Four UE Players Earn League Recognition
 NORMAL, Ill. – Four University of Evansville volleyball players were recognized by the Missouri Valley Conference on Thursday when the league announced its postseason awards.
Highlighting the day was the naming of Giulia Cardona as the MVC Freshman of the Year. She is the first Purple Aces player to receive one of the league’s specialty awards. Alondra Vazquez and Melanie Feliciano earned spots on the All-Conference First Team while Cardona earned a nod on the second team. Cardona along with Taya Haffner were named to the All-Freshman Team. The recognition earned by the UE squad this year was more than any other season in the history of the program.
“I am very proud and happy for the four players that received individual awards. They have worked very hard and are extremely deserving,†UE head coach Fernando Morales said. “This team is very fun to coach and watch and it is a total team effort from player one through 16. Everyone is pushing each other to be better and that is why these four student-athletes have been so successful this year.â€
Cardona completed one of the top freshman seasons in the entire nation. The first player to be named the MVC Freshman of the Year for UE completed the regular season leading the MVC and all freshmen in the NCAA in service aces with an average of 0.50 per set. Her seven aces against Indiana State was the first time a Valley player did so against a league foe since 2009. She also completed the regular season ranking third in the league with 3.90 kills per set. Cardona earned three MVC Freshman of the Week honors in a row earlier in the season. The All-MVC Second Teamer was also named to the All-Freshman squad.
For the first time in its MVC tenure, the Aces saw two student-athletes recognized on the All-Conference First team. For the second season in a row, Alondra Vazquez earned the first team honor while pacing the conference with 4.21 kills per frame. Her average finished the year in the top 30 nationally. UE’s leader in digs this season was named the MVC Player of the Week on two occasions while garnering MVP honors at the PFW Invitational and Dunn Hospitality Tournament. Vazquez currently has 1,367 career kills, which is 5th on UE’s all-time list.
Joining Vazquez on the First Team is Melanie Feliciano. A Second Team player in 2019 (along with Vazquez), Feliciano saw her season take off once conference season arrived. Entering league play, she averaged 3.09 kills/set, but a strong conference campaign saw that season average rise to 3.38. She was named the MVC Player of the Week on October 11. Feliciano was the MVP of the Eagle Challenge in September at Morehead State.
Taya Haffner joined Cardona on the All-Freshman squad. Her average of 10.68 assists per game paced the MVC and ranked 28th in the NCAA. Her top effort saw her finish with 60 assists in the home finale versus UNI. Haffner opened the season in her hometown of Fort Wayne, Ind. at the PFW Invitational and averaged 12.33 assists and 3.00 digs on the way to MVC Freshman of the Week honors. This was the first time UE had two players named to the All-Freshman Team in the same season.
