University of Southern women’s cross country placed second of nine Division II teams in the silver race at the Greater Louisville Classic Saturday afternoon in Louisville, Kentucky.

With the Screaming Eagles preparing for the Regional Crossover meet in Romeoville, Illinois, next week, USI held out many of its top runners Saturday.

Redshirt sophomore Micalah Booher (Pendleton, Indiana) paced the Eagles with a third place finish with a time of 19 minutes, 39.78 seconds. Sophomore Ellie Tjelmeland (Springfield, Illinois) finished a tenth of a second behind Booher in fourth.

Sophomore Ashley Lawhorn (Frankfort, Kentucky) finished 11^th for the Eagles, with junior Sarah Hamilton(Chandler, Indiana) 13^th. Four Eagles finished 16^th-19^th to have eight runners in the top 19.

The Eagles return to the course next Saturday when they travel to Romeoville, Illinois, for the Midwest Region Crossover hosted by Lewis University.

EPD REPORT

UE drops 5-set match on Friday

 Sophomore Rachel Tam had a career-high 27 kills as the University of Evansville volleyball team fell by a 3-2 final on Friday evening in Carbondale.

Tam recorded her top college total in 79 attempts, which was also the most in her time as a Purple Ace (6-9, 0-3 MVC).  Cathy Schreiber had another great night, posting 17 kills while hitting .325.  Allana McInnis finished with 47 assists and Cassie Brooks was great defensively, notching 28 digs.

Southern Illinois (4-11, 3-1 MVC) was led by Nellie Fredriksson, who had 14 kills.  Ashley Edelen led everyone with 29 digs.

Evansville saw things go its way early on, posting victories in the opening two sets.  Game one saw UE go up by a 10-8 score early on as Tam had one of her 27 kills.  Southern Illinois took its turn, going up by two points on three occasions.  The latest was at 21-19.  Tam made sure that lead did not stand.  Back-to-back service aces were part of a 3-0 run that gave the Aces the lead.  From there, they were able to hang on for a 26-24 win.

Things were a little easier for the Aces in set two.  After going up 4-1 on three Tam kills and a Schreiber service ace, UE extended its advantage to 12-8.  The Salukis close the gap to just one at 21-20 on an Andrea Estrada kill, but it was Tam coming through in the clutch once again.  Two more kills marked the final two tallies of the set, giving UE a 25-21 win and a 2-0 match lead.

With their backs against the wall, SIU roared its way to a 25-10 win in the third frame.  They hit .538 in the set.  Game four also went SIU’s way.  With the score knotted at 21-21, Southern Illinois received a pair of Patience Brown kills to score the final four tallies en route to a 25-21 win, forcing a fifth set

The Salukis were in good shape to start, posting three of the first four points.  Evansville refused to give up, forcing an SIU error to tie it up at 8-8.  SIU was on the verge of clinching the match, taking a 14-11 lead, but the Aces continued to show their resilience.  Behind a pair of Schreiber kills, UE tied it up at 14-14.  Momentum went back to SIU as a pair of UE service errors helped them clinch the victory with a 17-15 win in the fifth set.

Tomorrow night, UE will look to pick up a road win at Missouri State.  The Aces and Bears square off at 7 p.m. in Springfield, Mo.

The University of Southern Indiana women’s soccer team battled to a 0-0 double-overtime tie versus Lewis University Friday evening in Romeoville, Illinois. USI goes to 4-2-3 overall and 2-1-3 in GLVC play, while Lewis ends the match 4-4-1 overall, 3-3-1 in the league.

The double-overtime match was the fourth in the last five matches, while the double-overtime tie was the third for the Screaming Eagles in the last four outings.

In the defensive stalemate, USI had the slight advantage in shots, 19-16, while both teams had seven shots on-goal. The Eagles also had the lead in corner kicks, 8-4.

Between the posts, junior goalkeeper Emily Hopkins (Greenfield, Indiana) recorded her third tie and fourth shutout of the season. Hopkins, who has three shutouts in the last four matches, blanked the Flyers by making six saves against 16 total shots.

USI concludes the two-match road trip Sunday when it visits the University of Illinois Springfield. The match is slated for a special 2:30 p.m. kickoff for the match.

Illinois Springfield enters a match later tonight versus McKendree University with a 6-2-2 overall record, 3-2-1 in the league in Springfield, Illinois. The Eagles have been dominant in the all-time series with the Prairie Stars, posting a 7-0-1 mark in the eight matches. USI won last year, 4-0, at Strassweg Field.

The next homestand for the Eagles is in two weeks when they host Quincy University October 6 and Truman State University October 7 at Strassweg Field.