EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (8-15, OVC 3-8) dropped their sixth-straight Ohio Valley Conference match on Friday night on the road against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (9-13, OVC 4-7) in four sets (22-25, 25-23, 18-25, 22-25).
Set 1: USI 22, SIUE 25
USI jumped out to a three-point lead capitalizing on early errors from the Cougars. However, the Cougars woke up rattling off a five-point run to gain a 6-4 lead. Senior Carly Sobieralski placed dimes across the court to senior Jasmine Green, senior Paris Downing, junior Bianca Anderson, and sophomore Leah Coleman as the Eagles tied the match at 16. SIUE won the crunch time points mounting a 5-2 run to conclude the set finishing with a .293 hitting percentage.
Set 2: USI 25, SIUE 23
The middle hitters for USI of Anderson and Downing dominated set two. The Cougars seemed to have USI in a blender with a 11-17 deficit and zero blocks up to that point. However, the Eagles mounted a 9-1 run taking a 20-18. Downing finished the set on an absolute team contributing to five straight points with three kills and two block assists. The senior crushed a kill after the Cougars mounted a three-point run on set point as she finished with seven set kills and four blocks. Anderson also swatted six set kills as the Eagles controlled the match through the middle in set two.
Set 3: USI 18, SIUE 25
USI was forced to call an early timeout after struggling with receptions trailing 8-2. Anderson stopped the bleeding with a critical slide. Willis came alive with two kills and a solo block bringing the Eagles within four. The Cougars erupted on a 6-1 run to double up the Eagles at 18-9. USI made a late set charge, but the Cougars prevailed winning set three. After three sets, SIUE showed more efficiency with their passes and swings hitting .252, while USI hit a .188 percentage.
Set 4: USI 22, SIUE 25
Despite the significant set three loss, USI gained some momentum at the end of the set which carried into set four. Junior Keira Moore delivered a service ace and Anderson smoked two kills earning a 7-6 lead. SIUE recorded another ace taking a 15-12 lead into the media timeout. The Cougars swatted their 12th block and 10th service to extend their lead to 19-14. Senior Abby Weber added a service ace along with kills from Willis, Sobieralski, and Coleman mounting a four-point run. However, USI failed to convert at the end of sets dropping the first matchup in Edwardsville.
Anderson and Downing tied offensively with 13 kills each. Sobieralski racked up 43 assists, while Moore laid her body on the line all night with 26 digs. Moore has snatched 15+ digs in her past ten matches. Downing swatted her season high of seven blocks.
As a team, USI finished with 51 kills, 47 assists, 74 digs, three aces, ten blocks, and a .120 attacking percentage. The Cougars earned 54 kills, 45 assists, 68 digs, ten aces, 12 blocks, and a .203 hitting percentage.
