EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball hands University of Arkansas Little Rock its first Ohio Valley Conference loss of the 2025 season, snapping a six-game win streak. The Screaming Eagles move to 4-3 in OVC play and 8-11 overall for the season.
Set 1: USI 25, LR 20
The Screaming Eagles came out strong for the first set, maintaining the lead for the majority of the set. Aysa Thomas dished out 10 assists to get five different Eagles on the board for a kill. Junior Ashby Willis led the team with three kills, picking up seven digs in the back court, too. Sophomore Audrey Small and senior Keira Moore followed with five kills each, helping to keep Little Rock to a .061 hitting percentage.
Set 2: USI 25, LR 7
USI maintained a significant lead for the whole set, finishing with their largest margin of victory in a set for the season at 25-7. Willis completed a 10-point serving run in the middle of the set, with two aces. With 25 team digs and two total blocks, the Eagles held Little Rock to a .000 hitting percentage. Small had her best set, picking up 10 digs in the back row. Thomas held her offense to their most efficient set, with a .378 hitting percentage on 14 kills and zero errors.
Set 3: LR 25, USI 20
Little Rock came back fighting in the third, starting with a 7-0 scoring run. The Eagles tied the game up again by the 13th point, finishing with back-and-forth scoring for the rest of the set. The defense put up four blocks to try and slow the Trojan offense, but Little Rock maintained its most efficient set at a .214 hit percentage.
Set 4: USI 25, LR 23
For the final set, the Trojans and Eagles saw a hard-fought battle for the lead, tying the score 10 different times with five lead changes. Thomas dished out 10 assists, getting kills to five different Eagles. Small picked up another seven digs, leading the court. Senior Bianca Anderson led the team with four kills.
For the game, the Eagles tallied 83 digs, averaging over 20 digs per set. Small picked up 26 digs for the second game in a row to tie her season high. The team recorded 11 total blocks, the highest they’ve had since the opening OVC match at Morehead State University.
OVC Freshman of the Week, Thomas, completed her 12th double-double in a row with 35 assists, 14 digs, and managed to sneak three kills in. Three different Eagles finished with 10 kills, including Willis, Anderson, and junior Leah Coleman.
Before this game, Little Rock had won six OVC games in a row, moving to 6-1 in OVC play and 11-8 overall. The win marks the first game the Eagles have won against the Trojans since the 2023 season.
