Aces fall by 3-2 final to Indiana State
Cathy Schreiber posted 19 kills while Rachel Tam added 18 as the University of Evansville volleyball team fell to Indiana State by a 3-2 final on Friday night in Terre Haute.
Schreiber hit an unbelievable .429 in the game to lead UE (6-7, 0-1 MVC). Tam had 18 tallies while Rocio Fortuny finished with 12. Allana McInnis set her career mark with 54 assists and Cassie Brooks finished the night with 20 digs. Leading the way for the Sycamores (3-10, 0-1 MVC) was Laura Gross, who had 16 kills.
Evansville was able to strike at the right time in the opening game, taking a 31-29 victory in an exciting start to the evening. Allana McInnis had a service ace in the early-going as the Aces took an early 8-6 advantage. ISU came back to tie it at 9-9 before four more ties led to a 16-16 score.
That is when Erlicia Griffith struck with a kill as the Aces reeled off four in a row to take their largest edge at 20-16. The Sycamores started to close in; down 24-22, they notched the next three points to take a 25-24 lead. Back-and-forth play continued, leading to a 29-29 score. That is when Cathy Schreiber took matters into her own hands, posting the final two kills to give UE a 31-29 win and a 1-0 lead on the night.
Indiana State was able to knot the match up with a decisive 25-16 win in the second set. Up 12-11, the Sycamores finished the frame on a 13-5 run to tie the match.
A quick start set the Aces off to a 25-9 win in game three. Rachel Tam had a kill and service ace in the opening sequence. From there, it was all Aces as they extended their edge all the way to the 25-9 final as Schreiber had the clinching kill.
Back-to-back kills from Rocio Fortuny saw Evansville grab another early advantage in the fourth set. Her kills gave UE an 11-7 lead. The lead reached as many as six at 17-11 before Indiana State stormed back. A 9-3 run saw them tie the score up at 20-20 before Halle Leuck’s ace gave ISU the 25-23 win to force a fifth set.
ISU took control to start off the fifth, posting five in a row to take a 5-0 lead. Evansville came right back with four in a row to cut the deficit to one. Tam helped UE wrestle the lead away as a pair of kills put the lead back in the Aces hands at 9-7. Just as fast as the Aces made their run, Indiana State had a run of its own, posting the ensuing three tallies before finishing the night off with a 16-14 win to clinch the match.
Monday night is the home conference opener for the Aces as they face off against Illinois State inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse at 7 p.m.
