EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball kicks off Ohio Valley Conference play this weekend on the road at Eastern Illinois University inside McAfee Gym in Charleston, Illinois.  
 
The Screaming Eagles will hit the court on Friday, September 25^th at 6 p.m. against the Panthers for the first match of the series, then will close it out on Saturday at 4 p.m. Both matches will be streamed on ESPN+ for those with a subscription, but Friday's match will be part of the OVC's set of simulcast streams in partnership with Gray Media.
 
USI finished the non-conference slate with a 5-7 record. The Screaming Eagles saw several competitive opponents during the first portion of the season, including four 2025 NCAA Tournament teams.
 
To close out non-conference play, USI split a home-and-home series with the University of Evansville. The Screaming Eagles swept the Purple Aces to win the second annual Battle for the Lloyd championship last Friday at home inside Liberty Arena, before dropping the second match at UE's gym in a competitive five sets.
 
The Screaming Eagles tallied 27 service aces in the UE series, for 3.38 per set. Senior Ashby Willis led the charge with 10 aces during the series, five per match.  USI leads the OVC in aces with 89 total and 1.89/set for the season. Fifth-year Aspen Jankowski is first on the individual leaderboard with 22 so far this season.
 
USI also leads the OVC in team digs, tallying 725 for 15.43/set through the first 12 matches of the season. Junior libero Audrey Small leads the league in total digs (167) and is second in digs per set (3.55), and Willis follows close behind in second with 149 total digs and sixth in her per-set average (3.17).
 
About Eastern Illinois: The Panthers finished their non-conference slate with a 1-10 record, their one win coming from a five-set match over Santa Clara to open their season. EIU faced several Power Four opponents in the opening portion of its season, including No. 24 BYU (0-3), No. 21 Indiana (0-3), RV Cal Poly (0-3), Illinois (1-3), and a home-and-home series with Notre Dame (0-3, 0-3). In 2025, the Screaming Eagles held their OVC home opener hosting EIU, sweeping each game of the series in two statement wins.
 
EIU holds the record in the overall series at 5-4, but USI has taken wins in the last four of the program's meetings. The Panthers won a share of the 2025 regular season title with Morehead State, but took the tiebreaker to host the OVC Tournament, where they defeated MSU in the final in a 3-0 sweep. EIU represented the OVC in the NCAA Tournament, taking on #3-seed Wisconsin in the first round.
 
Outside hitter Katie Kopshever leads the Panthers with 135 kills (3.65/set). The EIU offense is directed by setter Peyton Castillo, who has tallied 191 assists (7.07/set). EIU libero Ariadna Pereles leads the OVC with 3.84/set, and she's tallied 142 total digs.
 
For game updates on the Screaming Eagles' first OVC series at EIU, fans can follow USI Athletics and usivolleyball on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and online at usiscreamingeagles.com.