University of Southern Indiana Athletics

ATLANTA, Ga.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball dropped a pair of matches to the Georgia Institute of Technology and Campbell University to open 2026's road matches at the Georgia Tech Classic.
 
To start the day, USI fell to Georgia Tech in three sets and wrapped up the night with a tough four-set battle against Campbell. The Screaming Eagles move to 2-3 for the season.
 
Georgia Tech was one spot out in the NCAA top 25 poll, as the Yellow Jackets received 126 votes. The match marks the first of four 2025 NCAA Tournament teams the Screaming Eagles will face over Labor Day weekend.
 
MATCH 1 vs. (RV) Georgia Tech
Set 1: GT 25, USI 19
The Screaming Eagles came out strong in the first set against GT, falling just short of claiming the set. Senior Leah Coleman led the team's offense, adding four kills off nine swings for a .444 hitting percentage. Sophomore Mackenzie Nettles made her presence known defending the USI net, adding three blocks.
 
Set 2: GT 25, USI 20
USI built off the first set, battling hard in the second frame. Coleman doubled her kills from the first set, tallying four more.  Setter Aysa Thomas snuck two kills over, keeping the Yellow Jacket defense on their toes. Senior Ashby Willis led the USI back row, picking up five digs
 
Set 3: GT 26, USI 24
Maintaining hold of the lead up until the final two points, the Screaming Eagles fought hard the entirety of the final set. Junior Kerigan Fehr dropped two aces on the Yellow Jackets to help turn the tide in pivotal moments. Thomas dished out a balanced offense with 10 assists and giving kills to five different Screaming Eagles, along with tallying two more herself. Thomas and Nettles also stayed active on the net, adding two blocks each to the team's total.
 
Overall, USI competed well with its first Power-Four matchup of the season, out-blocking the Yellow Jackets 7-6 and hitting a .168 team hitting percentage.
 
Coleman led the team with her season-high 10 kills, along with two blocks. Thomas dished out a total of 24 assists, along with six digs and a season-high five kills. Nettles led the court with a career-high six blocks, along with three kills.
 
MATCH 2 vs. Campbell
SET 1: CU 25, USI 21
Sophomore Carley Wright started the game against the Campbells strong, landing five kills on nine swings and no errors. Willis closely followed her with four kills, while Thomas worked to dish out the offense with 10 assists and a team-high six digs.
 
SET 2: USI 25, CU 22
The Screaming Eagles and the Camels went point-for-point in the second frame, as USI pulled ahead to win it in the final three points. Wright continued her set one performance, adding another six kills on ten swings with zero errors, hitting a game-high .600 percent. Thomas added another 10 assists and three digs.
 
SET 3: CU 25, USI 21
Willis led the court in the third frame with six kills, while Wright followed close behind with three. The USI block slowed the Camels down as Willis and Nettles combined for two blocks. Fehr, Willis, and Wright all landed an ace each, and six different Screaming Eagles tallied at least two digs.
 
SET 4: CU 25, USI 23
Wright had her best set of the game, battling until the very end for a win. She landed eight kills on 13 swings with just one error, hitting .538. Libero Audrey Small picked up seven digs, and Willis and Thomas added four each. Thomas tallied 14 assists, balancing the offense between Wright and Willis, who added six kills. With 20 kills and just eight errors, the USI offense had its most efficient frame of the day, recording a .273 hitting percentage.
 
Overall, Wright recorded a career-high 22 kills, and with just three errors, she recorded the most efficient game of her career at .463. The sophomore also tallied 10 digs, to mark one of three players with double-doubles in the match.
 
Willis finished with a season-high 20 kills and tied for a team-high 16 digs along with four blocks. Thomas dished out a season-high 44 assists with 16 digs.  
 
The Screaming Eagles are back in action tomorrow afternoon to take on Xavier University at 12 p.m. CT to close out the first road trip of the season at the Georgia Tech Classic. For game updates on tomorrow's match and as USI preps to host No. 21 Indiana University on Monday, September 7th, fans can follow USI Athletics and usivolleyball on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and online at usiscreamingeagles.com.