AUGUSTINE, Fla.—Junior outside hitter Shelbi Morris(Brazil, Indiana) and freshman outside hitter Mikaila Humphrey(Floyd Knobs, Indiana) combined for 35 kills as University of Southern Indiana Volleyball rallied from another two-set deficit, this time posting a 16-25, 19-25, 25-23, 25-15, 15-10 come-from-behind victory over Valdosta State University in its third match of the Flagler Invitational Saturday morning.

After struggling to muster any type of offensive attack in the first two sets, the Screaming Eagles found themselves facing a 19-13 deficit in the third frame. Two straight kills by junior middle hitter Te’Ayla Whitfield (Fort Wayne, Indiana) sparked USI’s comeback.

Whitfield and freshman right side hitter Amanda Jung (Belleville, Illinois) combined for three kills moments later as USI trimmed the Trailblazers’ advantage to 22-21. USI tied the set at 22-22 on a kill from Humphrey; then took advantage of back-to-back Valdosta State attacking errors to build a 24-23 advantage.

Sophomore defensive specialist Haley Limper (Springfield, Illinois) had a kill from the back row to give the Eagles the two-point win and keep their hopes alive.

After seeing Whitfield and Jung combine for seven kills and a .350 attacking percentage in the third set, Morris and Humphrey took over in the fourth frame as the Eagles offense exploded to the tune of a .435 attacking percentage. Morris racked up seven of her match-high 19 kills in the fourth frame, while Humphrey hammered down five kills in six swings as USI cruised to a 10-point win to even the match at two sets.

USI used a pair of 3-0 bursts early in the deciding frame to establish a 7-3 lead it would not relinquish. Humphrey, who had 12 of her 16 kills in the final three sets, had four kills and a .375 attacking percentage in the fifth frame as USI earned its second straight five-set victory.

In addition to Morris and Humphrey, the Eagles got five kills and seven blocks from Whitfield, while junior libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) finished with 16 digs and four aces. Senior setter Quin Shoultz (Columbus, Indiana) had a match-high 43 assists and 17 digs, while Morris and Limper finished with 13 and 11 digs, respectively.

USI concludes the Flagler Invitational today at 3:30 p.m. when it takes on Brevard College. The Eagles defeated the Tornados in three sets in their first match Friday.

1. LOUIS, Mo.—Five University of Southern Indiana women’s cross country runners finished in the top 10 in the field of 123 as the No. 10 Screaming Eagles recorded a perfect score of 15 to take home first place out of nine teams at the Gabby Reuveni Early Bird, hosted by Washington University in St. Louis Friday night.

Junior Emily Roberts (Fredericktown, Ohio) was the top finisher with a four-kilometer time of 13 minutes, 57.60 seconds, while senior Jessica Reeves (Midland, Michigan) was 15.80 seconds off the pace, finishing in third.

Another trio of USI runners finished in the top 10, with junior Jessica Lincoln (Palatine, Illinois) taking seventh with a time of 14:47.50. Sophomore Hope Jones (Cumberland, Indiana) and senior Cathryn Peters (Tell City, Indiana) brought home eighth and ninth, respectively.

With the meet divided between NCAA Division I and non-NCAA Division I teams, the Eagles would have defeated both Division I schools at the meet. USI would have defeated Southeast Missouri State University by five points.

The Eagles get two weeks off before they take the start line again, when they compete at the Spartan Invite September 16 in East Lansing, Michigan.

1. LOUIS, Mo.—Senior Noah Lutz (Evansville, Indiana) earned his first career victory for the No. 8 University of Southern Indiana men’s cross country team at the Gabby Reuveni Early Bird, hosted by Washington University in St. Louis.

The Screaming Eagles took the top spot in the seven-team field on non-NCAA Division I schools with a perfect score of 15. The total was 30 points better than host and runner-up WashU. USI would have defeated the only NCAA Division I school—Southeast Missouri State University—by 38 points had the meet been scored together.

Lutz was able to secure the top spot with a finish of 19 minutes, 00.90 seconds, beating the field by nearly 10 seconds.

Junior James Cecil (Owensboro, Kentucky) and freshman Nathan Hall (Springfield, Missouri) also finished in the top-five with fourth and fifth place finishes, respectively. Both runners finished with a time of 19:10.20

Junior Cain Parker (Petersburg, Indiana) as well as freshmen Javan Winders (Mansfield, Tennessee) and Austin Nolan (Evansville, Indiana) helped secure the Eagles’ win with sixth, eighth, and 10-place finishes.

After a two-week hiatus, USI participates in the Spartan Invite September 16 in East Lansing, Michigan.

The University of Southern Indiana women’s soccer team exploded for four first-half goals and cruised to a 5-1 victory over the University of Findlay in the Dunn Hospitality Invitational Friday night at Strassweg Field. USI starts the year 1-0 for the second-straight year and the third time in four seasons.

The Screaming Eagles wasted little time getting on the scoreboard with junior forward Haley Rheinlander(Evansville, Indiana) giving USI a 1-0 lead at the 6:24 mark. Rheinlander scored her first of the season off of an assist by junior defender Sadie Schumann (Aurora, Indiana).

USI quickly increased the lead to 3-0 when senior forward Gabriella Korte (St. Louis, Missouri) and sophomore midfielder Olivia Wilde (Racine, Wisconsin) scored at 11:55 and 15:02, respectively. Korte scored her goal off an assist by junior forward Ryley Hancock (Evansville, Indiana), while Wilde scored on a corner kick by Korte.

After the Oilers narrowed the lead to 3-1, Wilde struck for her second goal of the half at 38:39. She was assisted on the play in front of the Findlay goal by junior midfielder Carlie Scales (Evansville, Indiana) to make the score 4-1. The Eagles would take that score into the halftime.

In the second half, USI and Findlay battled up and down the field before the Eagles scored the final goal of the match. Hancock scored with 44 seconds left on the clock to give the contest the eventual 5-1 final. She was assisted on the goal by freshman forward Courtney Spicer (Loveland, Ohio).

Between the posts, senior goalkeeper Courtney Lofland (Indianapolis, Indiana) posted the victory by allowing only one goal and making two saves in the opening half. Sophomore goalkeeper Emily Hopkins(Greenfield, Indiana) finished the game for the Eagles between the posts, also making a pair of saves.

In the opening match of the Dunn Hospitality Invitational, the University of Illinois Springfield shutout Kentucky Wesleyan College, 5-0. The Prairie Stars scored once in the first half and four times in the second half for the win.

The Dunn Hospitality Invitational concludes Sunday with Illinois Springfield taking on Findlay at 11:30 a.m., while USI will play KWC in the final game of the tournament at 2 p.m.

AUGUSTINE, Fla.—University of Southern Indiana Volleyball rallied from a two-set deficit to defeat host Flagler College, 17-25, 21-25, 25-22, 25-18, 16-14, Friday night in its second match at the Flagler Invitational.

Freshman outside hitter/defensive specialist Mikaila Humphrey (Floyd Knobs, Indiana) had 11 of her 12 kills in the final three frames, including a five-kill third set that saw the Screaming Eagles climb back into contention.

Despite dropping the first two frames, the Eagles really started to change momentum in the match in the second stanza as they rallied back from an 11-2 deficit to trim Flagler’s advantage to 21-20 late.

USI (2-0) carried that momentum into the third frame, where it posted a .314 attacking percentage to cut the match deficit in half. The Eagles got three straight kills from junior outside hitter Shelbi Morris (Brazil, Indiana) during their 4-0 run to end the third set.

Morris had four of her team-high 14 kills in the fourth set as USI stormed out to a commanding 21-12 advantage.

Flagler (0-1), which won the Peach Belt Conference title and advanced to the NCAA II Tournament in 2015, rallied to cut USI’s lead to 21-17; but the Eagles got a pair of kills from senior middle hitter/outside hitter Amy Zwissler (Bloomington, Indiana) in their 3-0 run that ended the frame and knotted the match at two-sets apiece.

USI jumped out to an early lead in the deciding set, but Flagler rallied to grab an 8-6 lead. The Eagles, however, responded with 5-0 run that featured a pair of aces from junior liberoShannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana).

Once again, Flagler bounced back, tying the score 13-13 and then blocking USI’s first match-point opportunity to match the Eagles at 14-14. Zwissler gave the Eagles a 15-14 edge with a kill; then USI sealed the victory on a Flagler attacking error.

In addition to Morris and Humphrey, the Eagles got 44 assists and 10 digs from senior setter Quin Shoultz (Columbus, Indiana), 16 digs and three aces from Farrell, and six kills and six blocks from junior middle hitter Te’Ayla Whitfield (Fort Wayne, Indiana). Morris also added 11 digs.

USI returns to action Saturday at 10 a.m. when it takes on Valdosta State University, which is under the direction of former University of Evansville Head Coach Mike Swan. The Eagles close out the weekend Saturday at 3:30 p.m. when they take on Brevard College, a team they defeated in straight sets earlier today.