USI volleyball is ahead of schedule this year

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WEHT) — With 12 returners on the roster, the University of Southern Indiana women's volleyball team has been able to speed up the learning curve during offseason workouts. Last year, the Screaming Eagles went into the season with eight new players, but this year it's just three new faces on the roster. USI was just two sets away from playing for the Ohio Valley Conference tournament championship last season, so the continuity should help the team once again battle for a top spot in the conference. "We can already tell like this preseason we've all been gelling really well and it's kind of like we weren't even apart for very long," said outside hitter, Ashby Willis. "It's been really great coming back and having some good team chemistry again that we worked on in the spring." Even though there will be some players stepping into new roles the big returning group already has the team ahead of schedule this year utilizing the spring period. Head coach Jeffrey Aucoin said, "Last year we definitely had to break things down a little bit easier to make sure everybody was on the same page with the simple things. But now we can take it that step further. We can kind of go through the basics a little bit quicker and get to that next gear. And that started last spring too, so now we're building off that as well. It wasn't just last fall, we had last spring and now we get to keep it going." Southern Indiana will host Austin Peay State in an exhibition Saturday, August 22nd, in Liberty Arena at 2 p.m. Copyright 2026 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed. For the latest news, weather, sports, and streaming video, head to Eyewitness News (WEHT/WTVW).