Aces fall in five sets
MURRAY, Ky. – Another unbelievable effort saw Giulia Cardona record 31 kills as Murray State erased an 0-2 deficit to defeat the University of Evansville volleyball team in five sets on Saturday.
Cardona hit an efficient .274 in the contest while adding six digs. Ainoah Cruz led the way with 13 digs while Kora Ruff registered 29 assists. Four Racers had double figure kills with Ella Vogel leading the way with 18.
Game 1 – UE 25, MSU 23
Madisyn Steele’s solo block opened a 3-1 spurt by the Aces to begin the match. Murray State took their first lead at 7-4 and continued to hold the advantage throughout the majority of the frame with the largest edge being five points at 16-11.
UE never backed down and utilized a 3-0 rally to tie it up at 20-20 with Steele and Angelica Gonzalez registering a block. Following a point by the Racers, Steele added a kill to her tally as the Aces went up by a score of 24-22. Giulia Cardona would pick up the clinching kill for the Aces in a 25-23 decision.
Game 2 – UE 25, MSU 19
Angelica Gonzalez recorded a kill that put the Aces up by a 3-1 tally. Posting four of the next five points, the Racers took their first advantage at 5-4. Once again, MSU took control as the set approached the middle portion. Their lead grew to as many as four points at 12-8.
Just as they did in the opening set, the Aces made their way back. Jenna Heidbreder’s ace put UE back in front at 16-15 before an ace by Maddie Hawkins set her team up with a 20-17 lead. Evansville held strong from that point, clinching the set on a kill by Steele.
Game 3 – MSU 25, UE 22
Murray State had the upper hand throughout most of the third game. With the game tied at 3-3, the Racers scored three in a row. Following a point by Evansville, MSU came right back to take an 11-5 lead. The 6-point deficit did not deter UE as a 6-1 stretch got them right back within a point. Heidbreder completed the stretch with a kill.
Gonzalez added another kill to her total to tie the game at 15-15. Two in a row by the Racers got them back on track and they would outduel UE to take the game, however, the Aces still held a 2-1 match lead.
Game 4 – MSU 25, UE 12
After MSU took a 3-1 edge, Gonzalez and Steele combined on a block to cut the gap to a point. The Racers fended off the challenge and came back to go up 9-4 and would add to the lead from there, winning by a 25-12 margin to force a fifth set.
Game 5 – MSU 15, UE 6
It was all Racers in the fifth as they reeled off the first eight points before winning by a final of 15-6 to seal the match.
