November 08, 2008

Eagles rally, but see win streak end

at Missouri-St. Louis (22-7, 14-3 GLVC): 3
Southern Indiana (16-14, 9-8 GLVC): 1
Line Score: 25-23, 25-27, 25-23, 28-26 (Box Score)

ST. LOUIS, Mo.—The University of Southern Indiana volleyball team rallied from a one-set deficit, than fought off a pair of match points in the fourth set, but could not complete the comeback as it fell to the University of Missouri-St. Louis 25-23, 25-27, 25-23, 28-26 in its regular-season finale Saturday afternoon.

USI (16-14, 9-8 GLVC) struggled with its attack throughout the contest, but made up for it with a solid presence at the net.

The Screaming Eagles, who clinched the third seed in the GLVC West Division Friday night, racked up 17.0 team blocks and held the Tritons (22-7, 14-3 GLVC) to a .132 attacking percentage.

After dropping a closely-contested first set, the Eagles battled back from a 20-15 deficit to win the second game. The Tritons, however, edged the Eagles in the third frame to regain the one-set advantage and inch one step closer to the victory.

USI rallied from a five-point deficit to gain a 24-23 edge in the fourth set, but two straight points by Missouri-St. Louis shifted the tide back into the Tritons' favor. USI overcame two match-point situations, but the Tritons' third attempt ending match was successful as they put an end to USI's four-match winning streak.

Melanie Pund

Margaret Buschman

Individually, the Eagles got another solid effort out of junior setter Melanie Pund (Ferdinand, Indiana), who was two blocks shy of a triple-double. Pund finished the match with 46 assists, 15 digs, and eight block assists, while senior middle blocker Margaret Buschman (Reynolds, Indiana) had 14 kills, a .250 attacking percentage, and a career-high 10 blocks assists.

Junior outside hitter Courtney Bealor (LaPorte, Indiana) had 17 kills and 14 digs, while sophomore outside hitter Brittani Oliver (Indianapolis, Indiana) finished with 13 kills and 19 digs. Junior middle blocker Ashley Henricks (Greenwood, Indiana) had seven block assists, while sophomore libero Janae Curnutt (Arcadia, Indiana) had 17 digs.

USI, which won eight of 11 GLVC matches to end the regular season, faces the second seed from the East Division, Northern Kentucky University, in the first round of the GLVC Tournament Friday at noon in Romeoville, Illinois. It marks the first time since 2003 that USI and NKU have met in the GLVC Tournament.

Dan McDonnell,
USI Sports Information