EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Ryan Scheu's strong 2026 season continued Friday evening as she reset her career high in kills with 19 to lead the University of Evansville volleyball team in a 3-2 loss to Southern Illinois inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
 
Scheu hit .486 while adding four digs and two blocks. Savannah Gogel picked up 11 kills and five blocks while Lyla Fisher added 10 kills. Carsyn Kelley had 47 assists, 16 digs, and three service aces while Kendall Agler led the Purple Aces with 17 digs. Ella Swansiger paced the Salukis with 16 kills.
 
Set 1 – SIU 25, UE 19
After Evansville took a 2-0 lead, the Salukis battled back to go up 8-4. Two Lyla Fisher kills got UE back within a pair before a McKenzie Laubach kill cut the deficit to one at 14-13. The Aces continued to keep it close with a Savannah Gogel kill making it a 19-17 game. SIU scored the next two and would take the set by a 25-19 score.
 
Set 2 – UE 25, SIU 21
Southern Illinois posted the opening two tallies with UE scoring the next four with Wren Jones picking up an ace. Gogel and Ryan Scheu combined on a block that made it a 7-3 contest while SIU fought back to tie the score at 10-10. Two Wren Jones kills coupled with a Carsyn Kelley ace helped Evansville retake a 15-11 advantage.
 
Once again, the Salukis battled with a service ace cutting the UE lead to just one at 18-17. Two errors were followed by a Gogel kill and Brooke Herdes ace as UE rebounded to take the set and tie the match at 1-1.
 
Set 3 – UE 25, SIU 20
With the score knotted at 5-5, Evansville scored three in a row with Kelley picking up a kill. After UE went up 10-7, Southern Illinois battled back with five in a row to go up 12-10. Following a time out, the Aces stormed back as a pair of Laubach kills helped her team score the next three to regain the lead.
 
The teams battled throughout the middle stretches leading to a 19-19 score. That is when the Aces took over. Ryan Scheu picked up three late kills along with a block assist to lead her squad to a 25-20 win to take a 2-1 lead.
 
Set 4 – SIU 25, UE 19
Another nice start by the Aces saw them take a 6-3 edge with Laubach registering an early ace. The Salukis came back to tie the score at 7-7 before wrestling away a 12-9 lead. Evansville kept it close, but with SIU up 19-17, the completed the set on a 6-2 run to send the game to a fifth set.
 
Set 5 – SIU 15, UE 13
Carsyn Kelley's third ace of the night put the Aces up 4-0 to open the set. Another Scheu kill kept the advantage at four points – 8-4. That is when SIU turned the tables with an 8-2 run that gave them a 12-10 lead. Scheu's 19^th kill made it a 14-13 game, but SIU was able to pick up the final tally to seal the victory.