ATLANTA, Ga.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball dropped the final match at the Georgia Tech Classic to Xavier University in a four-set battle on Saturday afternoon. The Screaming Eagles move to 2-4 for the 2026 season after the first weekend on the road.
Xavier University earns its third win of the season (3-2), after a successful 2025 season where the team earned an at-large bid into the 2025 NCAA Tournament as an eight seed.
SET 1: XU 25, USI 18
The Screaming Eagles started strong against the Musketeers, going point for point until Xavier pushed ahead in the final six points. Sophomore
Carley Wright fed off the success from her career-high last night by leading the team with three kills and six digs. Setter
Aysa Thomas added two kills of her own, taking on her sister, Xavier senior Quinci Thomas, for the first time in their college careers.
SET 2: XU 25, USI 23
USI built on the first set performance, falling short in the final few points to take the frame. Senior
Ashby Willis added 10 kills to lead the USI offense, marking her fifth double-digit game of the season after just two sets. Wright dropped two aces from the service line and led the team with eight digs. Sophomore
Grace Bach tallied the first solo block of her career. Thomas had her best set of the day, with 11 assists, and led the team with six digs, and snuck two more kills over the net.
SET 3: USI 25, XU 17
The Screaming Eagles came out strong in the third set, starting with a five-point scoring run. Willis landed another four kills to lead the court in the set, and with just one error, she hit a .429 hitting percentage. Thomas kept the USI back row alive with four digs, helping to keep the Xavier offense at a match-low team hitting percentage. Willis put up two blocks to help shut down the Musketeer offense too. Fifth-year
Aspen Jankowski came of the bench as one of four USI players to end the set with an ace.
SET 4: XU 25, USI 18
Libero
Audrey Small had her best set of the match, picking up six digs. Willis landed another three kills, but the USI offense struggled to find the floor as the Xavier defense tallied its most digs of the game (20).
For the game, Thomas finished with a double-double with 28 assists and 14 digs, and met her season-high with five kills. Willis led the court with 18 kills, her fifth match so far this season with double-digit kills.
The Screaming Eagles return home to wrap up Labor Day weekend, hosting No. 21 Indiana University inside Liberty Arena at 3 p.m., marking the first ranked team that USI has hosted in the DI era across all sports.
For updates on Monday's game and throughout the season, fans can follow USI Athletics and usivolleyball on Instagram, X, and Facebook, and online at usiscreamingeagles.com.
