The Screaming Eagles (2-3) were led offensively against UMSL by freshman right-side hitter Katherine Koch (Belleville, Illinois) as she posted 10 kills on a .320 hitting clip. Friday’s opening-match performance is the second time in just four collegiate outings that Koch reached double-digits in kills.

Senior outside hitter Lindsey Stose (Elkhart, Indiana) and freshman outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) each posted 14 kills against Malone; setting a new career-high for Stose.

Junior setter Casey Cepicky picked up her 20th career double-double against UMSL on her way to 53 assists and 17 digs on the first day of the Warrior Invitational.

Senior middle hitter Elexis Coleman turned in a solid performance against Malone, posting 10 kills, seven digs, and a career-high-tying seven blocks.

USI Volleyball returns to the campus of Wayne State University Saturday to battle Ursuline College and the host Warriors.

Game 1: Missouri-St. Louis 3, USI 0

USI posted runs of 7-1, 4-1 and 4-0 in the first frame against the Tritons before UMSL rattled off an 8-1 rally to snag the first set, 25-23.

The Eagles held the largest lead in the frame at 11-5, thanks to a pair of service aces and a kill from Anderson. Koch, Stose and Coleman each contributed three kills.

USI and UMSL traded blows again in the second set, with the Tritons claiming it, 25-22.

The two squads combined for nine tied-scores and six lead changes while neither team posted more than four consecutive points in the set. Koch did most of her damage in this set, posting five kills on eight clean attempts.

Cepicky notched her 20th-career double-double after posting five digs in each of the first two sets while amassing 16 of her eventual 22 assists.

USI dropped the match as it allowed a seven-point set-clinching run by the Tritons to capture the third set, 25-14. The Eagles also opened the set allowing an 8-1 run from UMSL.

Game 2: USI 3, Malone 1

The Eagles ceded Malone’s one set in the first frame, 20-25, after allowing an 8-0 run that led to a 14-8 Pioneer lead. Koch tallied four of her six kills in the match in the first set.

USI needed extra points in both the second and third sets, 26-24 and 27-25, respectively. The Eagles faced set-point at 21-24 before shelling out a 5-0 run to close the second; a 5-1 run for USI closed the third.

Stose and Anderson each struck for five kills in the third set, giving them 11 each through three. Senior libero Mikaila Humphrey (Floyd Knobs, Indiana) crossed the double-digit threshold in digs with 11 of her 15 for the match; Humphrey’s most since the 2017 campaign.

The fourth set finished 25-21, in favor of the Eagles, again by way of a set-clinching run, this time an 8-1 stretch. Anderson and Coleman teamed up for three of the final four kills and two blocks in the closing run.

Up Next

USI Volleyball meets the Ursuline Arrows for the first time in program history at 8 a.m. CDT Saturday, back at the Warrior Invitational.

The Eagles conclude their road trip with Wayne State at 12:30 p.m. CDT before returning to Evansville to host the USI Invitational on Thursday night.