ST LOUIS – Following a perfect weekend that saw the University of Evansville volleyball team earn three 3-0 shutout victories, a pair of Purple Aces were recognized on Monday by the Missouri Valley Conference.
For the second time in her career, Alondra Vazquez was named the league’s Player of the Week while Taya Haffner was named Freshman of the Week following the first three matches of her UE career.
A spectacular weekend performance saw Alondra Vazquez average an MVC-best 5.56 kills per set on her way to being named the Most Valuable Player at the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational. She hit an impressive .380 in the three matches while racking up six service aces. On the defensive side, Vazquez recorded 2.78 digs per set while wrapping up the weekend with eight block assists as UE won all three matches by a 3-0 final.
Vazquez opened the year with 14 kills, .423 hitting, nine digs and two block assists versus SIUE. Her top offensive performance came against Kent State where she had 25 kills and hit .489. She added seven digs and four service aces. The weekend finale versus Purdue Fort Wayne saw her tally 11 kills, nine digs and six block assists.
In her first weekend of collegiate action which took place in her hometown of Fort Wayne, Taya Haffner had the top weekend for a setter in the MVC to open the season, posting 12.33 helpers per set, a total of 111. She also added 27 digs (3.00/set) on her way to a spot on the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational All-Tournament Team.
Haffner finished with 33 assists and four digs in her college debut versus SIUE. Friday’s finale against Kent State saw the freshman register 35 assists and nine digs. Those numbers continued to climb as the weekend moved along as she totaled 43 helpers and 14 digs in the 3-0 win against Purdue Fort Wayne.
