University of Southern Indiana senior right side hitter Erica Oberbroeckling (Westfield, Indiana) had a career-high 25 kills and sophomore libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) finished with 26 digs to lead the Screaming Eagles’ volleyball team to a 25-20, 23-25, 31-29, 25-14 Great Lakes Valley Conference victory over visiting Maryville University Friday night at the Physical Activities Center.
Oberbroeckling had 12 kills in the third set alone as the Eagles erased an early 12-4 deficit to earn the momentum-stealing two-point victory.
USI (18-9, 7-7 GLVC) struggled to maintain momentum in the opening stanza, although a late 7-1 run lifted the Eagles to a five-point win and a 1-0 lead in the match.
Maryville (11-16, 3-11 GLVC) countered the Eagles with a two-point win in the second set; then stormed out of the gates following the intermission to build a commanding eight-point lead early in the third set.
Oberbroeckling, however, dominated the third set as she had three kills in USI’s 14-4 run that saw the Eagles turn their eight-point deficit into an 18-16 lead. She had three more kills during a 3-1 run that gave USI a 23-21 advantage; then had a kill on three of Maryville’s five set-point opportunities in the late stages of the frame to keep the Eagles alive. Her 12th kill of the set clinched the two-point win and gave USI a 2-1 lead in the match.
The Eagles, who improved to 9-1 at the PAC this year, dominated the third set as they hit .567. Oberbroeckling, who hit .555 in the third set, continued her strong play in the fourth frame as he converted seven of her 11 attacks into kills for a .636 attacking percentage.
Senior middle blocker Abbey Winter (Germantown, Illinois) converted five of her six attacks into kills during the fourth set as USI used a 7-0 run midway through the stanza to break away from the Saints.
For the match, Oberbroeckling hit .415 while adding nine digs and three blocks to her stat line—she needs 13 digs to reach 1,000 for her career. Winter added 13 kills and a .385 attacking percentage, while sophomore outside hitter Shelbi Morris (Brazil, Indiana) finished with 10 kills and 10 digs.
Junior setter Quin Shoultz (Columbus, Indiana) came off the bench to tally 38 assists in less than three sets of action, while senior defensive specialistErin Goldschmidt (Smithton, Illinois) contributed 13 digs to the Eagles’ back row.
Farrell had 24 digs through the first three sets, including nine in the opening stanza and eight in the third frame.
USI returns to action Saturday at 3 p.m. when it hosts the University of Missouri-St. Louis at the PAC. The Tritons (13-14, 7-7 GLVC) defeated Bellarmine University in three sets Friday night in Louisville, Kentucky.
