Eagles rank 16th nationally following 1-1 weekend at Missouri S&T
University of Southern Indiana Volleyball returns to Screaming Eagles Arena to host another GLVC triangular following back-to-back weekends in Missouri, going 3-1 overall while playing away from home. Following the 1-1 effort in Rolla, the Eagles dropped four places to 16th from the program-high of 12th nationally.
The Screaming Eagles sit 8-2 and earned the national ranking of 16 in the latest AVCA poll. USI recorded only its second loss on the season to then-seventh ranked UMSL on March 6. The poll features four GLVC teams with Lewis taking the top spot nationally and three teams dropping from the last AVCA rankings (3/3/21).
USI is set to take on Southwest Baptist (2-5) and Truman State (7-4), hosting its second GLVC triangular of the season. The Eagles will play Southwest Baptist to begin the day at 10 A.M. and then take on Truman State at 6 P.M. to close out the weekend. SBU is coming to Evansville off of a 1-1 weekend at Maryville, dropping its first match to McKendree and beating host Maryville. Truman State makes the trip with a four-match win streak, beating ranked opponents in Drury (then-No. 16) and Indianapolis (then-No. 25). The Eagles will look to get back on track after dropping only their second match of the season against then-No.7 UMSL.
During the Eagles’ eight-match win streak, USI won five matches in sweeping fashion, beating division rivals Indianapolis, McKendree, and Illinois Springfield as well as conference-foes then-No.6 Rockhurst and Lindenwood. Over this five-match,15-set streak, Southern Indiana hit .264 as a team with 14.93 kills per set and 2.00 service aces per set. Comparatively holding its opponents to a hitting percentage of .153 and only 10.47 kills per set. Over the entire eight-match streak, the storyline was the same with the USI offense bombarding opposing defenses with more than 13.50 kills per set and .223 hitting percentage while also making moves early on with nearly 2.00 service aces per set.
NOTES:
Senior Casey Cepicky moved into fifth all-time at USI in career assists with 2,592, passing Melanie Pund (2007-09), who owned 2,521. Cepicky now sets her sight on fourth in USI history which is currently held by Carly Messman (1997-99) with 2,669 career assists.
Leah Anderson showed out early in the season, posting monster numbers and earning a GLVC Offensive POTW and USI’s first AVCA National POTW award since 2011.
The Eagles’ offense is an across-the-board effort with six players averaging more than one kill per set and five averaging 2.00-plus points per set. Defensively, the Screaming Eagles boast five players averaging 2.00-plus digs per set.
GLVC statistical rankings include Screaming Eagles in the top-10 in multiple categories, including Leah Anderson (service aces – 2nd, points – 4th, kills – 5th), Casey Cepicky (assists – 5th, service aces – 7th), Sidney Hegg (hitting percentage – 4th), Taylor Littken (hitting percentage – 6th), and Abby Weber (service aces – 10th).
The Screaming Eagles have performed extremely well in this unconventional season, earning a program high in national ranking at 12th nationally (AVCA 3/3/21 poll). USI Volleyball earned its first ever national ranking in the February 10 AVCA poll, coming in at No. 18.
