NCAA Womens Volleyball

Eagles soar past Cougars in thrilling four-set victory

SIU Edwardsville

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (9-9, 5-2 OVC) won a nail-biter against Southern Illinois University Edwardsville (7-9, 1-4 OVC) on Friday night at Screaming Eagles Arena, 3-1 (25-22, 25-23, 30-28, 25-22). The Screaming Eagles snap an eight-match winless streak against the Cougars dating back to 2005.
 
A slow start haunts the Eagles in the opening frame, 25-22. USI scored the first point of the match off a kill from senior outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) until the Cougars nabbed three straight points to take a 3-1 lead. After back-to-back kills by senior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois), USI made it 7-6 but SIUE turned around and fired off five of the next six points to extend their lead to five. Even after an attacking error, the Cougars used a 4-0 run to double-up on the Eagles, 16-8. The Eagles did put up a fight by scoring eight of the next 10 points to cut the deficit to just two. The surge was highlighted by four kills from three different USI players and capped off with an ace from junior outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana). SIUE extended their lead back up to five until a late 3-0 stint from the Eagles made it a close contest at the wire before the Cougars iced the set with a kill. Both sides produced 12 kills in the frame but it was USI’s seven errors that hurt them the most.
 
It was a tight race to the finish, but USI ultimately came out on top in the second set, 25-23. Trailing 4-3 early, the Eagles…

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