UE faces Eastern Michigan, Duquesne, and MSU
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Non-conference action continues this weekend with the University of Evansville volleyball team traveling to Morehead, Ky. for the Comfort Inn-Vitational. The Purple Aces will face Eastern Michigan, Duquesne, and Morehead State with the finale against MSU being carried on ESPN+.
Weekend Recap
– Hosting the Dunn Hospitality Tournament, the Aces dropped contests to Chicago State, Samford, and Miami Ohio
– UE had multiple positives throughout the weekend with Jenna Heidbreder and Chloe Cline setting career highs in kills while Lexi Owen had the top assist total of her career versus the Bulldogs
– In the three matches, Giulia Cardona paced the offense with 4.42 kills per frame
Second on the List
– Friday’s match against Samford saw Giulia Cardona move to second on the Aces all-time career kills list
– Cardona currently has 1,737 in her career and trails Alondra Vazquez’ total of 1,911
– Her season average of 4.68 kills per set paces the MVC and is 12th in the nation; she recorded 17+ kills in all three home contests
– In the win over UPR-Rio Piedras, Cardona accumulated 30 kills and wrapped up the first weekend with 5.00 kills/set
– Defensively, Cardona has recorded a team-high 3.14 digs per game
Stepping Up
– Sophomore Lexi Owen was in the starting lineup with Kora Ruff out and made a strong impact in the home tournament
– Owen registered a career-high 40 assists against Samford and averaged 9.33 per set over the course of the weekend
– Against Chicago State, Owen set career-bests in kills (2), attempts (5), and service aces (2)
Big Start
– Through the opening two weekends, Chloe Cline has made a giant leap from her freshman season
– Cline has recorded two 8-kill matches, her top UE totals
– She finished with 8 kills in 9 attempts vs. UPR before matching that total with 8 kills against Miami Ohio; she has 4+ kills in 5 out of 6 matches this season
– Helped by a .889 performance against UPR, Cline is hitting .443 on the season
– As a freshman, her top kill total was four against Chicago State
Scouting the Opposition
– Eastern Michigan comes into the weekend with a 2-5 record with victories over IU Indianapolis and Valparaiso
– Kaili Doctor and Kendal Bonney pace EMU with 2.43 and 2.30 kills per set, respectively
– Duquesne holds a 5-1 mark after going a perfect 3-0 in last weekend’s Chick-fil-A Robinson Classic where they defeated Niagara, Coppin State, and Robert Morris
– Emersen Schrom holds the team lead with an average of 3.14 kills
– Host Morehead State is 2-4 with two weekends in the books; they won the last two contests of last week’s Geri Polvino Invitational defeating Youngstown State and Radford
– M.E. Hargan paces the Eagles with 2.70 kills
