University of Southern Indiana senior middle blocker Abbey Winter (Germantown, Illinois) picked up her 1,000th career kill, but the road woes continued for the Screaming Eagles’ volleyball team as it fell to host Drury University 25-21, 25-21, 25-22 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference match Friday night.
USI (17-8, 6-6 GLVC) led 16-11 in the opening frame, but a 14-5 Drury run to close out the first set gave the Panthers a four-point win and a one-set advantage in the match.
Drury (17-8, 6-6 GLVC) carried that momentum into the second set, where it jumped out to a 7-1 advantage. The Eagles answered with a 5-1 run to close to within two, but another Drury outburst, this time a 6-1 spurt, put USI into a 14-7 hole. USI trimmed Drury’s lead to two late in the frame before succumbing to the four-point loss and two-set deficit.
Following the intermission, the Eagles jumped out to a 12-9 advantage to open the third set. The Panthers, however, won the next seven points to steal the lead and momentum away from USI.
The Eagles closed to within two on several occasions, but that was as close as USI would get as Drury sealed the three-set sweep with a three-point win in the third frame.
Winter, who became the third player in USI history to record 1,000 career kills and 500 career blocks, finished with nine kills and a .333 attacking percentage to lead the Eagles offensively. Sophomore outside hitter Shelbi Morris (Brazil, Indiana) also had nine kills for USI, which slipped to 3-7 on the road this year—USI has lost its last four road contests and six of its last seven.
Sophomore libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) had a match-high 16 digs to lead USI defensively.
USI concludes its regular-season road schedule Saturday at 3 p.m. when it travels to Rolla, Missouri, to take on Missouri University of Science & Technology. The Miners (18-8, 9-3 GLVC) defeated Bellarmine University in five sets Friday night in Rolla.
While USI has struggled on the road, the Eagles are 8-1 this season at the Physical Activities Center and 6-0 on a neutral court. The Eagles play their final five matches of the regular-season at the PAC.
