University of Southern Indiana Athletics

EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana finishes the opening weekend with a sweep over Northern Illinois University, ending the USI Invitational with a 2-1 record to start the season.
 
SET 1: USI 25, NIU 18
The Screaming Eagles took the court for the first set on Saturday for a strong start against the Huskies. Senior Ashby Willis added three kills and a team-leading six digs. Sophomore Carley Wright and freshman Aubrey Fair each contributed three kills to the USI offense. Sophomore Grace Bach added a strong defensive effort at the net with three blocks.
 
SET 2: USI 25, NIU 19
USI continued the set-one success with a strong second frame. Willis added eight kills to her tally and doubled her hitting efficiency (.280). From the middle position, Bach and sophomore Mackenzie Nettles added three kills together. Sophomore Aysa Thomas dished out a balanced offense, adding 11 assists.
 
SET 3: USI 25, NIU 19
Nettles and Bach each added kills from the middle in the final set. Willis tallied three more kills and two digs, while Wright added two kills and had a pivotal defensive performance, adding three digs.
 
Overall, the Screaming Eagles added five blocks as a team and 66 digs to keep the Huskies' offense at a .153 average. Willis led the team with 17 kills and 17 digs, her second double-double of the weekend, along with a solo block. Wright trailed close behind with 12 kills and 12 digs.
 
Thomas tallied 34 assists, nine digs, and a kill. Junior Audrey Small rounded out USI's back row action with 11 digs. Senior Aspen Jankowski came off the bench to add three aces tying her game-high from Friday night's game against Eastern Michigan University.
 
Willis and Wright were named to the USI Invitational All-Tournament Team for their performances over the three games. Willis tallied 54 kills for 4.91 per set and 35 digs with a high of 19 kills in the Friday night game against EMU. Wright recorded 44 kills, 31 digs, and eight blocks for the weekend. Wright met her 2025 game high of 18 kills in the match against EMU and set a new career high with 12 digs in the sweep over NIU.
 
As the winner of the USI Invitational, EMU contributed three players to the All-Tournament Team: junior outside hitter Bianca Salvador Cargnino, senior libero Surabhi Srinivasan, and senior middle blocker Azra Eric.
 
NIU's junior middle blocker Rylea Alvin and Murray State University's sophomore outside hitter Anne Makowski make up the rest of the All-Tournament selections.  
 
The Screaming Eagles hit the road for the first time of the 2026 season as they travel south to compete in the Georgia Tech Invitational, taking on the host team, Campbell University, and Xavier University on September 4^th and 5^th. For game updates on the upcoming road trip,  fans can USI follow USI Athletics and usivolleyball on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and online at usiscreamingeagles.com.