UE falls to Murray State in four sets
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Josdarilee Caraballo recorded a career-high 12 kills while Angelica Gonzalez had her second-consecutive 20-kill performance on Friday with the University of Evansville volleyball team suffered a 3-1 loss to Murray State inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
Caraballo’s 12 kills passed her previous mark of four, which came last week at Bradley. Gonzalez was just one shy of her career mark of 21 kills, which was set against Belmont on Thursday evening. Ainoah Cruz picked up 22 digs while Kora Ruff had 13 digs and 54 assists. Leading the way for the Racers was Ella Vogel with 13 kills.
Set 1 – UE 25, MSU 21
Evansville jumped out to a 3-1 lead and after Murray State tied it at 3-3, the Aces scored five in a row as AInoah Cruz opened the stretch with an ace. Chloe Cline’s first kill of the match solidified a 10-4 edge. The Racers cut the deficit to three at 10-7 when Cline’s second kill helped UE go back up by five.
Things got close in the middle portion of the set as the Racers closed to within two at 17-15 before a kill from Madisyn Steele and another ace by Cruz extended the lead back to 22-17. MSU made another rally, cutting the deficit to a pair (23-21), but following a time out, Angelica Gonzalez recorded back-to-back kills to clinch the set.
Set 2 – MSU 25, UE 18
A pair of aces by Blakeley Freeman set the Aces up with a 4-1 lead while Carlotta Pascual registered four early kills to establish a 6-3 advantage. The Racers slowly fought back, tying the set at 11-11 before taking their first lead at 14-13. MSU went up by a pair before another kill from Pascual knotted the score at 18-18. Following a time out, Murray State went on a roll, scoring seven in a row to complete the set and tie the match.
Set 3 – MSU 25, UE 16
Murray State scored the first two points while the Aces battled back to tie it up at 6-6 on a kill by Gonzalez. MSU retook the lead, extending it to four points at 13-9 and eventually a 19-10 score. They would take the set by a 25-16 final while opening up a 2-1 match lead.
Set 4 – MSU 25, UE 22
Josdarilee Caraballo notched a kill and Cruz followed with an ace that put UE in front by score of 6-4. The Aces continued to hold the advantage until the Racers battled back to take a 14-13 edge. Gonzalez posted a kill that tied the score at 18-18, however, the Racers wrestled away a 20-18 edge before going up 24-20.
Down to their final point, UE rallied with a pair of Caraballo kills to force the Racers to use their final time out. Out of the break, MSU converted the winning kill. Next weekend, UE travels to Valparaiso and UIC.
