MARTIN, Tenn.- University of Southern Indiana Volleyball earned the sweep at the University of Tennessee at Martin on Friday night, to move to 9-4 in Ohio Valley Conference play and 13-12 overall. With the win, USI has officially earned its spot in the OVC tournament.
Friday’s victory marks the first time the Screaming Eagles have won on the road at Skyhawks Fieldhouse.
Set 1: USI 25, UTM 21
The Screaming Eagles started strong, taking a quick lead with a five-point serving run from junior Ashby Willis. Freshman setter Aysa Thomas dished out nine assists, two digs, and snuck in two kills for the team. Willis led the offense with four kills, followed by freshman Carley Wright with three.
Set 2: USI 25, UTM 19
The Skyhawks put up more of a fight at the start of the second set, holding the lead for the first 13 points before the Eagles took it back. Willis continued to find the court consistently, tallying four more kills, along with junior Leah Coleman, who also added four. Sophomore libero Audrey Small picked up four digs to double her first-set number.
Set 3:
With some quick push and pull to start the final set, the Eagles took control of the lead by the fifth point. Three USI players tallied three kills in the set, including Coleman, Willis, and senior Bianca Anderson, who made zero errors to hit a .600 percentage. Every Eagle player who took the court picked up a dig in the final set, led by Willis with five.
For the game, Thomas finished with 30 assists, five digs, and tied her career-high with five kills. Willis finished with her 13th double-double of the season with 11 kills and 10 digs. As a team, USI tallied two blocks per set for six total, led by junior McKenzie Murphy.
