Cardona posts 25 kills for UE
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Giulia Cardona had a stellar 25-kill performance, but three USI players had double figure kills to lift the Screaming Eagles to a 3-1 win over the University of Evansville volleyball team on Tuesday inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
Cardona’s kill total was a match high. Melanie Feliciano had nine while Chloe Cline added seven. Lexi Owen led UE with 38 assists and 12 digs. Maddie Hawkins and Cardona finished with 11 digs apiece. Ashby Willis and Bianca Anderson led USI with 15 kills each.
Set 1 – UE 25, USI 22
Giulia Cardona’s third kill, coupled with an ace from Krystell Pappas, set the Purple Aces up with an 8-5 lead in the opening set. USI rallied to cut the deficit to 13-12 before a pair of Cardona kills gave UE some breathing room. Lexi Owen added an ace to push the lead to 15-19. The Screaming Eagles made a late rally, making it a 24-22 game, but Melanie Feliciano took matters into her own hands, picking up the kill to give UE the set.
Set 2 – USI 25, UE 19
Evansville took a 3-1 lead out of the gate before the Screaming Eagles came back to tie the score on multiple occasions. With things knotted at 6-6, UE made its move. Assisted by consecutive service aces from Jenna Heidbreder, UE went on an 8-1 run to open a 14-7 lead.
Just as fast as Evansville made its run, USI rallied. A 7-2 stretch cut the deficit to 16-14 and that would be just the beginning of a game-ending 18-5 run that saw USI win the set by a 25-19 final.
Set 3 – USI 25, UE 17
Jenna Heidbreder picked up her third ace of the evening to put UE up by a 6-4 score. USI quickly tied the game at 6-6 before opening an 11-8 lead. Cardona and Chloe Cline picked up kills to help the Aces close, but the Screaming Eagles slowly extended their lead to 17-11. Evansville did its best to cut into the USI lead before falling short.
Set 4 – USI 25, UE 22
Things were looking up in the early moments of the set with Evansville taking an early 2-0 lead. From there, USI took control. They took a 4-2 lead and would double up the Aces at 16-8. Cardona picked up another kill to get as close as four points at 20-16 before the Screaming Eagles clinched the match.
UE will have a rematch against USI on Friday across town.
