EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (1-2) will head across the city of Evansville to battle the University of Evansville (1-1) on Tuesday at Meeks Family Fieldhouse at 7 p.m. The Screaming Eagles look to reverse their fortunes from last year’s 3-0 loss to the Purple Aces.
Game Coverage
Information about USI Volleyball, including live stats, video, and audio broadcasts, is available on USIScreamingEagles.com.
Tickets
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Screaming Eagles Headlines:
Eagles show promise. The Screaming Eagles went 1-2 at the Indiana Invitational, defeating Radford University in sweeping fashion. USI has already matched their win total from last season when the Eagles went 1-28.
Aucoin gets first win. Newly hired head coach Jeffrey Aucoin earned his first-ever head coaching win on Friday against Radford. Prior to USI, Aucoin spent 10 seasons at Harvard University as an assistant coach.
Consistent Starts. In just three matches, senior Leah Anderson has racked up 10 or more kills while junior Carly Sobieralski has totaled 20 or more assists in the same number of matches. Junior Abby Weber has the same number of aces (7) as sets played.
OVC Leaderboard. USI ranks second in digs per set (15.60) and opponent service aces per set (0.80) within the conference. The Eagles also stand fourth in aces per set (1.60), fifth in assists per set (10.30), and sixth in multiple categories including kills per set (10.80) and opponent hitting percentage (.189).
OVC Leaders. Junior Abby Weber leads the conference with one service ace per set while senior Leah Anderson is third best in kills per set (4.10). Junior Carly Sobieralski is fourth in assists per set (8.60) while sophomore Keira Moore has the seventh most digs per set (3.80).
Team Leaders. Senior Leah Anderson leads the pack in a pair of categories with 41 kills and six blocks. Junior Carly Sobieralski has shown true potential in the passing game, putting up 87 assists. Junior Abby Weber has produced a team-leading seven service aces while sophomore Keira Moore has added 38 digs to the stat line.
You Have To #OVCit. The Eagles are in their second season in NCAA Division I and the OVC. USI is looking for their first conference tournament berth in the DI era, but only the top eight teams make it to the championship.
New Faces. USI has added five newcomers to the roster: Leah Coleman, Ellie Marbet, Mariah Minor, Jillian Moonan, and Maeve Moonan. The Eagles also hired first-year head coach Jeffrey Aucoin as the 13th head coach in program history.
Preseason Poll and All-OVC. Senior Leah Anderson scored enough votes to land herself on the 2023 Preseason All-OVC Team. The Eagles were picked to finish last out of 11 teams within the conference. Anderson has earned preseason honors in back-to-back seasons and is the only player to be on the All-OVC Preseason Team in USI program history.
All-Conference Selection. Senior Leah Anderson nabbed the program’s first-ever All-OVC honor in 2022, securing second-team accolades.
Schedule Forecast. The Eagles’ 2023 campaign will consist of 12 home, 13 away, and four neutral matches. USI will also host a four-team tournament in September. The conference slate will feature nine home and nine away matches including the OVC Championship in late November.
History in Progress. Senior Leah Anderson will look to leave her mark as one of the greatest in USI Volleyball history. She enters the 2023 season ranked No. 3 all-time at USI with 169 career service aces, No. 5 with 1,272 kills, and No. 10 with 1,123 digs. The outside hitter became the 15th player to reach 1,000 kills, the 13th player to reach 1,000 digs, and the fifth player in program history to reach both feats. She has joined an elite group that includes Shannon Wells, Jamie Roth, Danielle Peter, and Leeanne Gross in the 1,000 kills/1,000 digs club.
About Evansville. The Purple Aces have a 1-1 record going into the match after defeating Central Michigan, 3-2. UE finished last season with a 16-19 overall record and an 11-7 MVC record. So far, the Purple Aces have accumulated 93 kills, 90 assists, and 20 aces along with 100 digs and 20 blocks. USI and UE faced off for the first time in the regular season last year when the Purple Aces defeated the Eagles, 3-0, at Meeks Family Fieldhouse. This will be UE’s first home match of the season.
Leading the Purple Aces. Junior Giulia Cardona has racked up 42 kills, 26 digs, and eight aces in eight sets to lead UE. Sophomore Kora Ruff leads the passing game with 63 assists while senior Brooke Springer and junior Madisyn Steele each have nine blocks to lead the Purple Aces at the net.
More Information. For more information about USI Volleyball and Athletics, go to USIScreamingEagles.com or follow USI Athletics on Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram.
