University of Southern Indiana Volleyball suffered a pair of losses Friday to open its 2017 season at the University of West Florida Hampton Inn-Vitational.

The Screaming Eagles’ rally in their opener against the University of North Alabama fell short as the Lions held on for a 25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 16-14 win. USI suffered a 25-17, 25-18, 25-14 setback to host West Florida in its nightcap.

Both North Alabama and West Florida are receiving votes in the preseason AVCA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll.

USI (0-2) concludes its opening weekend with bouts against No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State University and the University of South Carolina-Aiken Saturday at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

North Alabama def. Southern Indiana 25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 16-14 (Box Score)
The Eagles rallied from a two-set deficit to force a decisive fifth game in their five-set loss to North Alabama. USI, however, could not hold on to a 10-6 lead late in the fifth frame.

The Lions (1-1) used a 7-1 run to take a 13-11 lead late in the decisive set. USI rallied for two straight points to tie the frame at 13-13; then fought off a match-point situation moments later to tie the contest, once again, at 14-14. North Alabama, however, got back-to-back kills from Lexie Bradley to earn the 16-14 fifth-set win and 3-2 match victory.

Senior middle hitter Te’Ayla Whitfield (Fort Wayne, Indiana) had 12 kills and six blocks to lead the Eagles, while sophomore middle hitter Shawntel James (Elkhart, Indiana) racked up 10 kills and eight blocks.

Sophomore outside hitter Mikaila Humphrey (Floyd Knobs, Indiana) added nine kills and five aces, while senior libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) added 18 digs.

USI, which finished the match with 11.5 blocks and 11 aces as a team, hit just .147. The Lions, meanwhile, amassed a .244 attacking percentage, including clips of .333 and .310 in the first two sets.

West Florida def. Southern Indiana 25-17, 25-18, 25-14 (Box Score)
West Florida racked up 51 kills and a .432 attacking percentage to hand the Eagles a three-set loss in their second match of the day.

USI battled the Argonauts to a 10-10 tie early in the opening frame, but a 9-0 run allowed West Florida to run away with the eight-point win. West Florida used a 5-1 run to establish early control of the second stanza and, after the Eagles trimmed a large deficit to two points late in the game, slammed the door on a USI comeback with a 5-0 run for the seven-point triumph.

The Argonauts hit .500 in the third set and used a 13-2 run to turn an 8-6 USI lead into a commanding 19-10 advantage.

Humphrey and freshman outside hitter Alyssa Yochum (Columbia, Illinois) each had nine kills to pace USI, offensively, while freshman setter Casey Cepicky (St. Louis, Missouri) had 25 assists.

The Evansville Otters moved themselves to just one win away from clinching a playoff berth with a 10-3 win over the Gateway Grizzlies on Friday night.

Evansville (52-42) used a six-RBI night from Jeff Gardner en route to the crucial victory.

Gateway (30-64) posted 12 hits, but committed three errors in the loss.

Jeff Gardner tied the single-season franchise record for home runs with a three-run blast in the sixth inning for his 23^rd of the year. Gardner’s home run tied Shane Houck who set the record in 2014.

Ryan Etsell dominated on the mound in his fifth start of the year. The Otters ace has yet to allow more than two earned runs in a start. Etsell struck out three in the outing and gave up just eight hits in his second win of the year.

The Otters got off to a hot start scoring five runs in the first two innings.

In the first inning, Gardner posted his first RBI on a single to score Josh Allen. Then in the second inning, Chris Riopedre drove in Brandon Soat on a single, and Zach Welz scored on an error. Dane Phillips added an RBI single to score Riopedre and Gardner hit a sacrifice fly to score Allen for a second time.

Gateway put their first run on the board in the bottom of the third when Blake Brown hit a solo home run to make it 5-1.

Evansville got the run back in the top of the fourth inning. An RBI single from Jeff Gardner scored Allen for a third time to make it 6-1.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Gateway added their second home run of the evening with a solo shot from Terry McClure to cut the lead to four.

However, Jeff Gardner responded with his three-run home run over the left centerfield wall to add on three more RBI and score Allen and Phillips. Allen finished with four runs scored on the game.

Evansville added on one more run in the eighth with Phillips tallying his 14^th home run of the year to deep right field.

Gateway added one final run in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI single from Brent Sakurai to score Cody Livesay to make it 10-3.

Connor Little also added on two solid innings of relief for Evansville giving up just one hit and striking out two. Brandon Cook finished the game pitching the ninth inning allowing three hits and one run.

Alex Kisena gave up 11 hits and nine earned runs in the loss for Gateway.

The Otters and Grizzlies return to action tomorrow. With an Otters win or a Windy City loss, the Otters will clinch a 2017 playoff berth.

First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. at GCS Ballpark.

Fans can listen on 91.5 WUEV with Lucas Corley providing play-by-play coverage.

Tickets for August home games are still available by going to evansvilleotters.com or calling 812-435-8686.

America’s Best Racing (ABR), a multimedia fan development and awareness-building platform of The Jockey Club, and Horse Country Inc., a not-for-profit organization composed of farms, equine medical clinics and equine attractions deep inside Kentucky, today announced a multi-year strategic partnership.

As part of the partnership agreement between America’s Best Racing and Horse Country, ABR will feature monthly digital stories and content, including videos, on a dedicated Horse Country page within the ABR platform in an effort to highlight the Kentucky farms, nurseries, clinics, and more that comprise Horse Country. ABR and Horse Country will also cross-promote content through social media channels and email newsletters, as well as collaborate on annual digital and social media driven sweepstakes designed to reward lucky fans with VIP experiences inside Horse Country.  With nearly 80 percent of its social media audience under the age of 44, ABR will look to showcase the offerings of Horse Country to a broader, younger audience. To date, Horse Country has hosted nearly 45,000 guests from 16 countries and all 50 U.S. states.

Inspired by successful, experiential tourist models such as Napa Valley, Calif., and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and assisted by the storytelling and customer-experience principles offered by the Walt Disney Institute, Horse Country Inc. was formed in 2014 to serve as a central-booking outlet designed to share the overarching story of Kentucky’s rich horse country heritage and the participating locations. Horse Country connects visitors from around the world in memorable and authentic ways with stories of the horses, the land, and the people, and develops fans of farms, clinics, and the sport of horse racing.

“The synergistic missions of America’s Best Racing and Horse Country to create new fans of Thoroughbred racing makes this strategic partnership a natural and sensible fit,” said Stephen Panus, president of TJC Media Ventures Inc., which oversees America’s Best Racing. “We’re excited to fully leverage ABR’s avid audience as well as our growing digital reach to amplify interest, awareness, and visits to Horse Country.”

“The team at America’s Best Racing has a track record of developing truly engaging content that tells the stories of our sport. This partnership will allow us to share a look behind the scenes, where our sport lives from foaling barn to finish line,” said Horse Country Executive Director Anne Hardy. “It’s a natural fit and we’re proud to partner with ABR and reach their ever-growing audience.”