ANN ARBOR, Mich. - University of Southern Indiana falls to Florida Atlantic and Marshall in their first day at the Michigan Invitational, moving to 1-5 for the season.
In their first time on the road, USI took on Florida Atlantic in a neutral-site match at Crisler Center. The Screaming Eagles were swept (3-0) in a dynamic fight with the Owls. Next up in the doubleheader, USI took on Marshall in a four-set thriller, which won the Eagles their first set of the weekend.
Several Screaming Eagles took the court for the first time of the 2025 season in set 1. Mariah Minor and Maeve Moonan earned their first starts, while setter Jordan Troutman and Jillian Moonan took the court later in the set. Freshman Mackenzie Nettles recorded the first two kills of her career.
Senior Bianca Anderson led the team in kills in the second set, tallying four, closely followed by Nettles, who had three. Junior Ashby Willis was a strength from the back row, leading the game with five digs.
Back at libero for the game, senior Keira Moore picked up seven digs in the third, helping to keep FAU to their lowest hitting percentage of the game. At the net, Anderson built on her kill tally, picking up another five.
For the game, the Screaming Eagles recorded five team blocks, with Minor putting down two for a new career high, which led the team. USI connected on 36 kills for the game, one off their season high.
Freshman Carley Wright was back in the lineup against Marshall, she slammed down four kills in the first set, hitting .500 percent. As a team, USI put up three blocks, two by junior McKenzie Murphy.
Anderson led the offense in the second set, with three kills and two blocks. USI's defense held Marshall to their lowest hitting percentage of the game, with an evenly spaced back court. Four different Eagles picked up three digs each.
The Screaming Eagles came alive in the third set, hitting .327 percent on 20 team kills. Led by Anderson, who had six herself, and led the court with three blocks at the net. Libero Audrey Small picked up nine digs, more than doubling what she had in the first two sets.
USI quickly fell behind Marshall in the fourth set, their hits having a hard time finding the floor. Sophomore Kerigan Fehr picked up four digs, alongside Small. Thomas topped off her new season-high assists with five more in the fourth, bringing her final to 38 for the game.
In their first four-set game of the 2025 season, the Eagles marked several new game highs. As a team, they tallied 46 kills and 81 digs. Willis recorded her first double-double of the season with 10 kills and 10 digs. Murphy and Anderson each tallied six kills to make for 14 team blocks. Junior Leah Coleman doubled her season-high with 10 kills.
SIUE 3, MERRIMACK 2
NORTHERN ILLINOIS 3, SIUE 0
DEKALB, Ill. - SIUE volleyball defeated Merrimack in five sets earlier today (19-25,25-17,13-25, 25-15, 15-10), but fell to Northern Illinois in three sets.
The Cougars advance to 2-4 on the season.
In the first game of the day, the Cougars had a strong showing against Merrimack with 48 kills, nine aces, 14 blocks, 82 digs compared to Merrimacks 37 kills, seven aces, 11 blocks and 81 digs.
Ally Hughes had another big game with her third double-double of her career, tallying 17 assists and 14 digs. Kennedy Pike and Sophie Robinson matched each other with nine kills.
Merrimack was led by Aubrey Baker with 10 kills and Sophia DeBonis with 13 kills.
Against NIU the cougars put had 47 kills, four blocks, and 53 digs compared to NIU's 42 kills, six blocks, 28 assists and 39 digs.
The Cougars were led by Robinson with 16 kills, Paige Bernsteing with 22 assists and Olivia Hogan with 15 digs.
NIU was led by Emma McCartney who had 11 kills, Ella Strausberger with 17 assists and Ava Grevengoed with 12 digs.
USC UPSTATE 3, TENNESSEE TECH 1
BIRMINGHAM, Ala. - The Tennessee Tech volleyball team closed out action at the UAB Blazer Invitational on Saturday, starting off well with a 25-22 victory in the opening set, but the USC Upstate squad rallied to take the next three sets 25-15, 28-26 and 25-18 to take the 3-1 win.
Tech (2-4) returns to action as it opens up its home slate with the Golden Eagle Invitational presented by Holiday Inn of Cookeville on Thursday, Friday and Saturday, hosting Wichita State, Radford and Samford in the Hooper Eblen Center. All games are free to the public.
Bella Powell led the Golden Eagles with 18 kills, while freshman Jordyn Milhouse set a new personal best with 11 kills and Ava Schubert collected nine to lead the offense. MK Roberts had 14 digs and Jordan Karlen collected 12 digs and 45 assists to pick up a double-double.
Summer Kohler led USC Upstate (4-3) with 18 kills, while Ady O'Grady and Kensley Haneline each had 15. Kamyla Vega David posted 51 assists and 15 digs, while Sophia Overholt had 19 digs.
Overall, it was a close match with 13 ties in the first set and 11 ties in the third.
After Schubert tied the first set at 20 with a kill off a feed from Karlen, the Golden Eagles were able to outscore the Spartans 5-2 to close out the opening series with the win.
However, USC Upstate took the wind out of Tech's sails early in the second set, surging out to a 10-3 lead and never looked back, continually building on the advantage until the Spartans took the 10-point lead to close out the set. USC Upstate hit .562 in the set with O'Grady and Haneline recording five kills each.
In the third set, Eryn Spradley gave the Golden Eagles set point on a kill off of Powell's assist, leading 24-21. Two straight attack errors brought the Spartans back to 24-23, then Haneline tied the set at 24 and USC Upstate took a 25-24 lead on Kohler's kill. Schubert tied the set once more with a kill.
Kohler sandwiched an attack error on Haneline with successful kills to make it a 27-26 Spartan lead, then O'Grady scored the final kill off a block error to give USC Upstate the 2-1 advantage in the match.
In the final set, the Golden Eagles trailed 15-17, but could not get any closer as the Spartans outscored Tech 8-3 down the stretch. Powell matched Kohler with six kills each, but seven attack errors against the Golden Eagles proved the difference in the set.
UTSA 3, LINDENWOOD 0
SPRINGFIELD, Mo. - The Lindenwood women's volleyball team (4-2, 0-0 OVC) fell 3-0 to UTSA (2-3, 0-0 American) in Springfield on Saturday afternoon.
Game Overview
The Roadrunners hit .423 in the match's opening frame as they ran away from the Lions for a 25-13 win. Kylee Richey led LU with four kills in the set, while Autumn Bax and Ashley Geluck contributed three kills apiece.
The Lions settled in for set two and led by as many as five points in the frame. However, UTSA used some timely scoring runs to overcome the deficit and take the set by a 25-23 margin. Richey and Bax both posted four kills in the set, with Geluck adding three more to her outing on a .429 hitting percentage.
Lindenwood led early on in set three, but the Roadrunners outscored the Lions 12-4 down the stretch to take the set and match. Bax and Richey led the way again with three kills apiece.
Kylee Richey finished the match with 11 total kills, while Autumn Bax posted her fifth double digit kill performance with 10 on a .304 attack percentage.
Ashley Geluck also had a solid outing with eight kills on the afternoon.
MOREHEAD STATE 3, RADFORD 1
MOREHEAD, Ky. - An efficient Morehead State attack led the way as the Eagles finished off the Comfort Inn-Vitational with a four set win over Radford Saturday afternoon in Johnson Arena.
The Eagles (3-3) were led by senior
M.E. Hargan with the 22
nd double-double of her career. She posted a season-high 22 kills while hitting a .450 attack percentage and added 11 digs. Junior
Hollan Everett finished with 10 kills while hitting .625.
Hargan and libero
Courtney Fitzgerald were named to the Comfort Inn-Vitational All-Tournament Team, marking Hargan's second straight all-tournament selection in 2025.
After splitting the first two sets, MSU came out firing in the third frame, slamming 15 kills for a .481 hitting percentage. Hargan and middle blocker
Amelia Nott paced the Eagles attack with five kills each in the set.
The Eagles kept up the pace in the final set, hitting 13 kills in 28 attempts for a .357 hitting percentage. The Eagles rode Hargan in the final frame; she notched six kills in 11 swings with just one hitting error.
Final set scores were 25-19, 23-25, 25-13, 25-16.
Morehead State was also strong up front, with a 14-9 advantage in blocks. Bailey Brasher led the block party with 7 blocks, tying her career high.
Sarah Heath set career highs with six total blocks and three block solos.
Radford (1-5) was led by freshman Olivia Ryno with 14 kills. The Highlanders offense notched 35 kills with a .126 efficiency.
MARIST 3, UT MARTIN 0
MURFREESBORO, Tenn. - Day 2 of the Blue Raider Bash delivered a highly competitive matchup for the University of Tennessee at Martin volleyball squad but the Skyhawks fell by a 3-0 score (25-23, 25-22, 25-15) to Marist.
Freshman setter Ava Peters had a great all-around match today for UT Martin, tallying team-highs in kills (six, on a .545 hitting percentage) and assists (19) while also posting three digs and two blocks. Kristin Philips (.333 attack percentage), Carly Mueller (.462 hitting percentage) and Kylie Surratt equaled Peters for the team-high in kills with six apiece.
On the defensive side, Abby Freund scooped up a team-best 10 digs while Makaelah Paulino and Surratt each registered seven digs. Carly Mueller rejected a career-high five blocks while Sienna Wnetrzak (five kills, .455 attack percentage, three blocks) also provided the Skyhawks (0-4) with a spark in her first career start.
A Kayla Bryant kill plus a block assist from Mueller and Wnetrzak gave UT Martin an early lead in the opening set. The Red Foxes (1-4) answered with six straight points before a Peters kill pulled the Skyhawks back within striking distance at 11-9. A trio of Surratt kills over a four-point stretch trimmed the Marist advantage down to 22-21 before a Wnetrzak rally killer brought UT Martin within a point (24-23) late. However, the Red Foxes clinched the set on the next possession. Wnetrzak was on fire in the opening set, slamming down four kills in six tries (.667 hitting percentage) while Carly Mueller turned away three blocks at the net in the first set.
The second set was a back-and-forth effort, featuring 10 tie scores. Mueller came away with two early kills to give the Skyhawks a 4-2 edge before Marist recovered to take a 10-7 lead. Following a Peters kill that knotted the score at 15-all, the Red Foxes had set point at 24-19. UT Martin kept fighting – trimming its deficit to 24-22 – but Marist went ahead by a 2-0 margin in the match after securing the next point. Mueller had four kills in seven attempts (.571 attack percentage) while Freund posted five digs in the middle set.
The Skyhawks led early in the third stanza but a 6-0 Red Fox run led to a 12-4 UT Martin deficit. Marist took a nine-point lead before Peters gave the Skyhawks momentum late – landing three kills in UT Martin's final four points. However, the Skyhawks' deficit proved to be too large to overcome as the Red Foxes closed out the match. Phillips and Peters had three kills apiece on a combined .750 hitting percentage to pace UT Martin offensively.
SAINT LOUIS 3, WESTERN ILLINOIS 1
ST. LOUIS - The Western Illinois Volleyball team dropped a four-set battle against Saint Louis on Saturday afternoon at Chaifetz Pavilion. The Billikens took the match 3–1, the Leathernecks recording their season 1-5
The opening set stayed tight throughout, featuring five ties and three lead changes. Western Illinois trailed 15-12 midway through but responded with a pair of kills from Kennedy Adair and Hillary Estes to close the gap. Late in the frame, Keyana Cruse added a kill to tie the score at 21-21, and Adair followed with another swing to keep the Leathernecks within striking distance. Despite the push, Saint Louis held on to take the first set 25-23.
The Leathernecks jumped out early behind kills from Cruse and Kiyah Franklin to go ahead 4-1. Western continued to battle as Cruse delivered two more kills to tie the score at 8-8. The set stayed within two points the rest of the way, with WIU tying it again at 22-22 after back-to-back digs turned into points. Saint Louis closed with three of the final four rallies, edging the Leathernecks 25-22 in the second frame.
Western Illinois responded with its strongest set of the match, hitting .310 as a team. Cruse and Adair combined for key swings as the Leathernecks built a 20-18 lead. The set featured 13 ties and five lead changes before WIU broke through in extra points. After a big block at the net and a kill from Adair, the Leathernecks sealed a 26-24 win to extend the match.
The fourth set opened evenly before the Billikens put together a mid-set run. Western fought to stay close with kills from Cruse and Franklin, but Saint Louis pulled away late to take the frame 25-17 and close the match.
Keyana Cruse led the Leathernecks with 14 kills and 16 digs, recording her first double-double of the season, and hitting 1,000 kills in her time as a Leatherneck. Kennedy Adair reached double figures with 10 kills while hitting .206. Setter Jaleah Bauss handed out 20 assists and added five service aces to pace the offense. Defensively, Karlie Lane collected a team-high 19 digs, and Grace Kremer anchored the net with six blocks.
As a team, WIU finished with 39 kills, seven service aces, and 10 total blocks, while holding Saint Louis under .200 hitting in the match.
EASTERN ILLINOIS 3, SOUTHERN ILLINOIS 2
CARBONDALE, Ill. - Eastern Illinois continues to impress the volleyball world and goes undefeated at the Saluki Bash. The Panthers move to 5-0, and the Salukis drop to 3-2.
After two successful games on Friday, EIU appeared slow to start the final match of the weekend. Southern Illinois jumped out to a quick 10-3 start, and EIU, trying to play catch-up, was never able to recover. The host of the tournament took set one 25-19. Eastern recorded 6 errors and only 8 kills compared to SIU's 11 kills and 5 errors.
The Panthers, looking to bounce back, displayed a dominant performance to even the match. Set two was unlike the rest, a blowout victory, in which Eastern Illinois scored the first four points and grew a 10-3 lead of their own. Maintaining the momentum, the Panthers extended their distance to 21-10 and held strong the rest of the way, winning 25-12. A complete 180 of a statistical advantage for EIU with 17 kills compared to SIU's 10.
A more even back-and-forth set with both teams battling for positioning. With the set tied at 5, SIU went on a 6-0 scoring run to break open the gate. However, EIU did not stop fighting and scored three unanswered to keep the game close. Similar to set one, the Salukis cushioned their lead and held on to take a 2-1 set lead.
The Panthers, trying to avoid their first loss of the season, got stuck in the mud early, trailing for most of the match. Eastern Illinois needed a spark, and that is exactly what Destiny Walker led her team to after a set by Catalina Roxhaix and an exclamation point from Walker. With EIU in front, both teams eyeing the finish line, the Panthers used a 4-0 scoring outburst to send the match to a final set.
The Panthers, now comfortable with facing elimination, ran away with the match with no resistance. SIU's Emma Lade's service error fueled a 6-0 start for Eastern Illinois. The unfazed Panthers held firm to remain undefeated on the season.
While winning brings game leaders, including Destiny Walker with 19 kills and Rochaix, who was business as usual and totaled 47 assists. In addition, Tori Mohesky contributed 3 blocks for the Panthers.
Lilli Amettis can be crowned player of the game, recording 14 kills, 3 blocks, and 23 digs to propel the Panthers over the Salukis.
BELMONT 3, TENNESSEE STATE 0
NASHVILLE - Tennessee State volleyball battled but came up short on the road, falling to Belmont in three sets (9-25, 16-25, 16-25) Saturday afternoon at the Curb Event Center.
The Tigers (1-5) were paced by Melae Lacy, who recorded a team-high five kills while hitting .333 on the afternoon. Setter Sagaia Reilly guided the offense with 12 assists and added a team-best seven digs to lead the defensive effort. Sydni Poston chipped in two service aces, continuing to make her presence felt from the line.
In the opening set, TSU looked to find its rhythm but fell behind early as Belmont built momentum behind its attack. Despite strong defensive coverage from Reilly, the Bruins maintained control and secured a 25-9 decision to take the first frame.
The Tigers responded with a stronger effort in the second set. TSU battled point-for-point with Belmont in the early stages, forcing five ties and keeping the set within striking distance. Lacy and Poston provided offensive sparks, but the Bruins pulled away midway through and held off the Tigers for a 25-16 win to go up 2-0.
Tennessee State continued to fight in the third set, showing determination to extend the match. Early kills from Lacy and solid serving runs helped keep the score close, but Belmont managed to edge ahead at 3-2 and never relinquished the lead. The Tigers pushed late, but the Bruins closed out the contest with another 25-16 victory.
BOSTON COLLEGE 3, LITTLE ROCK 0
CONWAY, Ark. - Little Rock ended its weekend Saturday with a 3-0 loss to unbeaten Boston College in the Trojans' final match of the UCA Invitational at the Prince Center. The Eagles (4-0) secured the win by scores of 25-18, 25-23, and 25-15.
The Trojans did get a boost from true freshman Grazia D'Amore, as the Pescara, Italy native saw her first extended playing time of the season. D'Amore led the team with a 0.294 hitting percentage, finishing with six kills, three blocks, and three digs.
Offensively, Bella Cherry led the team with 11 kills, and A'lanae Margaritha added five. Dariana Valencia had 13 assists, Kaylee Smith had 11, and Smith also had an ace. Andrea Roman added a service ace for the Trojans while leading all players with 24 digs. Jaycee Kennedy blocked four shots, and Sophia Garrido added three blocks.