EVANSVILLE, Ind.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (6-8, 1-1 OVC) rallied to win three straight sets after dropping the opener against preseason conference favorite Southeast Missouri State University (4-9, 1-1 OVC). USI splits the two-game weekend series in their Ohio Valley Conference opener.
The difference from Friday’s loss was the Eagles cleaning up their own mistakes and creating less errors with a season best .291 hitting percentage. USI committed 37 errors on a .122 attacking percentage on Friday compared to their 21 errors and .291 percentage on Saturday. The Eagles also attacked from a variety of different directions with five different Eagles tallying double digit kills.
Set 1: SEMO 25, USI 23
The Redhawks came out of the gate strong taking the first five points. Junior Keira Moore helped the Eagles dig out of the hole with two straight aces giving her a team leading 17 on the season. Sophomore Ashby Willis and senior Paris Downing both tallied three kills to stay within four down 18-22. Three kills from graduate senior Jasmine Green and four impressive digs from Moore helped the Eagles mount a late five-point run. However, the early SEMO lead became too much to overcome. Both teams cleaned up their errors from Friday night with only nine combined in set one. The Redhawks hit a set high .342 hitting percentage.
Set 2: SEMO 18, USI 25
Senior Carly Sobieralski spread the wealth to five different Eagles as USI led 13-12. Sophomore Leah Coleman took her turn at the end of the set with three huge kills. USI finished SEMO with 5-1 run capped off by a Downing rejection. Sobieralski finished with a massive 17 assists on nearly every Eagle attack. USI committed a set low three errors looking more like themselves.
Set 3: SEMO 23, USI 25
USI struggled to start the set with seven errors falling behind 15-6. However, USI charged back on a 16-5 run with the help of three kills from Willis and Coleman each, along with five from junior Bianca Anderson to make it 22-19. Coleman smashed two more kills to give her five on the set as USI finished the Redhawks.
Set 4: SEMO 20, USI 25
The Eagles jumped out to an early 8-2 lead as senior Abby Weber and Moore continued to frustrate the Redhawks offense digging attacks. Anderson added five more kills from different angles confusing SEMO as the Sobieralski to Anderson duo was deadly tonight leading 19-14. USI closed the match on five straight points from Coleman and Downing to earn their first Ohio Valley Conference victory of the season. USI smashed a set high .375 hitting percentage.
Anderson led the Eagles offensively again with 15 kills, but four different Eagles trailed right behind her with double digit kills. Sobieralski finished with a monstrous 58 assists nearly breaking her season high of 59. Willis played a big role defensively with 19 digs and Moore and Sobieralski trailed right behind with 16 and 14, respectively. Anderson swatted a team high three blocks, while Moore placed three perfect service aces.
As a team, USI finished with 69 kills, 65 assists, 72 digs, four aces, six blocks, and a .291 attacking percentage. The Redhawks earned 52 kills, 51 assists, 64 digs, four aces, 11 blocks, and a .242 hitting percentage.
Next up for the Eagles
USI hosts University of Tennessee at Martin on Tuesday at 4 p.m. for Mental Health Awareness Night.
