University of Southern Indiana Volleyball continues its six-match homestand with four matches in an eight-day span, including three Great Lakes Valley Conference East Division bouts.
USI hosts Bellarmine University Tuesday at 7 p.m. at the Physical Activities Center before hosting the University of Wisconsin-Parkside in its “Dig for the Cure†match Friday at 7 p.m. The Screaming Eagles finish the week by hosting No. 14 Lewis University Saturday at 3 p.m.; then host Kentucky State University in a non-conference match October 11 at 6 p.m. to finish their homestand.
The Eagles (7-8, 2-4 GLVC), who are coming off a three-set win over the University of Illinois Springfield, will wear their pink uniforms in their “Dig for the Cure†match Friday night.
Live stats and GLVC Sports Network coverage for all four matches can be found at GoUSIEagles.com.
USI Volleyball Notes (10/3/16)
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Dig for the Cure. The Eagles will wear their pink uniforms when they host UW-Parkside Friday night in an effort to raise breast cancer awareness. Fans are encouraged to join USI by wearing pink.
Farrell continues to ascend USI record books. Junior libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) continues her climb in the Eagles’ record book as she moved past Erica Oberbroeckling and Leanne Gross for ninth all-time with 1,077 career digs. She needs just six more digs to move past Janae Curnutt for eighth place on USI’s all-time list.
Zwissler shows versatility. Senior middle hitter Amy Zwissler (Bloomington, Indiana) continues to show her versatility. A year after filling in for the Eagles as an outside hitter, Zwissler has found herself in the same situation as she played as an outside hitter in USI’s matches versus McKendree University and the University of Illinois Springfield. She had 17 kills and a .333 attacking percentage in USI’s three-set win over Illinois Springfield.
Zwissler moves up block charts. Zwissler continues to climb in USI’s all-time block lists. She currently ranks eighth all-time at USI with 239 block assists and is just two blocks shy of seventh place on USI’s all-time total blocks list (since 2000).
Last week. After dropping their fourth straight match in a four-set loss to McKendree, the Eagles bounced back with a three-set win over Illinois Springfield Saturday at the PAC. Zwissler led the Eagles, offensively, with 3.86 kills per set, while sophomore setter Erika Peoples (Bloomington, Illinois) averaged 10.14 kills and 3.71 digs per set. Farrell averaged 5.57 digs per set to lead the Eagles’ back row.
Coleman gets her start. After redshirting a year ago, freshman middle hitter Elexis Coleman (Joliet, Illinois) saw the first action of her collegiate career this past weekend when she got the start versus McKendree and Illinois Springfield. She had three blocks in the loss to McKendree before racking up eight kills in the win over Illinois Springfield.
Statistical leaders. Freshman outside hitter Mikaila Humphrey (Floyd Knobs, Indiana) leads USI with 2.78 kills per set, while Peoples and Farrell lead the Eagles with 9.60 assists and 5.30 digs per frame, respectively. Junior middle hitter Te’Ayla Whitfield (Fort Wayne, Indiana) is averaging a team-high 0.93 blocks per set, while Farrell is averaging a team-high 0.30 aces per stanza.
In the GLVC. At 2-4 in league play, USI is currently sitting in a tie for fifth in the GLVC East Division, but is just a game out of fourth and two back of third place.
Individually, Farrell ranks third in the GLVC with 5.30 digs per set, while Peoples and senior setter Quin Shoultz (Columbus, Indiana) are fifth and eighth, respectively, with 9.60 and 8.11 assists per game. Whitfield rounds out the Eagles’ GLVC statistical representatives as she ranks 10th with 0.93 blocks per set.
Scouting the opposition.
Bellarmine begins the week with an 11-4 overall record and a 2-4 mark in GLVC play after going 1-1 in league play last week. The Knights defeated Illinois Springfield in five sets Friday night before dropping a four-set affair to McKendree the following day.
USI and Bellarmine split the season-series a year ago, with each team posting four-set wins on their home court in 2015.
UW-Parkside is 6-10 overall and 4-2 in the GLVC as it begins the week by visiting Lewis Tuesday. The Rangers went 2-1 last week, including 1-1 in GLVC play. They lost at the University of Indianapolis in five sets Friday night before earning a four-set win at Saint Joseph’s College and a three-set win over Kentucky State the following day.
The Eagles are trying to stop a two-match losing streak to UW-Parkside after falling to the Rangers in five sets in each of the last two seasons.
Lewis takes a 12-3 overall record, a 6-0 mark in league play and a seven-match winning streak into its bout versus UW-Parkside Tuesday. The Flyers, who visit Bellarmine Friday night, lead the GLVC East Division after posting three-set wins over Saint Joseph’s, Kentucky State, and Indianapolis last week.
USI is trying to snap a two-match losing streak to the Flyers after losing in four sets a year ago and three sets two years ago.
Kentucky State begins a busy week with a 12-10 overall record and an 8-1 mark in Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference play. The Thorobreds play matches Monday and Wednesday before a five-match weekend at the SIAC West Cluster in Tuskegee, Alabama.
The Eagles last played Kentucky State in 2014, when they posted a four-set win over the Thorobreds. USI is 10-0 since 1990 against Kentucky State.
