EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (12-15, 8-8 OVC) has an opportunity to clinch an Ohio Valley Conference Championship berth but will need to take on the University of Tennessee at Martin (8-18, 6-10 OVC) on Wednesday at 6 p.m. and Thursday at 2 p.m. in its final regular season matches. With a win, the Screaming Eagles can etch their name into the playoffs which will go from Monday, November 20 through Wednesday, November 22, and will be hosted by the highest seed which is to be determined.

Game Coverage
Information about USI Volleyball, including live stats, video, and audio broadcasts, is available on USIScreamingEagles.com.

Tickets
Admission is free, courtesy of Tri-State Orthopaedics.

Screaming Eagles Headlines:
Eagles Tame Lions. The Screaming Eagles took down the Lions of Lindenwood on the road with a pair of 3-1 victories. USI is now 7-1 all-time against Lindenwood and snapped their three-match winless streak going into the final week.

You Have To #OVCit. USI can clinch the postseason but will have the tall task of taking on UT Martin. The Eagles are tied for sixth and hold the tiebreaker over four of the tournament-eligible teams. USI will need to bounce back after last year’s bout with the Skyhawks, dropping both matches on the road.

Magic Number 1. USI’s number to clinch a tournament spot is just one as the Eagles only need to be a top-eight team in the conference to earn a berth. To clinch a tournament berth, USI will need to either: 1) win one against UT Martin, 2) have SIUE/ Little Rock split, or 3) hope Western Illinois loses out. The Eagles could finish as high as the three seed or as low as the eight seed if they clinch.

Anderson Nets Offensive POTW. Senior Leah Anderson was voted as OVC Offensive Player of the Week after her dominating performance against Lindenwood. Anderson posted a season-high 24 kills on Thursday before pounding down a team-high 18 kills on Friday. The contests resulted in her 11th double-double and seventh-straight double-digit kill performance.

1,000 Ways to Assist. Junior Carly Sobieralski surpassed 1,000 assists this season and became the sixth USI setter to earn this feat since 2000. Earlier this season, Sobieralski nabbed 1,000 career assists and is inching her way into the record book.

Throwing It Down(ing). Junior Paris Downing has etched her name into the all-time USI Volleyball records. She now stands 25th all-time in total blocks with 209.

Anderson’s Double Life. Senior Leah Anderson has earned 11 double-doubles this season and has posted six double-doubles in her last seven matches. She has also nabbed 24 double-digit kill matches and 12 games with double-digit digs.

USI By The Set. The Eagles are 12-15 in the first set and 10-17 in the third set this season. However, USI has boasted an 18-9 record in the second frame along with going 11-7 in the fourth. The Eagles have yet to win a fifth set, dropping all five opportunities.

OVC Leaderboard. In conference matches, USI stands third in aces/set (1.54) and hitting percentage (.207). In all matches within the OVC, USI ranks fourth in aces/set (1.61) and fifth in blocks per set (2.08), opponent hitting percentage (.199), and digs per set (15.96).

OVC Leaders. Senior Leah Anderson has her name in three categories, nabbing second in points/set (4.42) and third in kills/set (3.70) and aces/set (0.43). Senior Abby Bednar sits in fifth in aces/set (0.39) and eighth in points/set (3.87) and kills/set (3.12). Junior Carly Sobieralski ranks fourth in assists/set (9.54) while junior Paris Downing and sophomore Keira Moore round out the leaders with Downing posting the second-most blocks/set (1.08) and Moore standing eighth in digs/set (4.01).

About UT Martin. The Skyhawks go into the final week 8-18 overall and 6-10 in OVC play. UT Martin is on a four-match winless streak after dropping both matches to Little Rock last weekend. The Skyhawks are also looking to clinch a playoff spot and will need to sweep USI and have SIUE/Little Rock split their matches. The Skyhawks will need to continue their defensive abilities to win as they hold the second-fewest opponent aces/set (1.30) and fourth-most digs/set (16.30).

Leading the Skyhawks. Haeleigh Paulino leads the pack in the passing game with 569 assists and a 5.93 assists/set margin for ninth best in the OVC. Paulino also leads the team in aces with 23. Kayla Carrell boasts a 4.23 digs/set split which is seventh most in the conference. Olivia Saunders stands atop the Skyhawks in a pair of categories with 244 kills and 90 blocks.

Evansville, In.:  Although the result on the ice was not what they had hoped for, losing 6-3, the Thunderbolts played an exciting game on Tuesday morning at Ford Center, with 7,621 in attendance for this year’s Education Day game against the Rivermen, setting a new franchise single-game attendance record.  The Thunderbolts next home game will be on Saturday, November 18^th against the Quad City Storm, puck drop at 7:00pm CT.

After a first period that saw the Rivermen go ahead 1-0 on a goal from Cayden Cahill, followed by a 5 minute rush of three goals from Joseph Widmar and Ryan Nolan twice, the Thunderbolts found themselves down 4-0 at the game’s halfway point.  Following a change in goal with Sean Kuhn taking over for Michael Herringer, the Thunderbolts got going and scored to get back to within 4-1 as Scott Kirton scored on a power play from Colton Kalezic and Chays Ruddy at 16:07.

Only 2:55 into the third period, a rush to the net from Kalezic resulted in a shot going in off a Peoria defender to make it a 4-2 game, assisted by Matt Dorsey and Ruddy.  Minutes later at 6:55, Mike Gelatt made it a 5-2 game for the Rivermen, before Evansville answered back as Kalezic scored once again from Mike Ferraro and Brendan Harrogate at 8:25 to bridge the gap to 5-3.  One final goal came from an empty net strike from Nolan for the Rivermen, rounding out a hat trick and a 6-3 final score.  Although they came up short, the Thunderbolts made a game out of it late and will look to carry that momentum into Friday night’s game in Knoxville, and hopefully have made many new hockey fans out of the thousands of kids who came to their first game today.

Kalezic led the way with two goals and one assist, Kirton added one goal, and Ruddy finished with two assists.  Herringer finished with 12 saves on 16 shots, while Kuhn stopped 10 of 11 shots faced in relief. The Thunderbolts and Rivermen meet once again on Friday, December 8^th at Peoria Civic Center.

Individual game tickets and group packages are on sale for this 2023-24 season.  Season tickets for the 2023-24 season are also on sale.  Call 812-422-BOLT or visit our all-new website (www.evansvillethunderbolts.com) for details.