CHARLESTON, Ill.- University of Southern Indiana kicks off Ohio Valley Conference play on the road at Eastern Illinois University in a competitive four-set loss.
The Screaming Eagles move to 5-8 on the season and start their OVC record at 0-1 for the second year in a row. The defending league champions, EIU, mark their first win of the season since the opening match of the season and move to a 2-10 overall record.
SET 1: EIU 25, USI 18
USI struggled from the service line in the opening set, tallying six errors. Sophomore
Aysa Thomas dished out eight assists and snuck three kills over herself. Senior
Leah Coleman connected on three kills and made no errors to hit a .429 efficiency. Junior
Kerigan Fehr got the start as libero for the match and tallied four digs in the first frame.
SET 2: USI 25, EIU 22
The Screaming Eagles ramped up the offensive production and hit a .404 hitting percentage as a team. Thomas dished out 14 assists and connected with Coleman six more times to lead the team. Senior
Ashby Willis and sophomore
Carley Wright led the back row, picking up five digs each. Sophomore
Mackenzie Nettles added four kills with no errors to lead the team with an .800 hitting efficiency, getting her career night started.
SET 3: EIU 25, USI 22
In the most competitive set of the night, it saw 18 tie scores and nine lead changes. Thomas tallied another two kills and dished out nine assists to connect with Willis for three kills. Fehr and Wright led the defense, picking up four digs each.
SET 4: EIU 25, USI 22
The Screaming Eagles put up a fight in the fourth set, forcing 13 tie scores and four lead changes. Willis tallied seven kills to lead the court, hitting a .417 efficiency. Thomas dished out another 12 assists and helped lead the charge at the net, adding two block assists. Nettles led the team with three blocks to help get the team to four total.
For the match, Thomas tallied 43 assists, nine digs, and met her career-high with seven kills. Willis led the USI offense with 15 kills, and Coleman followed close behind with 13 kills. Nettles tallied a career high with nine kills, and with just two errors, the sophomore hit a .467 efficiency.
For game updates on the second half of the opening OVC series at EIU, fans can follow USI Athletics and usivolleyball on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and online at usiscreamingeagles.com.
