COLUMBIA, Mo.—Junior Ellie Hall and sophomore Hadessah Austin posted top-20 finishes to lead University of Southern Indiana Women’s Cross Country to a 10th-place finish in the black race of the Gans Creek Classic Friday morning.
 
Hall finished 10th in the 245-competitor field with a six-kilometer time of 20 minutes, 58.5 seconds, while Austin was 16th with a time of 21:03.5.
 
Junior Zoe Seward returned to the Screaming Eagles’ lineup to finish 118th as USI compiled 294 points in the 26-team field.
 
Freshman Lilyanna Blais and junior Sara Livingston completed the Screaming Eagles’ top five scorers with respective placements of 132nd and 138th, while sophomore Addison Applegate and sophomore Charlee Gibson were 142nd and 173rd, respectively, to round out USI’s top seven.
 
The Screaming Eagles also had four student-athletes competing in the open race. Sophomore Cordelia Hoover and freshman Mackenzi Thomas paced USI’s quartet with respective finishes of 33rd and 55th out of more than 250-competitors.
 
USI returns to action October 17 when it co-hosts the Angel Mounds Invitational in Evansville, Indiana. It will be USI’s final regular-season meet as the Ohio Valley Conference Championships are October 31 in Charleston, Illinois, and the NCAA Division I Great Lakes Region Championships are November 14 at Angel Mounds.

MOREHEAD, Ky.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball drops its first Ohio Valley Conference game of the season in a four-set match at Morehead State University.

Junior Ashby Willis tallied her fifth double-double of the season with 11 kills and a season-high 16 digs. OVC Setter of the Week, Aysa Thomas, also recorded a double-double with 26 assists and 15 digs.. As a team, the Screaming Eagles put up 14 blocks at the net. Junior McKenzie Murphy led the team with 10 total blocks, marking a career high.

Set 1: USI 25, MSU 15
The Screaming Eagles kicked off OVC play with a dominant first set, ending with a 10-point serving run by senior Bianca Anderson. They tallied seven blocks at the net as a team, which helped hold the Morehead State offense to a negative hitting percentage. Willis tallied five kills, followed by freshman Carley Wright with three.

Set 2: MSU 25, USI 13
The Morehead State Eagles came back strong in the second set after losing the first, taking an 11-point lead (19-8). USI fought back, landing kills led by Wright, who added three more, hitting a .417 after the second set. Thomas picked up six digs to put up some defensive stops, along with sophomore libero Audrey Small, who followed with five.

Set 3: MSU 25, USI 12
Murphy put up another three blocks in the third set, moving to seven for the match. The Screaming Eagles struggled to put together offensive plays, landing just seven kills in the set. Willis and junior Leah Coleman put together two kills each. Eight different USI players picked up at least one dig to try and stop the MSU offense in the back court.

Set 4: MSU 25, USI 23
In the closest set of the match, USI saw the lead six different times in the back-and-forth battle. Murphy put up another three blocks but was led by Thomas, who put up four blocks, to finish with a career-high seven total. Willis (4) and Coleman (3) added another seven kills together, helped by Murphy and Wright, who had two each.

BOWLING GREEN, Ohio. – In what was a rematch of last season’s MVC Tournament final, the University of Evansville men’s soccer team made a statement, kicking off MVC play with a decisive 3-0 win over Bowling Green on Friday night.

Three different Aces tallied goals, as Pablo Calvete (Ponferrada, Spain/UNIR) and Armon Haghighat (Irvine, Calif./Irvine Valley CC) scored their first goals as Aces and Andres Escudero (San Sebastián de los Reyes, Spain/IES Joan Miro) scored for the sixth time in the last five matches. Chase Ricker (Albuquerque, N.M./La Cueva HS) also had a big night offensively, becoming the first Evansville player with multiple assists in a match this season with two.

Evansville jumped ahead early, scoring in the 10^th minute. After earning a corner kick, Ricker delivered a ball to the far post, where Calvete was waiting to deliver the night’s first goal.

The score remained 1-0 for most of the first half, but Evansville was able to add on just before halftime. In the 43^rd minute, Nate Roberts (Las Vegas, Nev./Bishop Gorman) started an attack with a run before sending a through ball to Ricker, who put a left-footed cross to the far post for Haghighat, where he buried a shot into the top right corner to extend the lead.

Evansville continued to control things in the second half, maintaining their two-goal lead through the first 35 minutes of the period. Escudero nearly extended the lead in the 74^th minute off a perfect service from Devin Shepherd (Denver, Colo./Arapahoe), but his shot went off the crossbar.

However, Escudero was able to strike six minutes later, converting on another perfect service, this time from Nacho Diaz-Caneja (Coruña, Spain/Oregon State), to put an exclamation point on the night. With the goal, Escudero ties the national lead for goals by a freshman this season with six, all of which have come in the last five matches.

“It was a great result, winning 3-0 to start conference away from home in a place that’s tough to play,” said Head Coach Robbe Tarver. “A lot of respect for Bowling Green. We just scored at the right moments.”

“We stayed connected defensively, and we are really happy to be 1-0 in conference play.”

Evansville led in shots at 12-11, as well as a 6-1 advantage in shots on goal. Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill./Elk Grove) made one save in goal, while the Evansville defense posted their third shutout of the season.

With the win, Evansville improves to 3-2-5 overall and 1-0 in MVC play for the first time since 2022. The Aces will be back in action next Saturday, hosting Western Michigan at Arad McCutchan Stadium. Kick-off is set for 6 PM.

 UE faces SIU on Saturday

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Chloe Cline registered seven kills to pace the University of Evansville volleyball team in Friday’s Missouri Valley Conference opener that saw UE fall to Bradley by a final of 3-0 inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

Cline completed the match with seven kills and two blocks. Brooke Herdes posted six kills and seven digs while Kora Ruff tallied 28 assists. Anna Kiss had 12 kills to lead the Braves.

Game 1 – Bradley 25, UE 21

After Bradley opened the match with a 4-1 lead it was Sabrina Ripple brining the Aces back. She accumulated two kills, two aces, and a solo block as UE tied the score at 5-5. Kendall Agler came in and recorded Evansville’s third ace of the night to give her squad a 7-6 edge. The Braves retook a 10-8 lead but the Aces kept battling.

An error saw UE retake a 15-14 edge but the Braves countered with four in a row before taking a 25-21 victory.

Game 2 – Bradley 25, UE 18

Carlotta Pascual Centelles notched two early kills before a kill from Hinsley Everett gave UE a 4-3 lead. The Braves responded to jump in front by a 13-8 margin before Evansville stormed back. An ace from Agler was followed by a Herdes kill that got UE within one at 13-12. Bradley responded with five in a row before winning by a 25-18 final.

Game 3 – Bradley 25, UE 21

Helped by a McKenzie Laubach kill the Aces jumped out to a 4-0 lead. The Braves came back with six in a row before a kill from Holland Morris ended the stretch. Bradley continued to roll as they pushed the lead to 8-5. UE fought back with two block assists from Chloe Cline and Kora Ruff to knot the score at 10-10.

Evansville jumped in front by an 11-10 margin on a BU error before the Braves regained control as they went up 21-16. After trailing by a 24-18 margin, the Aces made one final push. Two Cline kills helped UE reel off three in a row before the Braves scored the clinching point.

On Saturday UE will be in Carbondale, Ill. to face Southern Illinois.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana split its season-opening home meet with Florida on Friday (Sept. 26) inside the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center, beating the Gator men, 208-92, while falling in a closer contest to the UF women, 170-130.

10 Hoosiers won individual events, and eight collected multiple victories.

Indiana flexed its muscles in the short distance freestyle events, winning the 50 and 100-yard freestyles on both the men’s and women’s sides. Mikkel Lee recorded a 19.65 in the 50 and a 43.50 in the 100, while Clark posted a 22.57 and a personal-best 48.29. In the 50 free, Clark out-split senior teammate and program record holder Kristina Paegle in the final 25 to touch in front by one hundredth of a second.

Clark also contributed a 48.43 opening split on IU’s winning 400-yard freestyle relay, the best split in the field by over one second.

Sophomore Joshua Sollenberger shined on the springboards as Indiana won three of the four men’s and women’s diving events. Sollenberger swept the 1-meter (289.65) and 3-meter (343.95) contests, and freshman Kaylee Bishop captured the women’s 1-meter (255.53).

Sophomore Raekwon Noel swept the backstroke events, beating Florida junior Jonny Marshall – the two-time reigning SEC Champion in each event – in both events. Big Ten silver medalist and classmate Miroslav Knedla finished second to Noel in the 100 back, and Big Ten Champion and senior Owen McDonald took the runner-up finish in the 200-yard event.

Senior Zalán Sárkány asserted his dominance in the distance events, winning the 500 free (4:21.28) and 1,000 free (9:03.67).

TEAM SCORES

Men: Indiana 208, Florida 92

Women: Florida 170, Indiana 130

HOOSIER WINNERS

Kaylee Bishop – 1-meter (255.53)

Liberty Clark – 50 freestyle (22.57), 100 freestyle (48.29), 400 freestyle relay (3:18.73)

Mya DeWitt – 400 freestyle relay (3:18.73)

Miranda Grana – 100 backstroke (52.09), 100 butterfly (53.23)

Grace Hoeper – 400 freestyle relay (3:18.73)

Kristina Paegle – 400 freestyle relay (3:18.73)

Max Cahill – 200 butterfly (1:48.08)

Noah Cakir – 100 breaststroke (53.89), 200 breaststroke (1:59.91)

Travis Gulledge – 200 medley relay (1:26.33)

Miroslav Knedla – 200 medley relay (1:26.33)

Mikkel Lee – 200 medley relay (1:26.33), 50 freestyle (19.65), 100 freestyle (43.50)

Owen McDonald – 200 medley relay (1:26.33), 100 butterfly (47.96), 200 IM (1:47.67)

Raekwon Noel – 100 backstroke (47.11), 200 backstroke (1:45.61)

Zalán Sárkány – 1,000 freestyle (9:03.67), 500 freestyle (4:21.28)

Joshua Sollenberger – 1-meter (289.65), 3-meter (343.95)

Tournament to take place on Sunday

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – On Sunday, the University of Evansville women’s golf team will compete in the Notre Dame Fighting Irish Classic.

A 9 a.m. EST shotgun start will commence two rounds of action at The Warren GCS at Notre Dame. The tournament field includes Central Michigan, Dayton, Evansville, IU Indy, Notre Dame, Oakland, Purdue Fort Wayne, Valparaiso, and Youngstown State.

Evansville opened the 2025-26 campaign at the Redbird Invitational earning a 9^th place team finish. Highlighted by a 1-under 71 in the opening round, Kate Petrova finished in fourth place in the individual standings with a 3-round score of 217.

Jane Grankina was second on the team as she completed the tournament with a 236. Louise Standtke and Elizabeth Mercer were next, finishing with scores of 238 and 239, respectively.

Lea’s time of 24:14.49 is the fastest in program history

 COLUMBIA, Mo. – Evansville’s Samuel Lea (Worcester, United Kingdom/Worcester Sixth Form College) and James Cruse (Melbourne, Australia) put together a banner day for Aces cross country on Friday morning, breaking a 43-year old program record in the 8K. Lea’s time of 24.14.4 is the fastest in program history, while Cruse’s mark of 24:22.4 is good for second place on UE’s all-time 8K list.

Lea finished 32nd overall and Cruse finished 42nd overall in the 253-runner field. In addition to Lea and Cruse, Rafael Rodriguez (Segovia/Spain Colegio Claret) placed inside UE’s Top 15 8K times, slotting in at 14th with a time of 24:55.9. As a team, the men finished 19th out of 26 teams.

On the women’s side, Chase Hayes (Noblesville, Ind. Western) posted the seventh-best 6K in program history at 22:10.80, finishing 90th in the 236-runner field. UE finished 22nd out of 26 teams in the Women’s Black Invitational race.

The Aces cross country teams return to the course on October 17 to host the Angel Mounds Invitational at Angels Mounds Cross Country Course.