EVANSVILLE, Ind.—Sophomore outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) racked up 10 kills, four aces, nine digs and four blocks Tuesday night as University of Southern Indiana Volleyball snapped a two-match skid with a 25-17, 31-29, 25-16 Great Lakes Valley Conference win over visiting McKendree University at Screaming Eagles Arena.
Anderson’s four kills in the opening set helped USI pull away from the Bearcats for an eight-point win and one-set lead. The Screaming Eagles outscored McKendree 14-5 in the final 19 rallies to secure the win in the opener.
USI (8-4, 2-2 GLVC) fought off set-point five times in the second set to pull out the two-point victory. Anderson racked up six kills, five digs and a .455 attacking percentage in the second frame to help USI gain the two-set lead.
McKendree (3-9, 1-3 GLVC) jumped out to an early 3-1 lead in the third set, but a 13-2 USI run quickly put away any doubt of the eventual outcome. USI recorded four of its 12 blocks as a team in the third set, holding the Bearcats to a .000 attacking percentage in the process.
In addition to Anderson, the Eagles got 10 kills from freshman outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) as well as five kills, four blocks and a .571 attacking percentage from senior middle blocker Sidney Hegg (Menasha, Wisconsin). Senior setter Casey Cepicky (St. Louis, Missouri) added 16 assists, nine digs and four blocks, while junior middle hitter Taylor Litteken (Foristell, Missouri) finished with a career-high tying eight blocks.
USI returns to action Friday at 7 p.m. when it hosts Truman State University in its Breast Cancer Awareness night at Screaming Eagles Arena. All fans are encouraged to wear pink.
