University of Southern Indiana Athletics

EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball drops the second match in the series against the University of Evansville in a five-set battle inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
 
The Screaming Eagles wrapped up the last weekend of non-conference play with a split series against crosstown rival UE, sweeping the Aces on Friday night at home, and losing on Saturday at UE's court.
 
USI will move into Ohio Valley Conference play with a 5-7 record, and will kick off league play against defending champions Eastern Illinois University on September 25 & 26 on the road in Charleston, Illinois.
 
SET 1: UE 25, USI 18
The Screaming Eagles handled a rough start at the Purple Aces' home court. USI was the strongest from the service line, landing five aces as a team, led by senior Ashby Willis with three. While the USI offense struggled to avoid errors around UE blocking effort, freshmen Aubrey Fair and Vita Sensenbrenner added two kills each. Sophomore Carley Wright got her match started, leading the team with four digs.
 
SET 2: USI 25, UE 22
USI quickly took control in the second set, as Willis ramped up her production, adding six kills on just two errors for a .444 efficiency. The Screaming Eagles beat their set one aces total with six total in the second frame, led by junior Audrey Small with three and fifth-year Aspen Jankowski doubled her set one number with two more.
 
SET 3: USI 25, UE 19
The Screaming Eagles dominated the net in the third, putting five blocks up to slow the Aces' offense down, an effort led by sophomore Mackenzie Nettles, who had hands on all five team blocks. Wright brought the intensity up on the offense, as she landed six kills, hitting a .500 efficiency. Small covered the back row action, picking up six digs.

SET 4: UE 25, USI 20
Willis and Wright each added four kills in the fourth set. UE challenged the Screaming Eagles from the service line, landing five in the set. Nettles recorded two kills with no errors, pushing the USI momentum.
 
SET 5: UE 15, USI 13
In the second fifth-set challenge of the season, the Screaming Eagles manage to push an early 3-0 lead. Wright steered the USI offense, landing six of the eight team kills, with just one error she hit a .556 to end the match. Willis landed the team's 15^th ace, marking the most in a USI match since 2010.
 
For the match, Wright tallied a double-double, leading the team with 16 kills and 17 digs. Sophomore setter Aysa Thomas dished out 39 assists and 11 digs for the second double-double for the team, and three kills.
 
Willis tallied another five aces, for a total of 10 for the series with the Aces in Saturday's match, as the team recorded 15 total. Today's total marks the most aces a USI team has recorded since August 25, 2007 against Midwestern State University, and the most in the Division I era.
 
 For updates as USI moves into conference play, follow USI Athletics and usivolleyball on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and online at usiscreamingeagles.com.