—For the second straight match, the University of Southern Indiana volleyball team faces McKendree University in a win-or-go-home scenario, this time in the opening round of the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament Friday at 2:30 p.m. at the EastSide Centre in East Peoria, Illinois.

USI (21-10, 10-8 GLVC) had to get through the Bearcats this past Saturday just to qualify for the league’s post-season tournament. After dropping the first set, the Screaming Eagles responded with three straight wins to defeat the GLVC East Division champions and earn their 17^thstraight post-season berth.

Meeting a team for the second consecutive match is nothing new for the Eagles, who faced the University of Indianapolis to end the 2005 regular season before meeting the Greyhounds in the first round of the GLVC Tournament. USI also faced Quincy University in back-to-back matches during the 2008 regular-season.

Still, the situation that the Eagles had to go through just to make it into a strong GLVC Tournament field was unique.

A night after being upset by the University of Illinois Springfield, the Eagles found themselves needing a win over a red-hot McKendree squad that had already swept USI earlier in the season. They also needed help, in the form of a University of Wisconsin-Parkside win over Indianapolis or a Rockhurst University win over Truman State University.

The Eagles took care of their end of the bargain with their four-set win over McKendree, snapping the Bearcats six-match winning streak in the process, but an Indianapolis sweep of UW-Parkside left USI’s post-season fate in the hands of then No. 7 Rockhurst, who were playing on the road in a primetime match against a team that also had its back against the wall.

Rockhurst prevailed, ousting Truman State with a three-set win to give the Eagles life. Despite both teams finishing with identical conference records, USI held the tie-breaker over Truman State thanks to its five-set win over the Bulldogs at the Physical Activities Center earlier in the year.

USI also finished in a tie with UW-Parkside, but the Rangers’ five-set win over the Eagles earlier in the year gave them the first wildcard spot and the No. 4 seed from the East Division. USI, which grabbed the second wildcard spot, assumed the No. 4 seed from the West Division since only three teams from the West Division qualified for the GLVC Tournament.

Henceforth, the Eagles get a rematch with McKendree, the No. 1 seed from the East Division, in the first round of the GLVC Tournament, while UW-Parkside faces Rockhurst, the No. 1 seed from the West.

USI will look to duplicate the success it had in a match this past Saturday that saw junior setter Quin Shoultz (Columbus, Indiana) come two kills away from a triple-double. Shoultz finished with eight kills, a .583 attacking percentage, 35 assists, and 10 digs.

Senior middle blocker Abbey Winter (Germantown, Illinois) was huge for the Eagles in the win as she had 13 kills, a .462 attacking percentage, and three blocks. Winter had 12 kills and a .555 attacking percentage in the final three sets as USI rallied for the win.

Senior right side hitter Erica Oberbroeckling (Westfield, Indiana), who had 13 kill on Saturday, leads USI with 3.07 kills per set and is second on the team with 2.80 digs per frame, while sophomore libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) is averaging a team-best 4.88 digs per frame.

GLVC Sports Network coverage of the GLVC Tournament as well as live stats can be found at GoUSIEagles.com.

After earning a berth for the national meet out of what is arguably the toughest region in the country, the No. 14 University of Southern Indiana women’s cross country team will toe the line at the NCAA Division II Championships Saturday at 10 a.m. in Joplin, Missouri, for the first time since 2012.

Led by sophomore Emily Roberts (Fredericktown, Ohio) and senior Jessica Reeves (Midland, Michigan), the Screaming Eagles are hopeful that a top 10 finish at the national meet is in their future.

Roberts finished fifth at the NCAA II Midwest Region Championships two weeks ago at Angel Mounds, in a field that featured last year’s individual national champion in addition to multiple track & field national champions.

Coupled with Reeves’s 16th-place finish, the Eagles finished fifth in the 30-team regional field.

USI had three of the top 30 finishers and four in the top 50 at the regional meet as senior Jamie Adkins (Owensboro, Kentucky) and sophomore Jessica Lincoln (Palatine, Illinois) finished 30th and 47th, respectively, at the regional meet.

Both Roberts and Reeves will be strong contenders to earn All-America honors Saturday, which go to the top 40 finishers.

University of Southern Indiana Men’s Basketball opens the 2015-16 home schedule with a whiteout game Wednesday when it hosts Lees-McRae College for a 7 p.m. contest. Fans are encouraged to wear white to the game in conjunction with USI’s support of the United Way’s “Live United” campaign. A white “Live United” t-shirt will be given to the first 1000 fans entering the Physical Activities Center.

Game coverage for the home opener, including live stats, audio and video, is available at gousieagles.com. The games also can be heard over the air on WEOA 98.5FM/1400AM and WPSR 90.7FM.

USI Men’s Basketball vs. Lees-McRae Quick Notes: 

Eagles start ’15-16 with split in Vegas. USI posted a split in the D2 Vegas Showdown to start the season, defeating the University of Findlay, 88-80, before falling to Lake Superior State University, 91-73. The Eagles go to 7-3 in five trips to Las Vegas.

Stein has best freshman debut since 2001-02. Freshman guard Alex Stein‘s 17-points versus Findlay was USI’s best freshman debut since Cris Brunson scored 18 points in his first game against Texas A&M University-Commerce in 2001-02.

Top individual performances in Vegas. The Eagles had three players average in double-digit scoring with freshman guard Alex Stein leading the way with 18.0 points per contest. Stein shot 63.2 percent (12-19) from the field in the two contests. Junior guard Jeril Taylor followed with 13.0 points per game, while junior guard Bobo Drummond averaged 11.0 points per outing. Senior forward George Edwardshad USI’s top single-game total with 20 against Findlay to open the season.

The Eagles in Vegas. The Eagles shot 51.4 percent (57-111) in the D2 Vegas Showdown, 39.5 percent from long range (15-38). USI also had a two-game advantage in the rebound battle, 72-67.

USI records 30th-straight season opening win. The Eagles win over Findlay to open the 2015-16 campaign was the 30th-straight season opening victory.

Looking for #31 against Lees-McRae. USI will be looking for its 31st-straight home opening victory when it hosts Lees-McRae College. The Eagles are 40-5 all-time in home opening games.

Non-conference foes have tough going against USI. USI is 192-23 (.893) against non-GLVC teams during the last 23 seasons. Of the 23 losses, two have come in the NCAA Division II Tournament Finals and three in the NCAA II Great Lakes Regional.

USI vs. Lees-McRae USI won the only meeting with Lees-McRae, 110-69, in 2005-06. The Eagles had five players in double-figures in the win, led by Melvin Hall’s 18 points.

Lees-McRae in 2015-16. The Bobcats are 0-2 to start the year and play Kentucky Wesleyan College Tuesday before visiting the Eagles. Lees-McRae lost to Tusculum College, 78-75, and Lincoln Memorial University, 94-77, in the Conference Carolinas Challenge.