Volleyball officially opens Meeks Family Fieldhouse

A record crowd of 1,164 fans were on hand Friday evening as the University of Evansville volleyball team officially opened up Meeks Family Fieldhouse against Indiana University.

The Purple Aces (5-2) played a hard-fought match, but it was the Hoosiers (7-0) earning the 3-0 win.  IU held on for a 25-20 win in the first game before playing its best in the second, winning 25-15.  In the third, Evansville held a lead midway through the contest before the Hoosiers rallied for a 25-23 win.

Between the second and third sets, a special naming ceremony took place.  The Meeks Family was honored as the facility was officially renamed “Meeks Family Fieldhouse”.  Lois D. Patton was also recognized with the new court bearing her name.

Rachel Tam led the Aces with 10 kills while Cathy Schreiber finished the night with nine.  Allana McInnis posted 20 assists while Cassie Brooks had 14 digs.  Deyshia Lofton had 11 kills for IU with Kendall Beerman recording 10.

“It was a special night not just for our program, but for our community in general. To see such an environment in a home game, made this match unique, regardless of the result. Our girls fought hard against a top team, staying in the game throughout the whole three sets,” UE head coach Manolo Concepcion said.

“In fact, we had the opportunity to take at least two of the three sets, but couldn’t minimize mistakes in the beginning of sets, so the admirable comeback effort was not enough to obtain the win,” he continued.  “This provides us good tangible data moving forward to demonstrate that this program and this roster is here to make our presence known in the Missouri Valley Conference. Now, we get back tomorrow and battle against two more physical teams, in preparation to our long term goals.”

Indiana opened up the match with the first three points before the Aces came back with two in a row, including a service ace by Cathy Schreiber.  The Hoosiers extended their lead to 9-5 on an Elizabeth Asdell kill before UE roared back.  An 8-3 run saw the Aces take their first lead of the evening at 13-12.  Cathy Schreiber capped off the rally with an ace.  The Hoosiers were able to regain the momentum as they finished the set with a 25-20 win.

Game two saw the Hoosiers put forth a strong effort in taking a 25-15 victory.  After opening up on a 9-2 stretch, IU extended the lead to 16-2.  An Allana McInnis ace and Rachel Tam kill saw UE close within 19-12, but the Hoosiers’ late rally saw them take a 2-0 lead in the match.

In the third set, IU got off to a 4-0 start, but the Aces battled back as Schreiber’s second kill of the set made it a 6-6 game.  Later, the Aces continue to roll.  A block assist by Schreiber and McInnis gave UE a 13-12 lead and it grew to 15-12.  Indiana was able to come back, tying it up at 18-18 before taking a 24-20 lead.

Evansville refused to give up as Rodriguez and Schreiber each notched kills as the Aces got back within one at 24-23, but IU got the last point, clinching the match with the 25-23 win.

Tomorrow, UE faces UAB at 12:30 p.m. before completing the Dunn Hospitality Invitational at 6 p.m. versus UT Martin.