Aces open the weekend against Bradley
 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – After taking to the road for its first three Missouri Valley Conference matches, the University of Evansville volleyball team is at Meeks Family Fieldhouse for its next three contests. That stretch begins this weekend with a Friday match at 6 p.m. versus Bradley and a Saturday contest against Illinois State beginning at 5 p.m.
Last Time Out
– Facing Valparaiso on the road Saturday evening, the Purple Aces fell in a hard-fought match by a 3-1 final
– Giulia Cardona led UE with 17 digs and 16 kills while Alondra Vazquez added 14 kills and 8 digs…Taya Haffner had one of her top outings, recording 45 assists, 12 digs and a pair of service aces
Another 40+ Performance
– Freshman Taya Haffner fell just one shy of her career mark with 45 assists on Saturday at Valpo while adding 12 digs and 2 aces
– Haffner’s average of 10.80 assists per set continues to pace the MVC while ranking 22nd in the country and 5th among all freshmen nationally
– She rebounded nicely from a season-low 20-assist contest at Loyola to pick up 45 the next night…it marked the fourth time in the fall that she has had 40+ helpers
– The return home should be a positive for Haffner, who registered 13.2 assists/set in two home matches including 43 versus Murray State, her top total in a 3-set match
– Starting her college career in her hometown of Fort Wayne, Ind., Haffner averaged 12.33 assists and 3.00 digs on her way to a spot on the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational All-Tournament Team
On the Cusp
– With a total of 1,141 kills in her career, Alondra Vazquez is knocking on the door of UE’s career top ten list
– Laura Seib (1982-85) is currently 10th on the Aces list with 1,215
– Vazquez is also quickly approaching the top ten list for digs – Vazquez currently stands with 1,076 in her career and is closing in on Erica Haukap (2002-05), who is 10th with 1,137
Holding Her Own
– Things are coming together for freshman Madisyn Steele, who has picked up 8+ kills in two of her last four outings
– Her career kill mark came against Murray State where she finished with 10 while most recently, she recorded 8 at Valpo
– Steele has hit .636 or higher in three of the last five matches
– She earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team at the home-opening Dunn Hospitality Tournament
– With 0.81 blocks per set, Steele is second for UE – she has picked up one solo and 24 block assists in the last 26 frames
