EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (6-9, 1-2 OVC) falls in a nail-biter against University of Tennessee at Martin (3-9, 1-2 OVC) in five sets (15-25, 25-21, 20-25, 25-21, 13-15).
 
Junior Keira Moore had a special night eclipsing 1,000 career digs. Moore reached this mark in only her third year becoming the 15^th Screaming Eagle to achieve this remarkable achievement. The Castle product also earned a season-high 29 digs tonight.
 
Set 1: UTM 25, USI 15
USI came out flat falling behind early, 12-6 on six USI attacking errors. Senior Jasmine Green tried to help the Eagles dig themselves out of the hole with two big kills. However, the Skyhawk offense overwhelmed the Eagles with a set high .229 hitting percentage compared to USI’s -.026 percentage. The Eagles dropped their 11^th first set of the season.
 
Set 2: UTM 21, USI 25
USI minimized the self-inflicted mistakes in set two with only five errors. Sophomore Leah Coleman, senior Paris Downing, and sophomore Ashby Willis came alive smashing two kills each to give the Eagles a 13-11 lead. The senior duo of Carly Sobieralski to Downing connected to clinch the set two victory. Junior Bianca Anderson, Coleman, Downing, and Green all tallied multiple kills to keep the Skyhawks guessing. The second set victory marked the Eagles ninth second frame win of the year.
 
Set 3: UTM 25, USI 20
USI struggled to start the set once again falling behind 14-8 committing seven attack errors. Coleman led the Eagles on a charge with three consecutive kills from Sobieralski. However, the early deficit became too steep to overcome. The Skyhawks dominated blocking the Eagles at the net through three sets with 12 total blocks opposed USI’s two.

Set 4: UTM 21, USI 25
The Eagles reversed the early trends jumping out to the hot start, 8-5. Anderson swatted home her patented kill straight through the middle to extend the Eagles lead, 12-9.  She continued to feast with her fourth kill of the set to maintain a four-point lead. Moore frustrated the Skyhawk attack tallying nine set digs leading the Eagles with 23. USI forced game five after only committing four errors.
 
Set 5: UTM 15, USI 13
USI fell into another hole as the Skyhawks took the first five points. The Eagles roared back on a four-point run off emphatic kills from Downing and Green. Moore led another USI run of five points with a rare kill off a dig, along with a service ace making it 9-6 Eagles. After a UT Martin timeout, the Skyhawks erupted on a 7-1 run to lead 13-10. Willis answered with a kill and service ace to draw within one. However, USI failed to mount another late run falling in five sets.
 
Downing lead the Eagles offensively for the first team this season with 13 kills at a season high. Sobieralski finished with 46 assists and 13 digs in another double-double. Moore tallied a monstrous 29 digs, missing a career high by three digs. Downing also excelled defensively with four blocks.

As a team, USI finished with 55 kills, 51 assists, 80 digs, four aces, seven blocks, and a .134 attacking percentage. The Skyhawks earned 62 kills, 59 assists, 92 digs, six aces, 15 blocks, and a .147 hitting percentage.
 

FAIRFIELD, Ill. – The Vincennes University volleyball team hit the road Tuesday night for another Region 24 road showdown, this time heading to Fairfield, Ill. to take on Frontier Community College.

The Trailblazers handled business against the Bobcats, coming away with a big sweep 25-12, 25-11, 25-10 ahead of the 2024 Showdown on the Wabash tournament.

VU got the night started off strong by quickly building a 14-5 lead over Frontier in the opening set.

Frontier would cut the deficit to six after three unanswered points but Vincennes was able to rebound and pull away late with a 6-0 run to take set one 25-12 and gain a 1-0 match lead.

Set two began as more of a back-and-forth affair, with Frontier gaining their first lead of the night at 5-2 before Vincennes answered back with six straight to take the lead back at 8-5.

Vincennes would hold on to this lead, closing out the second set with a massive 13-2 scoring run to take set two 25-11 and earn a 2-0 match lead.

The Trailblazers continued to show their strength in set three, looking to close out the sweep, Vincennes only allowed Frontier to score consecutive points once in the set as VU again pulled away late with a 10-1 scoring run to take set three 25-10 and complete the three set sweep.

“We wanted to play hard and to play hard respectfully,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “We talked about being on task in all parts of the game and especially do better in our offense, which was way off last week.”

The Trailblazer offense was led by sophomores Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) and Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) who each recorded nine kills in the match.

Tavares also added one block, while Dalla Pozza led the Blazers with three blocks, two aces and two digs.

Sophomore Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) and freshman Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) each finished the night with five kills, with Dias adding four digs and one block and Sadowska adding two blocks.

Sophomore Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) finished her night with four kills and two blocks, while freshman Paulina Fister (Tuszyn, Poland) came away with four kills, four digs, three set assists and one block.

Freshman Karen Kodi (West Carrollton, Ohio) rounded out the VU offensive numbers with a pair of kills on the night.

Sophomore setter Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) ran the VU offense very well, distributing the ball to 17 set assists, three digs and two aces.

Freshman Rylee Edwards (Fairfield, Ill.) put on a show for her hometown crowd, finishing with 12 set assists and five digs.

Sophomore Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) entered the match in the third set and finished her night with seven set assists and three digs.

Sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) led the Vincennes back row defense with a team-high 11 digs and one ace, while freshman Ashley Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) added four digs and a pair of aces.

Freshman Julianna Rettig (Antioch, Ill.) closed out the VU box score with a pair of digs and one ace on the night.

“I thought Paulina swung very well tonight and we need her to,” Sien added. “I thought our setters, Dylan, Libby and Rylee made some great setting choices, especially in the middle. Allison and Elisa had some great swings in the middle as we hit over .300 percent tonight.”

“Laura swung well too and Grace was on point in serve receive as well,” Sien said.

JONESBORO, Ark. – University of Southern Indiana Men’s Golf finished in a tie for sixth place this week at the Bubba Barnett Intercollegiate hosted by Arkansas State University.
 
As a team, Southern Indiana shot 863 (292-280-291) over three rounds and 54 holes of competition. Senior Sam Vertanen led the Screaming Eagles in red numbers by shooting four under par and 212 (71-70-71), earning a tie for 17^th on the individual leaderboard. Vertanen was one stroke off his 54-hole USI career best.
 
Round 1
The opening round saw Vertanen finish atop the scoresheet with a one-under 71. In addition to Vertanen, junior Carter Goebel finished second on the team at 73 (+1).
 
The Screaming Eagles carded 292 (+4) as a team, putting them in ninth place after the first round.
 
Round 2
Senior Jason Bannister and Goebel each logged a four-under 68 in round two, the best individual round scores by USI in the tournament.
 
After an impressive first round, Vertanen improved further in round two by shooting one stroke less with a two-under round of 70.
 
USI made its team leaderboard jump in the second round, going from ninth to sixth place. The Eagles improved by 12 strokes in round two by shooting 280 (-8) collectively, three strokes ahead of Ohio Valley Conference foe University of Tennessee at Martin.
 
Round 3
Southern Indiana cooled off a bit in round three Tuesday but held its spot in sixth. The Screaming Eagles posted a 291 (+3) in the final round. UT Martin started the day hot to catch USI but cooled off to tie the Eagles in sixth on the team leaderboard.
 
Sophomore Hunter Reynolds and senior Wade Worthington, who each notched an eagle in the opening round Monday, saw their best round in round three shooting 73 (+1). Vertanen tied his first-round performance at 71 (-1), earning him the top spot for USI.
 

 Aces finish in 15^th place

 JONESBORO, Ark. – With a 2-over 74 in the final round of the Bubba Barnett Intercollegiate on Tuesday, Andres Rodriguez picked up the top finish for the University of Evansville men’s golf team at RidgePointe Country Club.

After carding scores of 74 and 71 in the opening rounds, Rodriguez posted a 74 in round three.  His 219 tied him for 40^th place.  Completing the tournament two behind Rodriguez was Omar Khalid.  He matched Rodriguez’ team low for the day, registering a 74.  His final tally of 221 tied him for 48^th.

Finishing third on the Purple Aces squad was Daniil Romashkin.  He shot a 79 on Tuesday, giving him a 229 for the weekend.  His scored tied him for 69^th.  Following him was Mason Taylor.  Highlighted by a 74 in the first 18 holes, Taylor wrapped up the tournament with a 232.  Making his debut for UE, Jamison Ousley posted an 80 in the third round and finished with a 242 over the course of 54 holes.

Evansville’s final tally of 898 put them in 15^th place, just four behind Eastern Illinois.  Arkansas State cruised to the team and individual wins.  Their team final of 822 bested Oklahoma Christian by 15 strokes.  Thomas Schmidt of ASU was the medalist with a 197.  He matched his tournament-low round of 65 on Tuesday.

Just two more fall events remain for UE.  Next week, the team will be in Lexington, Ky. for the Cullan Brown Collegiate.  It will take place on Monday and Tuesday.

Aces tied for 14^th place

 JONESBORO, Ark. – Mason Taylor recorded a hole-in-one on the final hole of the day as the University of Evansville men’s golf team completed the opening two rounds of the Bubba Barnett Intercollegiate at RidgePointe Country Club.

Taylor’s walk-off shot gave him a 3-over 75 in the second round.  After posting a 74 to open the day, Taylor completed Monday’s action with a 149 and is tied for 55^th.

Leading the way for the Purple Aces is Andres Rodriguez.  Sitting in a tie for 36^th, Rodriguez opened with a 74 before carding a 1-under 71 to finish the day.  Two behind him was Omar Khalid.  His first-round score finished at a 76 before he completed the day with a 71 in round two.  His 147 is tied for 49^th.

While Taylor ranks third on the team, Daniil Romashkin is fourth.  His low score of 71 came in the first 18 holes before he registered a 79 in the second.  Jamison Ousley rounded out the team with scores of 77 and 85 to wrap up the day with a 162.

As a team, the Aces are tied for 14^th place with a 591.  They are tied with Eastern Illinois.  Arkansas State paces the team standings with a 548.  The Red Wolves lead Austin Peay and Texas State by 11 strokes.  Thomas Schmidt of ASU is the individual leader with a 132.  His scores finished at 67 and 65.

Tuesday will mark the third and final round of the tournament.