The 2018 season came to close for the University of Southern Indiana volleyball team Saturday afternoon following a three-set loss in Great Lakes Valley Conference play to McKendree University (27-25, 25-20, 25-19) at the Physical Activities Center.
Senior setter Erika Peoples (Bloomington, Illinois) led the way for the Screaming Eagles (10-19, 2-16 GLVC) with a double-double of 20 assists and 10 digs, while fellow senior libero Haley Limper (Springfield, Illinois) posted a match-high 19 digs.
The Bearcats (16-14, 10-8 GLVC) were led by Megan Marks with 17 kills, while Morgan Melchert posted a double-double with 36 assists and 10 digs.
Peoples, Limper, and graduating-junior middle hitter Shawntel James (Elkhart, Indiana) were recognized prior to the match in Senior Day celebration.
McKendree 27, USI 25
- The Eagles put together a 9-3 run, including three straight points at match point, but gave away the first set on a pair of attack errors after a 25-25 draw
- Junior outside hitter Lindsey Stose (Elkhart, Indiana) continued her strong performance on the attack from Friday night, led USI with four kills in the opening frame
- Peoples tallied seven of USI’s 13 assists, while four others combined for the other six
- Four Eagles registered kills as USI climbed back to a tie in the 9-3 run: Stose, junior middle blocker Amanda Jung (Belleville, Illinois), and sophomores outside hitter Alyssa Yochum (Columbia, Illinois) and setter Casey Cepicky (St. Louis, Missouri)
- There were eight tied scores in the opening set, six coming before the second, and final, lead change at 10-9 in favor of the Bearcats
McKendree 25, USI 20
- USI opened the second set with 10 kills in its first 11 points, but surrendered an 8-3 stretch to McKendree following a 17-17 tie
- Stose continued her offensive performance with four more kills, this time paired with a .500 hitting percentage…Yochum also added four kills, three of which coming on the 9th, 10th and 11th points for the Eagles
- Peoples reached her double-double through two sets, nearly posting a double-double in the second set alone with nine assists and seven digs…Limper also added seven digs, which tied Peoples for the highest total in the set
McKendree 25, USI 19
- The Bearcats opened the match-clinching set with a 6-1 lead, survived a 5-0 USI run to a 9-9 draw, and closed on three straight points via two kills and a block
- Yochum and junior right side hitter Elexis Coleman (Joliet, Illinois) each tallied three kills to lead the Eagles…Yochum finished one kill shy of a double-double with 10 digs
- Limper tallied six digs, again tying the most in the set, and added her 26th service ace of the season
Notes
- Haley Limper’s 19 digs was her second-highest total in a GLVC match this season (23; v. Lewis University on Oct. 5), and her most since posting 22 at the Midwest Region Crossover against Kentucky Wesleyan College on Oct. 13
- Erika Peoples notched her sixth double-double of the season
Curtain Call
USI Volleyball concluded the 2018 campaign on Saturday afternoon.
