 UE to play top two teams in the MVC
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Just one more weekend of action remains for the Purple Aces as they welcome the top two teams in the Missouri Valley Conference – Missouri State and Wichita State. Evansville welcomes the Bears on Friday before playing host to the Shockers on Saturday with both games starting at 7 p.m.
Last weekend, UE took Southern Illinois to five sets before falling by a 3-2 final. Rachel Tam led the way with 16 kills while Rocio Fortuny notched 12. Mildrelis Rodriguez was credited with a team-high 15 digs.
Rachel Tam has been on a roll over the last five matches, averaging 2.47 kills per set. That included a career-best of 19 kills against Bradley and 16 on Friday versus Southern Illinois. A strong weekend saw UE freshman Rachel Tam average 2.90 kills per game along with 2.10 digs as the Aces won their first MVC match of the season on October 28. Tam opened the weekend with a career-best 19 kills in the win over Bradley while hitting .406. She added 10 digs and a pair of block assists.
Rocio Fortuny had her best collegiate match against Bradley on Oct. 28. The sophomore posted 19 kills in 48 attempt, besting her previous high of 17. She also matched her top mark of 13 digs in the triumph over the Braves. Fortuny ranks second on the team behind fellow sophomore Mildrelis Rodriguez with 2.13 kills per set. She has also done well on the defensive side with 0.45 blocks per set. She had 15 kills in the 5-set home match against SIU.
The toughness of the Aces squad has been out in full force over the last six matches. Over the first ten MVC matches, just two of those went past three sets. The last six have seen the Aces battle to a fifth set on three occasions and a fourth in another instance.
Missouri State is on the cusp of clinching its third MVC regular season championship as they start the weekend at 23-7 overall and 14-2 in the MVC and will be Friday’s opponent. The Bears need one more win to clinch. Junior Lily Johnson leads the league with 4.64 kills per set, over a full kill ahead of anyone else in the conference. Johnson also ranks second in the MVC in service aces.
Wichita State is one game out of first place in the MVC, standing at 13-3 in the league and 20-7 for the season. The Shockers need to win both weekend matches and have Missouri State lose both this weekend in order to win the conference regular season champions
