Aces take big win over Panthers
 Entering Friday’s match, the Purple Aces volleyball team was 1-50 in its series against UNI. Evansville did not let that stat phase them as they rallied for a 3-2 victory over the Panthers inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
Alondra Vazquez set her career mark with 25 kills in the game and she added 25 digs for UE (10-20, 4-13 MVC). Behind her was Mildrelis Rodriguez, who posted 24 kills while Rachel Tam finished with 14. Olivia Goldstein had 32 digs on the night and Allana McInnis recorded 59 assists. UNI (21-9, 15-2 MVC) saw Karlie Taylor finish with 34 kills while Rachel Koop tied McInnis’ mark with 59 helpers.
In game one, the Aces had a nice start, jumping out to an 8-4 lead in a run that was capped off by kills from Mildrelis Rodriguez and Rachel Tam. The lead for UE reached 10-5 on Rodriguez’ 5th kill of the game before the Aces went up 13-7. Evansville continued to play well and it paid off as the Aces opened up an 18-10 lead. Alondra Vazquez notched her 4th kill before Tam added a service ace.
The Panthers battled back. Trailing 21-13, UNI closed the gap to four at 22-18, but the Aces scored two to retake a 6-point lead. The Panthers staged another comeback, scoring the next four, but Tam gave UE the win with her 7th kill as the Aces won, 25-22.
Once again, the Aces had a strong start, taking a 3-1 lead in the second set as Rodriguez notched an ace. UNI rallied with a 7-1 run to go up 8-4, but the Aces rallied back. Two Vazquez kills helped Evansville knot the score at 13-13 before the Aces took a 15-14 lead on a UNI error. Every point was tied up leading to a 23-23 score. A large point for UE came when Cecilia Thon entered the game and had an ace on her first serve. UNI responded with an ace of their own to go up 24-23 and finished off the 25-23 win to tie the match.
For the third game in a row, UE had the upper hand at the start. An ace from Rodriguez and the 13th kill by Vazquez helped the Aces go up 5-0 before UNI reeled off four in a row before tying it up at 6-6. Evansville wrestled away an 11-8 lead on a pair of Vazquez aces, but Northern Iowa scored three in a row before opening up an 18-15 advantage. UE never gave up and its persistence paid off as they tied it at 21-21 on another Rodriguez kill. She added an ace that gave UE a 23-22 edge. The Panthers made a late rally once again, taking a 2-1 lead on the strength of a 27-25 win.
Two more Rodriguez aces helped UE score the first three points before UNI tied it at 4-4. The Aces were able to fend off the challenge and retake the lead at 11-7 when Rodriguez recorded her 19th kill. Tam added her 10th kill to push the Evansville lead to 17-11. Coming down the homestretch, UE continued to lead at 20-15 before the Panthers staged another rally, cutting the gap to just a pair at 21-19. Tam was the hero once again, notching a kill and block assist to push the lead back to four. The 21st kill for Vazquez proved to be a big one as she gave Evansville a 24-19 lead on the next point. UNI notched three in a row, but Vazquez set her career mark in kills in the clinching point.
Elena Redmond posted a service ace early in game five to send the Aces out to a 4-1 lead. Tam and Kerra Cornist capped it off with a block. Cornist combined on another block to push the lead to 5-1. Vazquez registered two more kills as the lead went to 7-2. Evansville’s lead grew from there, out to 11-3. The Panthers made another late rally, but the Aces held off by a 15-9 final to take the match.
