UE to finish season next weekend
Facing a 2-0 deficit, the University of Evansville volleyball team fought back to force a fifth game, but Southern Illinois was able to hang on for the 3-2 win on Friday night at the Carson Center.
Rachel Tam led the Purple Aces with 16 kills while Rocio Fortuny notched 15. Fortuny also added 12 digs. Mildrelis Rodriguez recorded 15 digs to lead the squad. Jelena Merseli registered 37 assists.
A competitive frame opened up the night. The Salukis took an early 6-3 advantage before the Purple Aces came back in a big way. A pair of Rocio Fortuny kills saw the Aces take a 12-8 advantage. They continued to lead until the Salukis came back to tied it up at 22-22. The run continued for SIU as a Ginger Perinar kill closed out the 25-23 win and a 1-0 lead.
The momentum for SIU carried into the second frame as they notched the first seven points of the set before jumping out to a 12-1 advantage. From there, they cruised to a 25-11 win.
UE punched back in the third set. With the game tied at 4-4, the Aces scored three in a row, including a kill and service ace by Fortuny, and never relinquished the lead from there. The advantage grew to as many as five points at 20-15 before SIU made it interesting. They got within one at 24-23 before Joselyn Coronel gave UE the set win with a kill.
Game four was another battle. Evansville grabbed the early 7-3 advantage in a run capped off by a Rachel Tam kill. The Salukis made their way back, retaking the lead at 16-15 on a Perinar tally. The Aces continued the back-and-forth battle as an SIU error saw them take a 20-19 lead. The run kept rolling as they forced a decisive fifth game with 25-20 victory.
In game five, SIU score the first two points and kept it going from there, taking the match with a 15-8 win.
Evansville completes the season next weekend with home matches against Missouri State and Wichita State.
