Cardona posts 18 kills against the RedHawks
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Giulia Cardona finished with 18 kills while Melanie Feliciano and Chloe Cline added 11 and 8, respectively, as the University of Evansville volleyball team dropped a 3-1 match to Miami Ohio on Saturday at Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
Cardona added a match-high 12 digs in the contest while Feliciano recorded eight. Cline, who hit an efficient .571, added two blocks. Cardona and Madisyn Steele led all players with five blocks. Lexi Owen tallied 38 assists for UE. Ana Vetter paced Miami with 16 kills.
Set 1 – Miami 25, UE 20
Chloe Cline and Giulia Cardona assisted on a block to help the Purple Aces take a 4-1 lead out of the gate. Melanie Feliciano added a kill to extend the lead to 11-6. Five in a row by the RedHawks saw them tie the score at 11-11 before two errors put UE back on top.
Trailing 14-12, MU changed the course of the set, scoring five in a row to take a 17-14 edge. Evansville got back within a point, but Miami fended off the challenge to win the set by five tallies.
Set 2 – Miami 25, UE 12
Continuing the run they had to complete the first set, Miami jumped out to a 5-2 advantage. Up 15-10, the RedHawks scored five of the next six to go up 20-11 and took a 2-0 match lead on the strength of a 25-12 decision.
Set 3 – UE 25, Miami 22
The first three points of the set belonged to Miami before another Cardona kill got UE on the board. Miami would lead by five points in the early moments, holding a 14-9 edge before Evansville made its move. UE recorded five of the next six points to get back within one at 15-14. Chloe Cline had two kills during the stretch.
Miami rebounded with three in a row to go back up by four points before establishing a 21-16 lead. Evansville never backed down and its work paid off. The Aces posted nine of the final ten points to extend the match to a fourth set. Jenna Heidbreder registered a kill during the rally while back-to-back errors finished it off.
Set 4 – Miami 25, UE 22
Another fast start had MU up 4-1 and later, up 10-5. Kills by Feliciano and Cardona saw Evansville cut the deficit to 10-8. The RedHawks overcame the spurt by UE, taking their largest lead of the set at 16-9. Trailing 20-13, the Aces made a final run, scoring three in a row to get back within four as Steele and Lexi Owen assisted on a block. Miami countered with three in a row to go back up by seven, but the Aces still did not give up.
A block from Steele and an ace from Owen cut the gap back to just two points. Unfortunately, the run came just a bit too late with the RedHawks picking up the clinching points.
