CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball grabbed its third straight win in a thrilling reverse sweep five-set match at Southeast Missouri State University to move to 3-2 in Ohio Valley Conference play.
In the first five-set battle of the 2025 season, the Screaming Eagles came alive in the third set after dropping the first two, to come back and win the game 3-2.
Set 1: SEMO 25, USI 19 The Screaming Eagles started strong with some quick push and pull with the Redhawks. Junior McKenzie Murphy led the offense with three kills, followed by three teammates with two each. The defense that leads the conference in digs per set picked up 17 in the first, led by libero Audrey Small, who had five.
Set 2: SEMO 25, USI 18 Junior outsides Ashby Willis and Leah Coleman split the offense with four kills each. The Eagles struggled to gain the edge in the second set, tying the score five times in the start but ceding control of the set to the Redhawks by SEMO’s tenth point. The SEMO offense hit for its best percent of the night in set two at .471 with just one error, which USI struggled to defend against.
Set 3: USI 25, SEMO 22 The USI defense came alive in the third set to save themselves from a SEMO sweep. The team put up five blocks in the set, led by freshman Carley Wright and senior Bianca Adnerson, who assisted on three blocks each. The Eagles pushed a lead from the beginning and maintained a hold on the lead the whole set. OVC Setter and Freshman of the Week Aysa Thomas marked her 10th consecutive double-double by the third set. She added nine more assists and six more digs, bringing her total mid-match to 26 assists and 15 digs.
Set 4: USI 26, SEMO 24 USI stretched as much as an eight-point lead in the fourth set, and after SEMO fought back in the final plays to tie the game, the Eagles took it in extra points. Willis led the court with eight kills on two errors for a .400 hitting percentage. Thomas dished out 15 assists, balancing the offense, to build a .286 hitting percentage for the team.
Set 5: USI 15, SEMO 10 The Screaming Eagles came out swinging for the tiebreaker fifth set, moving to a four-point lead to open. Coleman scored USI five straight points on an Anderson serving run in the middle of the set. Coleman landed three kills, followed by a block then another kill to swing the Eagle momentum to dominate the final set. Coleman finished the set with six kills, helping the Eagles to their most efficient set of the game, with a .407 hitting percentage on just two errors as a team.
As a team, the Eagles landed a season-high 10 aces, led by senior Keira Moore, who had four to match her career high. Willis led the offense with 21 kills, followed by Coleman with 18. Thomas finished with 52 assists and led the back court with 19 digs for a career high.
USI’s defense, which ranks third in the NCAA in digs per set, picked up 83 digs as a team, with five different Eagles with double-digit digs.
CHARLESTON, Ill. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer recorded its second road result of the week on Thursday afternoon with a 1-1 draw at Eastern Illinois University, extending the team’s unbeaten streak to nine matches. USI Women’s Soccer (5-5-4, 2-0-3 OVC) and Eastern Illinois (7-4-3, 4-0-1 OVC) each gained a point and remained unbeaten in Ohio Valley Conference play with Thursday’s tie. USI is up to nine points in conference play, while EIU sits at the top of the standings with 13 points. The Screaming Eagles totaled eight shots with a pair on goal. Senior forward Peyton Murphy scored her third goal of the season in the second half off an assist by senior forward Emerson Grafton. Murphy had a team-high three shots in the match. Murphy is the fourth Screaming Eagle to score three times this season, and the goal on Thursday placed Murphy inside the top 15 in USI history with 35 career points. Thursday’s first half was a balanced contest with the game settling into a battle for possession. The two teams combined for only five first-half shots. Murphy and senior midfielder Emma Thurston accounted for two USI shots in the opening 45 minutes. USI redshirt junior goalkeeper Anna Marklandsaved one shot by the Panthers in the middle of the half. The game went into the break scoreless. Shortly after halftime, Eastern Illinois struck first with a goal nearly five minutes into the second half. The Panthers scored off a post rebound following a corner kick. The Screaming Eagles responded nearly six minutes later in the 56th minute with the goal by Murphy. The goal came off a long midfield free kick by freshman defender Tierney Mullady that landed in the box. Off a defensive deflection, the ball was flicked over by Grafton to Murphy on the wing and near the end line. Murphy put the ball across the face of the goal and into the far-post side netting from the tough side angle. The game remained knotted at one despite USI generating more quality looks in the second half. Then, Markland came up with another crucial save in the 69th minute to keep the match tied. Neither side produced a shot in the final 10 minutes.
“Roy Lee Ward’s case has been heard and reviewed numerous times by both state and federal courts, including the Indiana Supreme Court, since his conviction in 2002. These reviews have never resulted in an overturned sentence. The State Parole Board issued a unanimous recommendation to deny Ward’s final appeal for clemency and that his execution proceed as scheduled. Today, Ward’s sentence has been carried out as ordered by the court.” – Governor Mike Braun
Event to Spotlight Stories of Hope and Raise Awareness About
Homelessness
[Evansville, IN] — [10/9/25] — In an effort to shift public perception around homelessness and offer raw, unscripted moments of human connection, the Evansville Rescue Mission will host a 24-hour event called Conversations on a Bench on [10/9/25 2pm – 10/10/25 2pm] at [500 E. Walnut St.]. The initiative is part of a nationwide campaign led by Citygate Network, a faith-based association of rescue missions and life- transformation ministries across North America. For one full day, Tracy Gorman, President/CEO of Evansville Rescue Mission, will sit on a bench livestreaming one-on-one conversations with community members—ranging from local leaders and donors to former program participants and curious passersby. The bench becomes a platform for truth-telling, healing, and hope.
“Every person has a story, and every story matters,” said Gorman. “This event invites people to see past stereotypes and engage with the reality of what it means to experience—and overcome— homelessness.”
The livestream will be accessible on Facebook and YouTube, and the public is invited to watch, participate in person, or submit questions and prayer requests online. In addition to raising awareness, the event will also raise funds to support Evansville Rescue Mission’s year-round programs focused on shelter, recovery, and long-term transformation.
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Looking to build off last weekend’s win over Indiana State, the University of Evansville volleyball team takes to the road to face UNI and Drake. The Purple Aces and Panthers meet at 6 p.m. Friday before taking on the Bulldogs on Saturday at 4 p.m.; both matches will be televised on ESPN+.
Recapping the Weekend
– Evansville split a pair of MVC contests last weekend dropping a 3-0 match to Belmont on Friday before defeating Indiana State by a 3-1 final on Saturday
– Freshman Ryan Scheu averaged 3.57 kills while hitting .426 in the two matches while Holland Morris chipped in 3.14 kills/set
Up to Third
– Kora Ruff currently stands at 3,500 career assists, which is third in program history
– She is 377 behind Ellen Sawin for second in the UE record books
– Ruff averaged 10.57 assists last weekend and currently ranks second in the Valley with her season average of 8.02
Hitting .400
– Ryan Scheu led the Aces offense last weekend averaging 3.57 kills while hitting an unreal .426
– She had just one error in each match and hit a season-high .545 versus Belmont
– Scheu is second on the team and 19th in the MVC with 2.51 kills per set and is 15th in the conference hitting .281 on the season
– Her season mark of 15 kills came against Middle Tennessee State
Leading the Way
– Hinsley Everett continues to lead the team with 2.56 kills per set (18th in the MVC)
– Her top match came against MTSU where she finished with 17 kills
– Everett has at least six kills in 14 out of 16 matches
On a Roll
– Since entering the lineup at the start of MVC play, Holland Morris has increased her kill total in each contest
– After opening with one and eight kills in the opening MVC weekend, Morris registered 10 versus Belmont before resetting her career high to 12 in the win over Indiana State
Scouting the Opposition
– UNI enters the weekend with an 11-5 mark while going 4-0 in league action
– Cassidy Hartman and Lily Dykstra are second and third in the MVC kills rankings with averages of 3.87 and 3.67
– Drake is 5-10 overall and 1-3 through the opening two Valley weekends
– They are led by Macy Daufeldt’s 3.22 kills per game
TWO MEN AND A TRUCK Evansville will be hosting its annual Movers for Mutts campaign from October 15 through November 19, benefiting It Takes a Village Rescue (ITV)—a local no-kill rescue that has been changing the lives of vulnerable animals across southern Indiana since 2010. For eight years, the Evansville team has proudly supported ITV and is thrilled to continue their partnership. This year, they hope to double the number of pet-related items collected from last year’s 750 to a new goal of 1500 donations.
Items needed include:
Pet food
Blankets
Cleaning supplies
Pet toys
Treats
Collars
Leashes
Community members can drop off donations at several partner locations throughout the area (list available upon request).
HARRISBURG, PENNSYLVANIA - AUGUST 01: Workers install fiber optic cables for a school in the downtown area on August 01, 2024 in Harrisburg, Pennsylvania. Pennsylvania Governor Josh Shapiro is being considered to be Vice President Kamala Harris’ running mate. Pennsylvania has long been considered a must win state for a presidential candidate. (Photo by Spencer Platt/Getty Images)
By Casey Smith
Indiana lawmakers on Wednesday revisited an increasingly visible problem hanging over — and sometimes buried beneath — Hoosier communities: dormant, abandoned and low-hanging utility lines left behind by telecommunications companies.
At a gathering of the Interim Study Committee on Environmental Affairs at the Indiana Statehouse, Rep. Michelle Davis, R-Whiteland, and Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett urged lawmakers to act on what they call “cable pollution,” arguing that the tangled infrastructure poses safety risks and financial burdens for locals.
“This has cost cities, towns and taxpayers thousands of dollars,” Barnett told the panel. “Most of the time we are left to clean up the abandoned cables and the mess that they leave in our right-of-ways.”
Barnett, a former underground-utility manager, said Franklin — located in Johnson County, about 20 miles south of Indianapolis — has spent about $60,000 hiring consultants to trace and remove unused wires.
The problem is with the telecoms. They need standards and oversight.
– Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett
“We shouldn’t have to spend taxpayer dollars fixing the telecoms’ problems,” he said. “It’s time for some oversight that puts everyone on the same playing field.”
“The problem is with the telecoms,” Barnett added. “They need standards and oversight.”
Davis, who authored House Bill 1480 earlier this year, said she filed the measure at Barnett’s request to establish “minimum standards for the installation and maintenance of communication service or utility service facilities in a public right-of-way.” The bill received a House hearing but no vote.
“Now that you know about it,” Davis told the panel, “you see it everywhere.”
Locals ask for more oversight
Earlier this year, during the 2025 session, lawmakers negotiated a separate compromise over pole-attachment rules aimed at accelerating broadband access. That earlier discourse pitted investor-owned utilities against telecom providers over who controls space on poles and how much they can charge.
Lawmakers suggested on Wednesday that the state could still revisit the issue from another angle — this time focused on what happens after those lines are installed.
An example of underground cable pollution included in a presentation by Franklin Mayor Steve Barnett. (Photo from legislative committee slideshow)
Barnett’s slideshow showed photographs of hanging bundles and broken outdoor telecom cabinets. He described a five-year ordeal to get one abandoned communications cabinet removed and said telecom mergers make it even harder to identify which company is responsible.
“When a provider buys another provider, there is a lack of responsibility and liability for transactions,” he said.
Wells County Surveyor Jarrod Hahn, president of the County Surveyors Association, separately told lawmakers that problems with abandoned utilities are not limited to cities and towns, but are also common in rural areas.
“The short answer to the question of, ‘Do underground abandoned utilities cause problems?’ The short answer to that is, yes, they do,” Hahn said.
He described how generations of infrastructure — ranging from old oil field pipes to drainage tiles and telecom cables — have been left in the ground, often with no records.
“We are just as guilty at local government of putting in new infrastructure and leaving the old in place,” Hahn said.
He emphasized, too, the difficulty of tracking what’s underground, especially as companies change hands and records are lost.
“With the larger telecom companies, they subcontract their locating. Those locators probably do not have access to that historical knowledge. All they have is the map of what’s currently being used,” Hahn said. “Underground, out of sight, out of mind — nobody knows what’s buried below the ground.”
Telecom industry pushes back
Lawmakers from both parties sympathized but split on whether state or local governments should intervene. Currently, oversight falls largely to the Indiana Utility Regulatory Commission and the Federal Communications Commission.
Committee Chair Sen. Rick Niemeyer, R-Lowell, said he preferred local solutions.
“You have the ability, if you have a communication company that comes in, to deny him a permit [because of] their past work,” he said. “I’m not looking to bring the state in on anything, unless we need to.”
Others, including Sen. Greg Taylor, D-Indianapolis, said local ordinances are no substitute for consistent statewide rules.
“It would only be prudent for the state to have some kind of requirement and penalties,” Taylor said, suggesting identifiers on each line so city and town officials can determine ownership.
Representatives for AT&T and Comcast spoke later in the hearing, arguing against new state mandates.
Steve Rogers, a lobbyist for AT&T, cautioned that statewide rules could duplicate existing federal or IURC oversight and slow broadband expansion.
Rogers pushed back on the idea that problems with abandoned cables and utility oversight are widespread or indicative of a “wild west” environment across Indiana.
He told lawmakers that broadband expansion already faces “complex federal and IURC oversight” and that additional rules could “slow down investment and deployment.”
“If [Barnett’s] experience was typical, I would know it. You would know it. … You’d have mayors lined up out the door,” Rogers said. “That is not the way that it usually works. The way that it usually works is they call the provider. The provider comes in. We resolve the issue, we move on. If we don’t, they stop issuing permits. And the minute you tell somebody they can’t build their network, you’d be amazed how responsive they become.”
He also warned against giving hundreds of municipalities broad new regulatory authority, saying it would create “huge bureaucracies” and drive up costs for customers.
“We are subject to the National Electric Safety Code. We’re subject to 811, ‘Call Before You Dig Regulations.’ We’re subject to FCC pole attachment regulations,” Rogers said. “The idea that there are no rules and we need to give cities and towns the ability to fine people — that is just not the case.”
He additionally addressed the issue of abandoned cable, noting the difficulty of defining what’s actually abandoned and the need for flexibility in network management.
“I don’t know how you regulate abandoned cable, because somebody’s definition of what’s abandoned is going to be different from another person’s,” Rogers argued.
He explained that extra capacity is often built into networks, and that removing unused lines every time a customer cancels service would be inefficient.
“We would rather put our money towards capital investment in building fiber networks than things that don’t provide service to customers,” he added.
Joni Hart, representing Comcast, echoed those concerns, telling the committee the company already works with local governments to address safety issues and that additional regulation could “discourage investment” in fiber projects.
She said most providers respond quickly when notified of damaged or hanging lines and urged lawmakers to “avoid one-size-fits-all mandates.”
Hart emphasized the complexity of broadband deployment, which often requires working across “multiple jurisdictions, multiple pole owners,” and sometimes crossing “30 counties to do a line across the state.” She pushed back on the idea that companies are intentionally skirting permit requirements.
“We spend hundreds of thousands of dollars in Indiana on getting permits, expediting permits, making sure that we’re getting that process correct and the man hours to go with that,” Hart maintained.
While “it hasn’t always been the case,” she said Comcast now marks its aerial cables at installation. For older lines that “may or may not be” marked, Hart said the company actively adds tags during maintenance or when issues arise.
“We want to be a good community partner with these areas,” Hart said. “We want to be focusing both on deployment and being a responsible community partner.”
The University of Southern Indiana’s Sexual Assault and Gender Violence Prevention Group will host the annual Flowers on the Lake ceremony from 4:30-5 p.m. Tuesday, October 14 in front of the Liberal Arts Center, followed by a ceremony at Reflection Lake. The ceremony, held in honor of Domestic Violence Awareness Month, is open to the public at no charge.
Flowers on the Lake is an annual ceremony to honor those who have lost their lives to domestic violence and raise awareness about the warning signs of relationship abuse. Students will speak during a brief presentation about lives that have been lost as a result of domestic violence, which will be followed by a moment of silence. Guests will then proceed to Reflection Lake to scatter flower petals on top of the water in honor of survivors and in memory of victims of domestic violence.
Participants will also be invited to cover a law enforcement vehicle with messages of support and/or action on sticky notes as part of the “Cover a Cruiser” initiative. This will take place before and after the ceremony in Lot N, adjacent to the Liberal Arts Center.
This event is sponsored by the USI Sexual Assault and Gender Violence Prevention Group, Albion Fellows Bacon Center and YWCA Evansville.
In the event of rain, the event will be held at 4:30 p.m. Thursday, October 16 at the same location. For more information, contact Catherine Champagne, Assistant Program Director of Student Wellness, at cchampagne@usi.edu or 812-461-5483.
BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana swimming and diving returns to action this weekend, facing three ranked programs Friday through Saturday (Oct. 10-11) in Los Angeles.
Competition will begin each day at noon ET, and fans can stream the meet via the B1G+ digital platform.
MEET INFO
Friday, Oct. 10 – Saturday, Oct. 11
Friday: Noon ET (Swimming), 3 p.m. (Diving), 4 p.m. (Swimming)
INDIANA SPLITS WITH FLORIDA, EARNS FIVE WEEKLY AWARDS
Indiana swimming and diving captured five of the six Big Ten weekly awards available from the first cycle of the season on October 1.
IU swept the diver of the week and freshman of the week honors, while also sweeping all three honors on the women’s side, after a split result with Florida at the weekend. Four Hoosiers earned their first-career weekly awards. Learn more about the award winners and their performances here.
HOOSIERS FILL U.S. NATIONAL TEAMS
A total of 21 Americans with ties to the Indiana swimming and diving program have qualified for their respective national teams.
Twelve Hoosiers feature in USA Swimming’s 2025-26 national team, including Alexei Avakov, Brian Benzing, Mariah Denigan, Travis Gulledge, Lilly King, Matt King, Josh Matheny, Van Mathias, Owen McDonald, Anna Peplowski, Aaron Shackell and Jassen Yep. Avakov, Gulledge, McDonald and Shackell will compete for Indiana during the 2025-26 NCAA season.
Nine more Hoosiers earned selections to USA Diving’s High Performance Squads in May: Andrew Capobianco, Josh Hedberg, Quinn Henninger, Carson Tyler (Tier 1), Lily Witte (Tier 2) as well as Dash Glasberg, Ella Roselli, Joshua Sollenberger and Maxwell Weinrich (Tier 3). Hedberg, Witte, Glasberg, Roselli, Sollenberger and Witte are all members of the NCAA roster.
EVANSVILLE, Ind.– University of Southern Indiana Men’s Soccer secured its third consecutive result, earning a 2-2 draw with Liberty University on Thursday afternoon at Strassweg Field. Thursday’s draw marks the first time the Screaming Eagles have recorded three straight results since the 2021 season. Sophomore forward David Davila scored two late second-half goals, bringing the game even for the result. Liberty opened the game hot, taking the lead 4:28 into the match. The Eagles’ defense held strong the rest of the half, despite Liberty’s eight shots with three on goal. USI was limited to one offensive opportunity through the first 45, as Davila recorded the team’s lone shot on goal in the seventh minute. At the half, USI trailed 1-0 despite getting outshot eight to one and three to one on goal. Freshman goalkeeper Jacob Englishnabbed two saves through the first half. The second half started like the first, with Liberty scoring four minutes in to take a two-goal lead. The Eagles’ offensive struggles continued late into the match, until the team was awarded a penalty in the 67th minute. Davila stepped up to take the shot, sneaking it past the goalkeeper for his first goal of the match. Following the first goal, USI’s offense sprang to life, applying pressure on Liberty’s back line. The pressure culminated in Davila’s second goal of the game, assisted by freshman defender Chase Smithoff a free kick from beyond the midfield line. Liberty made a final push in the closing minutes, but the USI defense held strong, stifling the attacks. Liberty got one past English in the final minute, but had the goal recalled due to a Liberty player being offside. For the game, USI had three players record shots, with Davila recording the most, at four. Sophomore Ahiro Nakamae and freshman Edin Cvorovic each tallied a shot on goal. English finished the game with eight saves, compared to the Flames’ goalkeepers’ three.
USI Men’s Soccer closes its four-game homestand on Sunday as it welcomes Southern Illinois University-Edwardsville to Strassweg Field. Kickoff for the match is set for 5 p.m. Admission to the game is free thanks to ProRehab, and can also be viewed with an ESPN+ Subscription.
