Eagles Set For Big Week, Home Opener

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 University of Southern Indiana Volleyball has another busy slate this week as it plays three matches, starting with a trip to Nashville, Tennessee, to take on NCAA II Midwest Region foe Trevecca Nazarene University Tuesday at 6 p.m.

Later in the week, the Screaming Eagles open their 2016 home and Great Lakes Valley Conference schedules as they play host to William Jewell College Friday at 7 p.m. and Rockhurst University Saturday at 3 p.m.

Friday’s match features a free combo meal (includes a hot dog, chips and a bottled drink) for USI students with a valid ID; while USI students can enter a raffle to win a $500 Campus Store shopping spree each time they come to a USI Volleyball home match. The drawing is October 28 when the Eagles host Missouri University of Science & Technology.

All fans can participate in the Premiere Tan serving contest between sets two and three for all home matches.

USI Volleyball Notes

Tough trip: The Eagles saw their perfect 4-0 mark to start the year fall by the wayside as they went 1-3 at the Augustana Invitational. USI suffered a pair of three-set defeats to then No. 13 Winona State as well as a 3-0 loss to then No. 22 Augustana. The Eagles closed the weekend on a strong note as they dropped Chadron State in three sets to improve to 5-3 on the year.

Statistical leaders: Freshman outside hitter Mikaila Humphrey (Floyd Knobs, Indiana) leads USI with 2.84 kills per set, while junior libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) is averaging a team-best 4.90 digs per set. Senior setter Quin Shoultz (Columbus, Indiana) is averaging a team-high 8.16 assists per set, while junior middle hitter Te’Ayla Whitfield(Fort Wayne, Indiana) is chipping in a team-best 1.03 blocks per frame.

All-Tournament: Farrell was named to the Augustana Invitational All-Tournament team after averaging 6.42 digs per set during the four-match weekend.

Countdown to 1,000: Farrell needs 67 digs to become the 11th player in program history to reach the 1,000-dig plateau in her career. She currently ranks 16th in program history with 933.

Scouting the competition: USI went 2-1 against this week’s competition a year ago. The Eagles posted three-set wins over William Jewell and Trevecca Nazarene, but suffered a straight-set defeat to Rockhurst.

Trevecca Nazarene, a member of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference, is off to a 4-4 start to the season after splitting last week’s action at the Scott Jones Classic in Nashville.

William Jewell enters this week’s action with a 4-4 overall record after going 2-2 at the Country Inn & Suites Invitational in Sioux Falls, South Dakota, last weekend.

Rockhurst, the 2015 NCAA II Midwest Region champions, went 3-1 last weekend to improve its record to 5-3 on the campaign. The Hawks play Benedictine College and Bellarmine before visiting the Eagles Saturday.