LITTLE ROCK, Ark.– University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (8-10, OVC 3-3) were unable to mount a comeback digging an early hole against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (9-10, OVC 4-2) falling in four sets, (23-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-25). The Screaming Eagles and Trojans entered play tied for fourth place in the Ohio Valley Conference both looking to make jumps into the top three after the weekend as Little Rock gains the edge.
Freshman Kerigan Fehr earned a career high of 14 digs, while sophomore Leah Coleman tied her career high of 13 kills on the offensive side. Sophomore Ashby Willis extended her double digit kill streak to five games with a team best 18 tonight.
Set 1: USI 23, LR 25
USI’s defense came out strong in set one as junior Keira Moore had three shoestring digs and Willis swatted a block to fire up the Eagles leading 8-7. Two straight USI service errors helped the Trojans gain a 11-9 lead. The outside hitters kept the Eagles within striking distance as graduate senior Jasmine Green, Coleman, and Willis combined for eight kills trailing 17-19. Green laid her body out on the line diving into the scorers table, along with getting rewarded with a kill later in the rally as the Eagles trailed 23-24 before the Trojans clinched set one with a kill. The Trojans took advantage of two USI service errors, while manufacturing three aces and three and a half blocks.
Set 2: USI 21, LR 25
Coleman smashed her team leading sixth kill as both squads traded early points. Junior Bianca Anderson found the seam in the block with two slides, along with an ace from freshman Layla Gonzales tying the match at nine. Willis transitioned into the net three times before finally finishing her seventh kill tying the match at 12. Senior Abby Weber gave the Eagles a 18-16 lead with her 19th service ace of the season. The Trojans used a 7-1 run to end the set as the Eagles dug themselves a hole down two sets. Middle hitters senior Paris Downing and Anderson took their turns in set two with eight combined kills.
Set 3: USI 25, LR 16
Anderson’s signature slide worked again helping the Eagles gain a 7-5 lead. Willis used an off-speed kill for her 11th of the match gaining the 10-8 advantage. Senior Carly Sobieralski and Anderson executed a textbook block assist extending the lead to 17-14. Another successful Gonzales ace and slide from Downing helped contribute to the 8-1 run giving USI a 23-15 lead. Back-to-back kills from Willis gave USI the dominant set three victory tallying 15 on the game, along with 15 digs.
Set 4: USI 15, LR 25
The Trojans used three early blocks to build a 11-5 lead. Coleman helped the Eagles climb back with her 12th kill closing within four. Little Rock totaled their eighth service ace to build a 18-9 lead. Redshirt Freshman Maeve Moonan tallied her first statistic as an Eagle with a block assist with Sobieralski to cut the lead within ten. However, the Trojan attack oulasted the Eagles winning round one of the series.
Willis lead offensively with 18 kills for third straight match along with capturing her sixth double-double at 18 digs. Sobieralski racked up 44 assists on 17 digs, while Moore led defensively with 23 digs. Moore has snatched 15+ digs in her past five matches. Sobieralski and Anderson both swatted three blocks, while Gonzales finished with a career high three service aces.
As a team, USI finished with 64 kills, 48 assists, 97 digs, nine aces, six blocks, and a .089 attacking percentage. The Trojans earned 43 kills, 40 assists, 92 digs, nine aces, 15 blocks, and a .143 hitting percentage.
Next up for the Eagles
USI is back in Little Rock tomorrow looking to sweep the Trojans at 2 p.m.
