UE travels to Illinois State this weekend for pivotal series
For the first time since the season opener at Indiana State, the University of Evansville volleyball team earned a 3-0 sweep with the Purple Aces taking down Southern Illinois by a 3-0 final on Monday evening inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
Alondra Vazquez led everyone with 178 kills while hitting an efficient .385. Melanie Feliciano recorded 13 kills in the Aces (5-11, 4-10 MVC) winning effort. Elise Moeller and Hannah Watkins had strong games, recording 7 and 6 kills, respectively. Feliciano led UE with 15 digs while Allana McInnis notched 26 assists. Brooke Springer added three block assists and a solo block. Imani Hartfield led the Salukis (2-14, 1-13 MVC) with eight kills while Rachel Maguire had a game-high 36 helpers.
Game 1
Southern Illinois had the upper hand to begin game one, taking a 5-3 lead before extending that to a 10-6 advantage. Evansville came right back with Allana McInnis posting an ace before Alondra Vazquez added a kill and ace to tie it up at 11. Elise Moeller picked up a kill following a long rally that put Evansville in front at 12-11. The Aces continued to roll as a Hannah Watkins kill pushed the lead to 19-14. UE’s lead reached as many as six points before the Salukis cut the deficit to a pair before the Aces finished with the 25-21 win.
Game 2
The first lead for UE came at 6-5 on a solo block by Brooke Springer. Moeller continued one of her top offensive performances, adding a kill that pushed the lead to 10-8. After SIU retook an 11-10 edge, the Aces jumped back in front at 14-12 on a Saluki service error. An exciting rally that saw clutch digs by Cecilia Thon and Laura Ruiz was capped off by a Vazquez kill that set UE up with a 17-13 advantage. Things continued to go the Aces way with the group pulling away for a 25-17 win that saw Moeller and Springer combine on the clinching block.
Game 3
A kill by Hannah Watkins helped the Aces take an early 6-3 lead. Two service aces helped SIU rally back to go up 7-6 before Evansville countered to retake a 14-12 lead on consecutive Melanie Feliciano kills. SIU got back within one before two Ruiz aces Evansville to a game-high 21-14 lead. From there, the Aces held strong and wrapped up the sweep with a 25-18 decision in the third frame.
A trip to Illinois State is up next for the Aces, who face the Redbirds on Sunday and Monday in a pair of 4 p.m. contests.
