Purple Aces sophomore Genesis Miranda tied her career mark with 28 kills to lead the University of Evansville volleyball team to a 3-1 victory over Drake on Saturday evening at the Carson Center.
Miranda tied her career mark while also taking a career-high 71 attempts. She hit an impressive .268 and was one of five UE (8-16, 2-8 MVC) players to record double digit digs. Stephanie Cerino posted 10 kills and set her career mark with 19 digs. It was the highest total in the match. Lorena Marquez had a stellar night with 54 assists and tied her personal best with 13 digs.
“This was a great emotional win for our team, who played with determination and a high emphasis on efficiency. We kept errors low and forced the opponent to earn their points by trading opportunities and extending plays with our defensive system,†head coach Manolo Concepcion said. “The simple actions (serve and pass) were taken care of, which allowed us to actively involve the middles. Special recognition goes out to Steph Cerino, who inspired us with her drive and hustle tonight.â€
Leading the way for Drake (13-15, 4-7 MVC) was Kyla Inderski, who tallied 13 kills and Grace Schofield, who completed the night with 12.
Evansville set the tone for the night early on, jumping out to a 5-0 lead in the opening frame. Miranda had two kills while Rocio Fortuny did the serving to give UE the early advantage. The lead extended to 8-1, but Drake fought back. A 10-4 stretch saw the Bulldogs cut the deficit to one at 12-11 as a Makena Schoene tally got the Bulldogs close.
They eventually tied the game up at 17-17, but a late run by the Aces was the difference. With the score tied at 21-all, Miranda notched two late kills to help UE take a 25-22 win.
Drake had the momentum in the opening moments of the second set, going up 4-1. The Aces rallied to tie it up at 6-6, but the Bulldogs responded with four in a row to go up by a 10-6 score. The turning point came on the ensuing point as Mildrelis Rodriguez notched a kill. Her effort started UE on a 9-1 run to put UE up 15-11. The Bulldogs got within two at 15-13, but Evansville rallied to win 25-16. A Cerino kill clinched the set and Miranda had two late service aces.
In the third game, the Bulldogs once again had the early advantage, going up 13-8. Still leading at 19-15, Drake let Evansville slip back into the game as an error saw UE tie it up at 22-22. With the match in the balance, Grace Schofield gave the Bulldogs the set win with a kill to finish a 25-23 win.
After allowing Drake to make it a 2-1 match, the Aces left no doubt in the fourth. They never let the Bulldogs lead in taking a 25-18 win. Miranda had six more kills while the team limited the Bulldogs to just .077 hitting.
It is back to the road for UE next weekend as they face Bradley on Friday before traveling to Chicago to play Loyola on Saturday.
