Eagles hit the road for Kent State Invitational

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (0-3, 0-0 OVC) will be on the road for the first tournament this season as the Screaming Eagles are set to face three opponents in the Kent State Invitational in Kent, Ohio this weekend. USI faces Oakland University (1-2) Friday at 9 a.m. before dueling with host school, Kent State University (2-1), Friday at 6 p.m. The Eagles end the weekend with a battle against Cornell University (0-0) Saturday at 3 p.m.
 
Game Coverage
Information about USI Volleyball, including live stats, video, and audio broadcasts, is available on USIScreamingEagles.com. 
 
Tickets
Tickets for the Kent State Invitational can be found here.
 
Screaming Eagles Headlines:
Battle of Evansville. University of Southern Indiana and University of Evansville debuted the new NCAA Division I cross-town rivalry after the Eagles transitioned from NCAA Division II in early 2022. The Purple Aces got the best of the Screaming Eagles, winning the match, 3-0. This was the first regular season matchup between the two programs since October 1992.

Opening Weekend. USI kicked off the 2022 campaign against Murray State last weekend. The Eagles lost 3-2 in Friday’s opening matchup before falling in Saturday’s match, 3-1. USI was 2-0 in the opening frame, but a combined 1-6 in sets two through five.

Offensive Struggles. The Eagles’ offense has not produced the past two matches, nabbing 34 versus Murray State on Saturday and 28 kills against Evansville on Tuesday. In comparison, USI tallied 59 kills against Murray State on Friday. On a brighter note, USI finished with a season-high .236 hitting percentage off 72 attempts against Evansville.

Season Leaders. The Eagles are led offensively by junior outside hitter Leah Anderson who has 36 kills and 40.5 points while junior outside/right side hitter/setter Katherine Koch leads with 81 assists. Defensively, freshman libero/defensive specialist Keira Moore is atop with 42 digs with a .966 reception percentage after 12 sets.

Abby Duo. USI sophomore combination Abby Bednar and Abby Weber have been producing key numbers for the Eagles. Bednar tallied 10 kills versus Murray State on Friday while Weber recorded 14 kills and another 10 on Tuesday against Evansville. The Abby duo are the only Eagles to touch double-digit kills this season.

Guarding the Front…