University of Southern Indiana Volleyball rallied from a pair of one-set deficits, but a late 4-1 spiral proved to be the difference-maker as the Screaming Eagles suffered a 25-15, 20-25, 25-16, 21-25, 15-13 Great Lakes Valley Conference setback to host University of Illinois Springfield Friday night.
After tying the match with a four-point win in the fourth frame, the Screaming Eagles looked poised to end an eight-match losing streak as they led 12-11 in the first-to-15 fifth set.
Illinois Springfield (10-20, 3-14 GLVC), however, sandwiched a pair of 2-0 runs around a USI tally to end the Eagles’ chances and secure the two-point victory in the deciding frame.
After seeing an 8-1 Illinois Springfield run end any hope of a USI win in the opening set, the Eagles bounced back to grab a commanding seven-point advantage midway through the second stanza on the strength of a 9-2 run. USI’s lead eventually shrunk to three points later in the frame, but a 3-1 spurt to end the set secured the five-point win for the Eagles and tied the match at 1-1.
The Eagles (9-20, 3-14 GLVC) trailed 13-12 midway through the third set before a 6-1 Prairie Star run put the game out of reach. USI used a 7-2 run to break an 11-11 tie and take control of the fourth set. USI led by as much as six points before settling on the four-point victory.
Neither team could create much separation in the fifth set, though the Prairie Stars did hold a 7-5 lead before a 5-2 push put the Eagles in front by a point. The Eagles tied the set at 13-13, following Illinois Springfield’s 2-0 spurt to take the late lead, on a kill by freshman right side hitter Amanda Jung (Belleville, Illinois).
Illinois Springfield, however, answered with a kill by Sarah Bond to set up match-point, while a USI ball handling error ended the contest in the Prairie Stars’ favor.
Jung finished with 10 kills, while senior middle/outside hitter Amy Zwissler (Bloomington, Indiana) had a team-best 14 kills.
Sophomore setter Erika Peoples (Bloomington, Illinois) had 40 assists, 14 digs and three blocks to aid the Eagles, while freshman outside hitter Mikaila Humphrey (Floyd Knobs, Indiana) had nine kills and a team-best 21 digs.
Junior libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) finished with 19 digs to close to within 33 of the single-season school record (590). Junior defensive specialistJessica Lee (Mackinaw, Illinois) and sophomore defensive specialist Haley Limper (Springfield, Illinois) added 12 and 10 digs, respectively.
Farrell needs all 33 of those digs in Saturday’s season-finale against McKendree University if she is to tie or surpass Kayla Heldman’s mark of 590, which was set in 2013. She needs just six digs to move past Shannon Wells for third all-time at USI.
USI’s season-finale versus McKendree Saturday is 5 p.m. in Lebanon, Illinois. The Bearcats (20-9, 15-2 GLVC) defeated Bellarmine University in four sets Friday night.
