EVANSVILLE, Ind. — University of Southern Indiana Women’s Swimming and Diving has made serious strides in year three of the program’s existence, emerging victorious against crosstown rival University of Evansville at Wyttenbach Pool on Friday evening, 137-99. The victory marks the first in program history over the Purple Aces improving each year. 
 
The Screaming Eagles were led by freshman Anna Bunnell, shattering both school diving records once again. Bunnell smashed the three-meter record by a wide margin, scoring 238.05 in a second-place effort. Freshman Gabbie Meier also excelled in the three-meter event with her personal best score of 229.43. This was the third time she has broken the school record this season which was previously 229.15. The freshman also took the top spot in the one-meter dive (226.88), finishing second against a high-skilled Evansville diver. 

The Screaming Eagles finished atop the podium in the 200-medley relay (1:48.52). The combination of freshman Elizabeth Ketcham, freshman Simone Green, junior Sarah-Catherine Dawson and sophomore Hayden Shurtz secured second place in the USI record book with their effort. The medley squad continues to improve, finishing 0.24 seconds faster than their last competition. 
 
USI took the top two spots in the 100 freestyle with sophomore Reagan Holmes in first (54.56), and sophomore Caiya Cooper right behind (55.15). Shurtz emerged on top in the 100 breaststroke (1:06.49), while Ketcham won the 50 freestyle (25.06).
 
Ketcham, Cooper, Green and Holmes continued their winning ways in the 200 freestyle relay, touching the pad in first-place at 1:39.34.
 
Other Notable Performances
200 freestyle: Freshman Alivia Scott (2:01.39)
200 individual medley: Freshman Emma Gabhart (2:12.03)
500 freestyle: Junior Elizabeth Busby (5:40.75)
 

EDWARDSVILLE, Ill.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (8-15, OVC 3-8) dropped their sixth-straight Ohio Valley Conference match on Friday night on the road against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (9-13, OVC 4-7) in four sets (22-25, 25-23, 18-25, 22-25).
 
Set 1: USI 22, SIUE 25
USI jumped out to a three-point lead capitalizing on early errors from the Cougars. However, the Cougars woke up rattling off a five-point run to gain a 6-4 lead. Senior Carly Sobieralski placed dimes across the court to senior Jasmine Green, senior Paris Downing, junior Bianca Anderson, and sophomore Leah Coleman as the Eagles tied the match at 16. SIUE won the crunch time points mounting a 5-2 run to conclude the set finishing with a .293 hitting percentage.
 
Set 2: USI 25, SIUE 23
The middle hitters for USI of Anderson and Downing dominated set two. The Cougars seemed to have USI in a blender with a 11-17 deficit and zero blocks up to that point. However, the Eagles mounted a 9-1 run taking a 20-18. Downing finished the set on an absolute team contributing to five straight points with three kills and two block assists. The senior crushed a kill after the Cougars mounted a three-point run on set point as she finished with seven set kills and four blocks. Anderson also swatted six set kills as the Eagles controlled the match through the middle in set two.
 
Set 3: USI 18, SIUE 25
USI was forced to call an early timeout after struggling with receptions trailing 8-2. Anderson stopped the bleeding with a critical slide. Willis came alive with two kills and a solo block bringing the Eagles within four. The Cougars erupted on a 6-1 run to double up the Eagles at 18-9. USI made a late set charge, but the Cougars prevailed winning set three. After three sets, SIUE showed more efficiency with their passes and swings hitting .252, while USI hit a .188 percentage.  
 
Set 4: USI 22, SIUE 25
Despite the significant set three loss, USI gained some momentum at the end of the set which carried into set four. Junior Keira Moore delivered a service ace and Anderson smoked two kills earning a 7-6 lead. SIUE recorded another ace taking a 15-12 lead into the media timeout. The Cougars swatted their 12^th block and 10^th service to extend their lead to 19-14. Senior Abby Weber added a service ace along with kills from Willis, Sobieralski, and Coleman mounting a four-point run. However, USI failed to convert at the end of sets dropping the first matchup in Edwardsville.
 
Anderson and Downing tied offensively with 13 kills each. Sobieralski racked up 43 assists, while Moore laid her body on the line all night with 26 digs. Moore has snatched 15+ digs in her past ten matches. Downing swatted her season high of seven blocks.

As a team, USI finished with 51 kills, 47 assists, 74 digs, three aces, ten blocks, and a .120 attacking percentage. The Cougars earned 54 kills, 45 assists, 68 digs, ten aces, 12 blocks, and a .203 hitting percentage.
 

Aces earn another 5-set victory

UE defeats Bradley on Saturday

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For the second evening in a row, the University of Evansville volleyball team earned a 5-set victory in come-from-behind fashion, defeating Bradley by a 3-2 final on Saturday at Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

Another spectacular night saw Giulia Cardona record 31 kills along with 10 digs.  Chloe Cline finished with eight kills while Angelica Gonzalez added seven.  Ainoah Cruz posted a match-best 21 digs while Kora Ruff tallied 35 assists and 11 digs.

Set 1 – UE 25, Bradley 22

Game one set the tone for a competitive evening.  Bradley was the first team to take a multi-point lead, going up 9-7.  Evansville rebounded with three in a row to go back. In front as Kora Ruff picked up an ace.

The turning point for the Purple Aces came after the Braves took a 19-18 lead.  UE rallied to scored five in a row as Josdarilee Caraballo tallied an ace.  A service error by BU set the Aces up with a 24-20 edge before Cardona had the clinching kill.

Set 2 – Bradley 25, UE 21

In the second set, the Braves had the early momentum, going up 9-5.  Three in a row cut the deficit to one before Bradley extended the advantage to 17-12.  Evansville continued to remain within striking distance before BU evened the match with a 4-point win.

Set 3 – Bradley 25, UE 23

A similar set took place in the third as the Braves held multiple leads while the Aces remained close.  Bradley held an 8-5 lead before a Cardona kill set UE up with a 10-9 edge.  Another kill by Cardona made it a 16-14 game before the Braves rallied back with five in a row to go up by three.  Evansville cut the deficit to 22-21, but it was BU who scored the final two to take a 2-1 match lead.

Set 4 – UE 26, Bradley 24

Multiple lead changes ensued leading to a 15-15 score.  Neither squad led by more than two until Evansville scored three in a row as Cardona registered three consecutive kills.  Once again, Bradley had the answer, retaking a 24-23 edge.  Down to its final point, UE took over and scored the final three points to force a fifth game.

Set 5 – UE 15, Bradley 10

Evansville was cranking on all cylinders to open the frame, jumping out to a 5-0 lead.  Ruff did the serving and recorded another ace.  Bradley did its best to overcome the slow start, getting within three points (9-6), but the UE attack proved to be too much.  The Aces pulled away to clinch the match with a 15-10 decision.

Next weekend, the homestand continues with matches against Belmont and Murray State on Thursday and Friday.

No. 18 Trailblazers fall in final game of 2024 Kiwanis Classic

VINCENNES, Ind. – The No. 18 ranked Vincennes University Trailblazers closed out the 2024 Kiwanis Classic Saturday night inside the Physical Education Complex.

The Blazers came out on the wrong end of a 80-68 final score against Columbia State Community College in the final game of the weekend Classic.

Vincennes opened the game with an excellent start, scoring the first seven points of the game and quickly building a 12-5 advantage over the Chargers.

VU would maintain this lead until Columbia State closed out the first half by outscoring Vincennes 7-2 to take a 44-41 advantage over the Blazers into the locker room break.

Vincennes was able to battle back in the second half, regaining the lead at 53-52 before the lead changed hands several times throughout the middle part of the final 20 minute period.

Columbia State was able to grab the momentum late with a 9-0 scoring run to break open a 75-64 lead, which the Trailblazers were unable to overcome as the Chargers closed out the weekend with an 80-68 victory over VU.

“The better team won,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “It’s that simple. We have always prided ourselves on being the tougher, smarter team and we weren’t tonight. We were neither and that’s on me but it’s also that we are a new team and we’re still trying to figure it out. That’s one of the things that they need to figure out, that what you did before is not going to work at this level with the type of teams that we are playing.”

“Before November 2nd we’ve been on the floor in pretty competitive deals with jamborees against Southeastern Iowa, Walters State, Northeast Mississippi, East Mississippi and Columbia State,” Franklin added. “All teams that have a tremendous chance to get to Hutch. We won three of them, lost two. They have all been competitive and could have gone either way. That’s where we are. We’re in a pile with those guys and if we play sharpe, make shots, tougher and get over the edge we can win it and if we don’t then we lose it.”

“We’ve got to improve if we want to distance ourselves and get above that,” Franklin added. “But that’s where we are. We’re right in that pack of teams. That’s what it’s proven so far. Now we’ve got to figure out what we want to do. Because we are going to have to get better. Because those teams are going to continue to get better. That level is going to continue to get better and that’s the level of teams that are really going to be in contention to get to Hutch with probably another 30 or 40 teams around the country.”

“We’re in that pile,” Franklin said. “We’re not in the upper part of that pile right now. We’re in the middle part of that pile and back. We’re probably 20 to 40 and that’s genuinely where we are at. We’ve got to play better and get better to move up and if we don’t then we might fall all the way out of that. I’m not talking about rankings or polls, I’m talking about reality. We’ve seen that and we’ve played those types of people, so that’s where we are. There are things that we need to clean up, obviously, but the biggest thing right now is we’ve got to find out who are the guys. I don’t know that right now. Who is going to want it bad enough. Who is going to work hard enough. Who is going to want to listen well enough.”

Vincennes was led offensively by 2024 NJCAA All-American sophomore Lebron Thomas (Bishopville, S.C.) who finished with 22 points, three assists and a pair of steals.

Freshman Dayton Williams (Louisville, Ky.) finished just short of his first collegiate double-double, ending the night with 17 points and a team-high nine rebounds.

Sophomore Michael Cooper (Minneapolis, Minn.) was the third VU scorer in double figures, also coming close to a double-double of her own with 16 points and eight rebounds on the night.

The Trailblazers will look to bounce back and get back in the win column when VU hits the floor next weekend for the 2024 McDonald’s Classic Friday, Nov. 8 and Saturday, Nov. 9.

Vincennes will open the weekend classic against Richard J. Daley College Friday, Nov. 8 at 7 p.m. eastern before facing Kennedy-King College Saturday, Nov. 9 at 7 p.m. to close out the weekend.

 “We’re not good enough right now,” Franklin said. “We’ve been good enough. We know how to be good enough and we’re going to have to get there. We’ll see who wants to go to work. And then not only who wants to go to work but who is going to get better. You can say ‘I’m working’ but who is going to get better. That’s what we have to do. We have to work to get better.”

“They should know now and we’ve had plenty of time here playing these teams early that we know what the taste of it is,” Franklin added. “We know that I’m not full of it when I tell them what it is. They’ve got a two-time All-American in DeShawn Delaney in there right now talking to them and was telling them the same thing when I left that ‘that ain’t good enough’ and ‘that ain’t what we do’. So they’ve got to understand. I’ve won a million games and sometimes I’m speaking to them and it’s like they are thinking, ‘is this guy crazy’. No I’m not crazy, I know exactly what it takes and if you are not there yet, I’m going to tell you that. If I tell you you’ve got to pick the intensity up, you’ve got to pick the intensity up.”

“Maybe now we’ll see who wants to because this is a big week coming up,” Franklin said. “It’s a big week because they have no excuse now to not listen and to not come in here with urgency in their work and know what it is. So we’ll see what it is. But tonight the better team won. The guy who did a better job of coaching his team won. Simple, when you compete and play good teams, sometimes they are going to hit you in the mouth and if you don’t respond as well as you want, you go back home and say I didn’t do well enough and I’ve got to get better. That’s where we are at.”

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

VINCENNES (68): Bryan Akanmu 3-8 0-0 6, Michael Cooper 5-9 4-5 16, Taveon Smith 0-4 0-0 0, Lebron Thomas 6-17 8-8 22, Dayton Williams 7-13 3-5 17, Christian Andrews 1-4 0-0 2, Meyoh Swansey 0-0 0-0 0, Jalen Calloway 1-1 0-0 2, Travelle Bryson 1-1 0-0 2, Darstin Onye 0-1 1-2 1, Hussein Elmaraghy 0-1 0-0 0, Team 24-59 16-20 68.

Columbia State – 44   36 – 80

VU (1-1) – 41   27 – 68

Three-point goals: VU 4 (Cooper 2, L. Thomas 2). Rebounds: VU 28 (Williams 9). Assists: VU 14 (Andrews 4). Steals: VU 8 (L. Thomas 2, Andrews 2, Cooper 2). Blocked Shots: VU 7 (Elmaraghy 2). Turnovers: VU 18. Personal Fouls: VU 23. Fouled out: Akanmu.