Evansville ready for two road contests
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 Another weekend road trip is on the schedule for the University of Evansville volleyball team this weekend with the Purple Aces heading to Carbondale, Ill. and Springfield, Mo. for a pair of Missouri Valley Conference matches. The Aces open up at Southern Illinois on Friday at 6 p.m. before heading to Missouri State for another 6 p.m. match on Saturday.
Weekend Recap
– Evansville dropped a tough 3-1 match at Indiana State on Friday in Terre Haute
– Gabriela Macedo set the program record with 43 digs in the contest, passing her mark from earlier this season against EIU where she had 41
– Melanie Feliciano led the Aces with 19 kills while Alondra Vazquez tied her season mark with 17; Rachel Tam finished with 12
Stat Rankings
– Evansville continues to rank among the best in the MVC in several categories; UE is second in the league in kills with 13.54 per frame and third in assists (12.63/set) and digs (17.65/frame); UE’s dig total is 9th in the nation
– Nationally, the Aces are 2nd in attacks per set, 9th in digs per set, 38th in assists and 42nd in kills per game
– While UE’s 17.65 digs per set rank 3rd in the conference, it is 9th in the NCAA with the Valley having six of the top 23 in that stat overall
– Individually, Melanie Feliciano is second in the Valley with 4.54 kills per set; she ranks 14th in the nation in that stat and leads all freshmen
– Feliciano’s season total of 335.5 points is 17th in the country
– UE’s freshman is 14th in the NCAA in total kills with 309 while Rachel Tam is 22nd with a total of 284
– Allana McInnis is third in the conference with 10.72 assists per set; her average is 33rd in the NCAA while her total of 728 helpers in 2019 is the 18th-highest tally in the NCAA
– Gabriela Macedo is 8th in the nation with 5.68 digs per game, a stat that paces the conference
– Hannah Watkins paces UE with 1.02 blocks per game; that is sixth in the MVC
Breaking a Record
– For the second time this season, senior Gabriela Macedo broke the program record for digs in a single match
– In the Oct. 11 match at Indiana State, Macedo recorded 43 digs, passing her previous UE mark of 41, which was set against Eastern Illinois
– Her total is tied for the 4th-highest in a match in MVC history
– Macedo’s 43 was the 3rd-highest tally in a 4-set match in 2019; ironically – Indiana State’s Melina Tedrow registered 44 digs in the match
– Macedo is one of the top defensive players in the country, ranking 8th in the NCAA with 5.68 digs per game; her tally also leads the Valley
– She leads the team with 26 service aces this season, an average of 0.38 per set, which is 4th in the league
Scouting the Opposition
– Southern Illinois enters Friday’s tilt with a 10-10 mark while going 2-4 in the opening three weeks of Valley play
– The Salukis boast one of the top hitters in the league with Emma Baalman sitting third, hitting .298 on the year
– On the defensive side, Laura Rojas enters the weekend with 4.43 digs per set, sitting 8th in the conference
– Missouri State sits at 4-16 overall and are 1-5 in conference action with their win coming at home against Drake
– Amelia Flynn paces the offense with 2.67 kills per set while Azyah Green has excelled defensively, ranking fourth in the Valley with 1.06 blocks per game
– Former Aces coach Manolo Concepcion is currently the interim head coach for the Bears
