Aces to face St. Thomas, NIU and DePaul
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Three matches are on tap this weekend when the University of Evansville volleyball team travels to Chicago for the DePaul Invitational. Evansville squares off against St. Thomas and Northern Illinois on Friday before facing DePaul in Saturday’s finale.
Last Time Out   Â
– Winning their third in a row, the Purple Aces completed the Samford Invite with a 3-1 win over North Alabama last Saturday
– Giulia Cardona posted a new career high with 32 kills while hitting an unbelievable .459 in the effort
– Friday’s win over defending Southern Conference champion Samford saw Ainoah Cruz tally her career mark with 27 digs
Freshman of the Week
– Ainoah Cruz earned MVC Freshman of the Week honors on Tuesday in a week that saw her record a career-best 27 digs
– Her career effort came in Friday’s road win at Samford
– Cruz added 14 digs in the win over North Alabama and has registered at least 11 digs in all five matches of the season
– Prior to her 27 digs against the Bulldogs, Cruz finished the home opener against USI with 20
– Her season average of 4.35 digs per set is 6th in the MVC
Another Career Best
– Giulia Cardona put together one of the most efficient performances you will ever see in Saturday’s win over North Alabama
– The junior finished with a career-high 32 kills while hitting 459 in the victory…she added 12 digs and 6 block assists
– Her numbers are among the best in the nation as she ranks second in the NCAA in kills (5.55/set), points (6.58/set) and attacks (14.10/set)
– She paces the MVC in all three categories and is also the league leader with 0.65 service aces per set
Career High
– Emilee Scheumann recorded 12 kills in Friday’s win over Samford; it marked the top effort of her career, surpassing a pair of 11-kill contests from last season
– Scheumann hit .312 in the win over the Bulldogs and added four digs
– In the home opener against USI, Scheumann hit .421 with 10 kills as she helped the Aces finish with the 3-1 win
Scouting the Opposition
– Friday’s opening match will see UE take on St. Thomas, who is 1-5 in their third season at the Division I level
– Lauren Galvin leads the way with 2.83 kills per set while Ella Voegele is averaging 4.17 digs
– Northern Illinois will be the second opponent on Friday; the Huskies are 1-5 and face DePaul on Thursday evening
– They are led by Nikolette Nedic’s 3.56 kills per frame
– With wins over Binghamton and Montana last weekend, DePaul is opens the weekend with a 2-3 mark
– Averaging 4.29 kills per set, Jill Pressly leads the way for the Blue Demons
