EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball lost to Tennessee Tech Wednesday night in a four-set Ohio Valley Conference battle.
The loss marks the end of USI’s undefeated home conference game streak, moving them to 8-4 in OVC games and 12-12 overall.
Set 1: USI 25, TTU 15
The Screaming Eagles took a dominant first set. Junior McKenzie Murphy led the offense with four kills, and freshman Carley Wright followed with three. As a team, USI made only two errors, hitting a .323 percent. Freshman Aysa Thomas dished out eight assists and led the back court with seven digs.
Set 2: TTU 25, USI 21
TTU maintained the lead for the entire set, as the Screaming Eagles struggled to put together an offensive response. Thomas marked her 17th consecutive double-double in the set, adding 12 assists and five more digs. Junior Ashby Willis led the team in kills, adding five in the set with just two errors.
Set 3: TTU 25, USI 22
USI held control of the lead for the first 10 points as TTU rallied to take it back with a six-point serving run. The Screaming Eagles struggled in service receive, TTU added three aces to double their count from the first two sets. As a team, USI tallied three blocks, led by Murphy, who added the only solo block.
Set 4: TTU 25, USI 23
As the set with the most lead changes with six, the two teams battled to take control of the game for the entire set. Three Eagles tallied three kills each, with juniors Willis and Leah Coleman, and senior Bianca Anderson trying to swing some momentum for the USI side.
For the game, Thomas finished with 34 assists and a team-high of 19 digs. Willis led the team with 10 kills, followed by three Eagles that tallied eight each, Wirght, Anderson, and Coleman. Murphy led the defensive effort at the net, adding five of the team’s nine blocks.
