Eagles search for first road win, face Skyhawks twice

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (1-15, 1-4 OVC) will head southbound once again, this time to Martin, Tennessee for a battle against the University of Tennessee at Martin (10-8, 4-1 OVC) at Skyhawk Fieldhouse Friday at 6 p.m. and Saturday at 2 p.m. The Screaming Eagles have a chance to win their first road contest of the season after earning their first-ever NCAA Division I and Ohio Valley Conference victory at home against Lindenwood University last weekend.
 
Game Coverage
Information about USI Volleyball, including live stats, video, and audio broadcasts, is available on USIScreamingEagles.com. 
 
Tickets
Admission to the USI, UT Martin volleyball match will be free to all attendees. More information can be found here.
 
Screaming Eagles Headlines:
Eagles Win First DI Match. University of Southern Indiana Volleyball defeated Lindenwood Friday night to earn its first-ever NCAA Division I and Ohio Valley Conference victory. The Screaming Eagles swept the Lions in three sets on Friday before dropping the match on Saturday, 3-2.
 
You Have To #OVCit. The Eagles travel to Martin, Tennessee for a pair of matches against the University of Tennessee at Martin while seeking their first win on the road this season. This will be the first meeting between the two programs and the third trip USI has taken to the state of agriculture and commerce.
 
Season Leaders. Junior Leah Anderson leads the group with 164 kills as junior Katherine Koch holds a team-high 333 assists while sophomore Abby Bednar sits atop with 11 aces. On defense, freshman Keira Moore has received 213 digs as sophomore Paris Downing has earned 51 blocks.
 
OVC Leaders. There are five Eagles who sit atop the best in five different categories within the OVC individual standings. Anderson ranks sixth in points (190) and kills (164) while Koch holds fourth most assists per set (7.40). Moore has tallied 213 digs and 4.10 digs per set, putting her at fifth. Downing is currently fourth with 1.13 blocks per set while sophomore Lauren O’Neill is tenth with 27 blocks.
 
Defense Wins Games. The Eagles’ defense is fourth in the OVC with 1.97 blockers per set, fourth with 876 digs, and fifth with 15.10 digs per set. USI is also fifth in the conference with 114 total blocks (17 solo and 194 assists).
 
Keeping it 100. Three Eagles have joined the 100-kill club this season. Anderson has racked up 164, sophomore Abby Weber has nabbed 127, and Bednar totals 126.
 
Double-Doubles. There have been six Eagles who have reached the double-double mark this season. Anderson leads the team with six while Koch has tallied four. Sophomore Carly Sobieralski has earned three while Weber has recorded two. Sophomore Evie Duncan and Bednar have totaled one each.
 
Career-High Performances. Five Eagles set career-highs during last week’s matches. Bednar tallied 21 kills versus Lindenwood while Duncan had her best weekend of the season with 11 kills, 10 digs, and three aces. Moore earned eight assists while freshman Bianca Anderson nabbed six kills and three digs and Downing totaled seven blocks and three digs to raise their career-high numbers.
 
USI by the Set. This season, the Eagles have accumulated four opening set wins compared to winning nine sets between frames two through five. USI has lost in the third set 13 times and lost in the fourth set five times. The Eagles are 0-3 in the fifth frame.
 
Snapping the Streak. The Eagles snapped their 14-game winless streak Friday night when USI swept Lindenwood in three sets. This was the longest winless streak for USI since 2016 (10) and the worst start to a season since 2012 when the Eagles lost their first seven matches. The last time USI lost 10 or more matches to open a season was 1989 when the Eagles lost 10 of their first 11.
 
History in the Making. With Anderson becoming the 15th player to reach 1,000 kills, her new goal is to become the 13th player to reach the 1,000-dig plateau (951). If successful, Anderson would become the fifth player in program history to reach both milestones.
 
All-Tournament Eagles. Bednar and Anderson each earned all-tournament titles in the non-conference slate. Bednar was named to the Kent State Invitational All-Tournament team before earning a bid to the NIU Tri-Match All-Tournament team. Anderson was able to secure all-tournament honors at the Chattanooga Classic.
 
About UT Martin. The Skyhawks are 10-8 overall and have an OVC-leading 4-1 conference record. UT Martin kicked off OVC play with back-to-back wins against Little Rock on the road before coming back home and splitting the weekend matchup against Southeast Missouri. The Skyhawks’ offense has been stellar, leading the OVC in kills (833), assists (775), and service aces (124) while ranking second in hitting percentage (.201).
 
Leading the Skyhawks. Sophomore Angel Baylark leads the conference with 63 blocks while freshman Mia Saenz is right behind with 62. Senior Haeleigh Paulino has been dominating at the line, serving up an OVC-high 29 aces to go along with her team-leading 438 assists. Leading the offense is graduate student Karen Scanlon who has recorded 193 kills, the second most in the OVC.
 
Record Book Watch. The Eagles have one player climbing up the USI Volleyball Record Book:
–Leah Anderson is sixth in service aces (148), 14th in kills (1,043), and 14th in digs (951).