MOREHEAD, Ky.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball drops its first Ohio Valley Conference game of the season in a four-set match at Morehead State University.
Junior Ashby Willis tallied her fifth double-double of the season with 11 kills and a season-high 16 digs. OVC Setter of the Week, Aysa Thomas, also recorded a double-double with 26 assists and 15 digs.. As a team, the Screaming Eagles put up 14 blocks at the net. Junior McKenzie Murphy led the team with 10 total blocks, marking a career high.
Set 1: USI 25, MSU 15
The Screaming Eagles kicked off OVC play with a dominant first set, ending with a 10-point serving run by senior Bianca Anderson. They tallied seven blocks at the net as a team, which helped hold the Morehead State offense to a negative hitting percentage. Willis tallied five kills, followed by freshman Carley Wright with three.
Set 2: MSU 25, USI 13
The Morehead State Eagles came back strong in the second set after losing the first, taking an 11-point lead (19-8). USI fought back, landing kills led by Wright, who added three more, hitting a .417 after the second set. Thomas picked up six digs to put up some defensive stops, along with sophomore libero Audrey Small, who followed with five.
Set 3: MSU 25, USI 12
Murphy put up another three blocks in the third set, moving to seven for the match. The Screaming Eagles struggled to put together offensive plays, landing just seven kills in the set. Willis and junior Leah Coleman put together two kills each. Eight different USI players picked up at least one dig to try and stop the MSU offense in the back court.
Set 4: MSU 25, USI 23
In the closest set of the match, USI saw the lead six different times in the back-and-forth battle. Murphy put up another three blocks but was led by Thomas, who put up four blocks, to finish with a career-high seven total. Willis (4) and Coleman (3) added another seven kills together, helped by Murphy and Wright, who had two each.
