The University of Southern Indiana Women’s Volleyball team hosted the Lindenwood University Lions Friday, Nov. 14, in Liberty Arena. Before the match began, Keira Moore, senior libero/defensive specialist, was recognized for an achievement that only three other USI players have achieved. She set a record of 1,500 digs in her career while playing against Lindenwood in their previous match on Thursday night.
276 in attendance, which included other USI athletes such as the men’s and women’s basketball teams and members of the men’s volleyball team, gathered in Liberty Arena to watch the home finale, before the women’s volleyball team hits the road to play their last games of the season at Western Illinois University.
To begin the final home match of the season, Lindenwood served the ball up first, but McKenzie Murphy, junior middle blocker, earned the first kill of the night, giving Southern Indiana the first point of the night. Audrey Small, sophomore libero/defensive specialist, took possession of the ball and served for six points in a row, giving USI an expansive lead that would take them all the way to their first win of the night with a score of 25-20. Leah Coleman, junior outside hitter, had an impressive first set with four kills.
In set 2, The Screaming Eagles fought a back-and-forth battle with Lindenwood, but ended victorious, after a late 8-0 run, winning the set 25-16. Carley Wright, freshman right side hitter, led the way in set two with six kills.
With the match on the line, Lindenwood dug deep and played superior to Southern Indiana, winning the third set to force a fourth one. Although the Screaming Eagles couldn’t pull it off in three sets, multiple players contributed greatly. Coleman had three kills, and Ashby Willis, junior outside hitter, had five of her own.
The fourth set was the most intense of the night, as it truly could’ve gone either way. Lindenwood scored the opening point after a serving error from the Southern Indiana side. After the first point, the teams went back and forth, leading to a tie score of 7-7. Aysa Thomas, freshman setter, stepped up to serve the ball, and led to scores in four of her five serves, which gave the Screaming Eagles a moderate caution. However, they needed to keep pushing to win the match, which they did, scoring seven of the next twelve points. Lindenwood got on a run late, but Willis was able to finish the game, giving USI the final point they needed to win, making the score 25-19.
For the match, Thomas finished with 39 assists. Willis contributed 18 kills, while Coleman and Wright added 14 and 12 kills, respectively. After an incredible final showing in Liberty Arena by the USI Women’s Volleyball team, they get ready to play their final two matches against Western Illinois University on the road and move on to play in the Ohio Valley Conference tournament, Nov. 23 through 25.
