Highlanders Drop Season Opener Against Southern Indiana

Friday, August 25

Bloomington, Ind.

4:00 PM

Radford University

0-1,0-0Big South

Southern Indiana

1-1,0-0OVC

Team	1	2	3	Final F
Radford	15	18	24	0
Southern Ind.	25	25	26	3

Photo by: James Hall

Highlanders Drop Season Opener Against Southern Indiana

8/25/2023 5:42:00 PM | Volleyball

Box Score

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Radford women's volleyball team took a tough 3-0 loss to Southern Indiana in its 2023 season-opening match on Friday afternoon.

The Highlanders got off to a slow start to the match, dropping the first set by a score of 25-15. Olivia Flanagan led the team with five kills in the frame, but 12 Radford attack errors negated any progress and the Screaming Eagles pulled away with a 6-0 run to gain an early advantage.

While Radford kept it closer in the second set, USI turned a 13-11 Highlander lead into a 25-18 victory to go up two sets to none. Another 10 attack errors were added to the tally and USI took advantage, going on an 11-1 run that proved too much to overcome.

It was an incredibly close third set, but it would ultimately be the final one of the day as the Screaming Eagles walked away with a 26-24 win. After a kill by Kennedy Robinson gave Radford a 19-18 lead, USI raced ahead and reach match point at 24-21.

To their credit, the Highlanders didn't give up and battled back to knot things up at 24-all, forcing a timeout. Whatever USI talked about in the huddle was effective, as back-to-back kills from Paris Downing closed out the match.

The trio of Flanagan, Robinson and Sierra Moore paced Radford with six kills apiece, while Summer Campbell had the most efficient day on the team with three kills on a .333 hitting percentage to go with a team-high three blocks.

USI's Leah Anderson led all players with 11 kills on 37 total attacks while teammates Abby Bednar (eight kills) and Downing (seven kills) provided extra fire power.

KEY STATS

Taryn Roberts earned the start in the first game of her collegiate career while Julia Slivka, Olivia Flanagan and Sierra Moore all made their first starts as Highlanders
True freshmen Kenya Lucas (three kills) and Rylee Sloss also made their collegiate debuts on the day
Jackeline Nerro came off the bench to lead Radford with 16 assists
Shelby Hernandez topped all players with 15 digs
Head Coach Sherisa Livingston opted to use much of her bench, calling on seven substitutes compared to just one for the opponents

UP NEXT
The Highlanders return to the court tomorrow for a doubleheader on Big Ten Network Plus. They'll take on New Hampshire at Noon, followed by a 7 p.m. showdown with the host-school Indiana Hoosiers.

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