She needs just 77 this season to pass
Shannon Wells '02 to take over the fifth spot on the all-time list Moore averaged 18.5 digs per conference game last season, ranking sixth in the OVC.
Head Coach Jeff Aucoin begins his third year at the helm, holding a 23-38 record. He recruited five freshmen and two transfers to reload the Eagles' roster this season, marking one of his largest recruiting classes yet.
Friday's game marks USI Volleyball's first as a fully-fledged NCAA Division I member after the school was awarded status in June. This means this is the first season the program will be eligible for NCAA postseason competition.
Looking at the Screaming Eagles' first challenge against Valparaiso, the two sides last met in 1981. The Beacons return 16 of their 18 players from their 18-14 2024 season. By retaining most of their starting lineup, Valpo keeps over 70 percent of the kills, aces, and digs from 2024. Valpo opened their 2025 season with a competitive exhibition game against nationally ranked Purdue.
Next up for USI is the Saint Louis Billikens, another matchup the schools have not seen since the 1980s. When SLU took home a win against USI in four sets in 1987. They shared a common opponent in 2024, both beating Southeast Missouri State University. The Billikens finished with an 11-20 record last season, going 6-12 in the Atlantic 10. They return 10 players and just one starter to their 2025 squad.
In the last game of the USI Invitational, the Eagles will take on Northern Kentucky. The former D-II rivals have a history that spans 37 games over 35 years. The Norse lead the series 27-10. Saturday's match will mark the first time the schools meet since 2011, when NKU beat out USI in four sets. The Norse went 11-18 overall last season and finished 7-11 in Horizon League play. They return 11 players from the 2024 squad and add four freshmen. NKU Head Coach Liz Hart enters her 16th season leading the Norse, she looks to add to her 2019 Horizon League Championship.
To get updates on opening weekend for USI volleyball, fans can follow USI Athletics on Facebook, Instagram, and X for game coverage and online at usiscreamingeagles.com.
