Aces play well against Missouri State
With the season winding down, the University of Evansville volleyball team put up another strong fight against the top competition in the Missouri Valley Conference, giving Missouri State its best shot on Friday night at the Carson Center.
The Bears (24-7, 15-2 MVC) took a 3-0 win, but had to fight for every points against the Purple Aces (5-25, 1-16 MVC). Rocio Fortuny had a stellar night with 15 kills while Rachel Tam finished the night with eight. Mildrelis Rodriguez saw action at the libero position once again and played well, notching 17 digs. Jelena Merseli had 28 assists and 11 digs.
Leading the Bears was Lynsey Wright, who had 15 kills. Simone House and Lily Johnson finished the match with 10 apiece.
Wright had seven kills in the opening frame as the Bears took a 25-19 win to earn a 1-0 edge. Evansville fell behind by an 8-3 score, but rallied back as an MSU error got them within one at 11-10. The Bears slowly retook control as the 25-19 winning score was their largest lead of the frame.
Joselyn Coronel recorded back-to-back kills as the Aces took a 5-2 advantage in the second set. A pair of service aces helped Missouri State tie it up at 5-5 before taking an 8-7 lead. Rachel Tam put control of the game back in the Aces’ hands as her three kills pushed UE back on top at 11-8. Trailing 16-13, MSU took a time out and came back out firing on all cylinders, going up 17-13. That was part of a 12-4 set-ending run that saw them take a 25-20 win and a 2-0 lead.
Evansville was strong out of the gate once again in game three, scoring the first five points to take the early lead. It extended to a 9-2 advantage before the Aces held strong with a 12-5 lead on a Bear error. Rocio Fortuny was the star for the Aces, notching four kills in the early run. Missouri State was able to regain its composure and make their way back into the game. After tying it up at 14-14, they took a 16-15 lead. The run continued as they finished the match on a 20-7 stretch to earn the win.
Tomorrow evening, the Aces wrap up the season at 7 p.m. versus Wichita State.
