University of Southern Indiana Athletics

CHARLESTON, Ill.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball splits the Ohio Valley Conference opening series at Eastern Illinois University after winning a five-set match Saturday evening at the McAfee Gym.
 
USI moves to a 6-8 overall record and kicks conference play off with a 1-1 record.
 
SET 1: EIU 25, USI 22
The Screaming Eagles started strong in the first set, taking an early lead against the Panthers before a tie score at 10-10 allowed for a point-for-point battle for the rest of the set. Senior Leah Coleman tallied six kills to lead the court, hitting a .500 efficiency. Sophomore Aysa Thomas dished out nine assists and contributed two of the team's four blocks in the set. Senior Ashby Willis led the back row defense, picking up five digs.
 
SET 2: USI 25, EIU 20
Wills led the USI offense in the second set with four kills, as freshman Vita Sensenbrenner found her groove, hitting 3-for-3 from the middle. Thomas dished out 11 more assists, connecting with Mackenzie Nettles on the right side and Coleman twice each. Nettles, who stepped up into the right side position for the first time in the match, picked up three digs.
 
SET 3: EIU 28, USI 26
The third frame of the match saw extra points in the end, in the most competitive set of the match with 15 tie scores and five lead changes. While Willis led the Screaming Eagle offense with six kills, Sensenbrenner led the team with an .833 hitting percentage with five kills. Thomas dished out 14 assists and picked up five digs to lead the back row. Nettles and Sensenbrenner led the team to four blocks with two assists each.
 
SET 4: USI 26, EIU 24
The Screaming Eagles battled back from behind, not taking the lead until the last three points. Thomas dished out a balanced offense, connecting on 12 assists and getting three or more kills to three teammates. Coleman led the team with five kills, followed by Willis with four, and Sensenbrenner continued to add to her career-high night with three more kills. The freshman Sensenbrenner also led the team, adding three more blocks to help keep the Panther offense to one of the lowest of the match.

SET 5: USI 15, EIU 13
In the third fifth-set challenge the Screaming Eagles have faced so far this season, USI's offense was led by the senior outside hitters. Willis landed six kills, and Coleman added three momentum-moving kills as she stayed errorless for the set. Thomas added two kills of her own as she dished out eight assists.
 
For the match, five different USI players saw season-highs. Setter Aysa Thomas tallied a double-double with a season-high 54 assists along with 15 digs. Willis recorded 24 kills, and Coleman had 19, both marking season-highs.
 
In just her third time taking the floor this season, freshman Sensenbrenner tallied 12 kills, hitting a .429 to end the match, along with tallying eight blocks. Fellow middle blocker Grace Bach helped bring the team's block total to meet the high for the season, adding a career-high five block assists.

For game updates on the next OVC series for the Screaming Eagles as they host Morehead State University on October 9 & 10, following next week's bye week, fans can follow USI Athletics and usivolleyball on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and online at usiscreamingeagles.com.