ST. LOUIS—University of Southern Indiana Volleyball could not overcome early deficits Friday night as it suffered a 25-21, 25-21, 25-20 Great Lakes Valley Conference setback to host University of Missouri-St. Louis.
The Screaming Eagles (9-17, 3-11 GLVC) rallied from six down in the opening set to cut their deficit to two late in the frame; but could not complete the comeback as the Tritons held on for the four-point win.
In the second stanza, USI surged back from an eight-point deficit to get to within two points late. Once again, however, the Tritons turned the Eagles away for a four-point win and a two-set lead in the match.
USI trailed by five at multiple junctures of the third frame before closing the gap to two points; but the Tritons, like they did in the first two sets, stopped the Eagles’ push to earn a five-point win and three-set sweep.
Senior middle/outside hitter Amy Zwissler (Bloomington, Indiana) led the Eagles with 13 kills and a .323 attacking percentage, while sophomore setter Erika Peoples (Bloomington, Illinois) finished with 26 assists.
Junior libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) led all players with 21 digs as she moved past Jamie Roth (1994-97) for fourth all-time at USI in career digs (1,279). Farrell needs just 12 digs to become the first player in program history to reach the 500-dig plateau in back-to-back seasons.
USI returns to action Saturday at 3 p.m. when it visits Maryville University in St. Louis, Missouri. The Saints (3-24, 1-13 GLVC) are coming off a three-set loss to Bellarmine University Friday night.
Note:Â With the loss, USI is officially eliminated from GLVC Tournament contention, breaking a streak of 17 straight GLVC Tournament appearances.
Short Box Score (Match)
Univ. of Southern Indiana Volleyball
Southern Indiana vs Missouri-St. Louis (Nov 04, 2016 at St. Louis, MO)
Missouri-St. Louis def. Southern Indiana 25-21,25-21,25-20
Southern Indiana (9-17, 3-11 GLVC)
(Kills-aces-blocks) – Zwissler, Amy 13-0-1; Jung, Amanda 6-0-1; Whitfield, Te’Ayla 5-0-2; Coleman, Elexis 4-0-3; Humphrey, Mikaila 4-1-2; Peoples, Erika 2-0-1; Totals 34-1-5.0. (Assists) – Peoples, Erika 26. (Dig leaders) – Farrell, Shannon 21; Humphrey, Mikaila 7
Missouri-St. Louis (14-11, 8-6 GLVC)
(Kills-aces-blocks) – Rogers, Lexi 13-0-2; Jones, Gaylnn 11-1-4; Rudsinski, Kylie 10-0-1; Nolte, Selena 9-0-0; Childers, Morgan 6-2-0; Uradzionek, Kristen 4-0-2; Totals 53-3-5.0. (Assists) – Buchman, Kendall 21; Abeyta, Madyson 21. (Dig leaders) – Waedekin, Danielle 17; Buchman, Kendall 7
