Bednar’s career high not enough as Eagles stumble against Lions USI falls to Lindenwood, 3-2

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Sophomore outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) recorded her first double-double of the season after tallying a career-high 21 kills and 15 digs. Despite Bednar’s success, University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (1-15, 1-4 OVC) lost to Lindenwood University (4-9, 1-3 OVC), 3-2 (24-26, 25-21, 20-25, 25-22, 6-15). The Screaming Eagles split the weekend series against the Lions and lose their first-ever meeting against Lindenwood in program history.
 
USI showed strong efforts in the opening frame but ended with a 26-24 loss. Lindenwood started the set with a 3-0 lead before Bednar and junior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) combined for five kills to help the Eagles tie it at six. USI would go on a 5-1 surge that ended with a service ace from sophomore outside hitter/defensive specialist Anna Ballengee (Montgomery, Indiana) to give the Eagles a three-point advantage. The Lions returned fire with a pair of kills before another Bednar kill and a service ace from sophomore outside/right side hitter Evie Duncan (Evansville, Indiana) put USI up by three. Lindenwood would score seven of the next nine points to regain the lead, 18-16. It was back-and-forth action until Lindenwood tallied back-to-back kills to win the set. The opening set was the closest set of the afternoon with a match-high 13 tie scores and four lead changes.
 
After losing the first set, USI took care of business in the second frame, 25-21. Down by three, the Eagles went on a 4-0 stint that lifted them into a 10-9 lead. After going down 11-10, USI went on another 4-0 run, this time led by Duncan who tallied three kills in the short surge. The Eagles did not let the lead go and went on to tie the match at one. USI played a solid offensive set, tallying 12 kills and just four errors to end with a .242 hitting percentage. Lindenwood struggled with errors in the second set, recording 11 kills and nine errors.
 
The Lions got their revenge on the Eagles after earning a 25-20 third-frame victory. With USI leading 11-10, Lindenwood went on a 7-0 run before Bednar could end the Eagles’ drought with a pair of kills. However, that did not slow the Lions down as they went on a short 3-0 stint to make it 20-13. USI was able to tally seven of the final 12 points, but it was not enough to stop Lindenwood from taking a 2-1 match advantage.
 
A pair of late runs helped USI earn the 25-22 victory in the fourth set. With the Lions holding a solid five-point lead, the Eagles went on a crucial 10-2 run that put them up 16-13. After some solid offense from Lindenwood, the Lions were able to knot it up at 18 before a Lindenwood error and a kill from sophomore middle blocker Lauren O’Neill (Covington, Indiana) gave USI the lead again. With a 23-22 lead, the Eagles took advantage of back-to-back Lindenwood errors to seal their fate and tie the match at two apiece. USI had its best offensive performance in the fourth frame, earning 15 kills and just four errors compared to Lindenwood’s 13 kills and eight errors.
 
It was all Lions in the final set, as Lindenwood strolled to a 15-6 victory. Before they knew it, the Eagles were down 6-0 before O’Neill stopped the bleeding with a kill to give USI its first point of the set. Lindenwood went on a short 3-0 run to extend its lead to eight before the Eagles scored five of the next seven points to make it 11-6. The Lions ended the night on a 4-0 surge that resulted in the Eagles’ 15th loss of the season. Lindenwood totaled 10 kills and one error in the final set as USI had four kills and three errors.
 
Bednar proved to be the heaviest hitter of the match after totaling 21 kills and 15 digs while Duncan backed her up with 11 kills and five digs. Also nabbing double-digit digs were freshman libero/defensive specialist Keira Moore (Newburgh, Indiana) with a team-high 21, sophomore setter Carly Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Indiana) with 15, and sophomore outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) with 12. Leading the passing game was Sobieralski who dished out 31 assists as junior outside/right side hitter/setter Katherine Koch (Belleville, Illinois) earned 10 assists. Guarding the net was sophomore middle hitter Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana) who threw down a match-high six blocks.
 
USI produced its best offensive night of the season after recording a season-high 60 kills, 53 assists, and 93 digs to go along with five aces and eight blocks (one solo and 14 assists). Lindenwood matched with 60 kills, 54 assists, and 92 digs along with 10 aces and six blocks.
 
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