UE drops hard-fought match
Redshirt senior Gabriela Macedo reset her own program dig mark and tied the Missouri Valley Conference mark but her efforts could not help the University of Evansville volleyball team overcome a 2-0 deficit as they fell to Drake by a 3-2 final on Friday at Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
Macedo’s new program mark stands at 46 digs, which is the new UE (14-6, 5-4 MVC) record and tied Cara Hackmann’s MVC record. Ironically enough – Hackmann, who played at Missouri State, set that record against Evansville in 2009. Rachel Tam led the offense with 24 kills while Alondra Vazquez posted 22 and Melanie Feliciano had 10. Hannah Watkins had six block assists and a pair of solo blocks while Allana McInnis led everyone with 58 assists.
Leading Drake (8-14, 2-7 MVC) was Emily Plock, who notched 20 kills.
A blazing start by Drake saw them record the first six points of the night, including a pair of service aces. Kills by Patricia Joseph and Melanie Feliciano got UE on the board, but the Bulldogs added to their advantage, going up 13-4. Cecilia Thon notched an ace that started a 4-0 stretch, which continued into a 7-1 run that cut the DU lead to 14-11. The Bulldogs got back on track and pushed their lead back to six at 22-16 before the Aces rallied once more. Thon took over serving duties and saw the team get within a pair at 22-20 on a block from Allana McInnis and Hannah Watkins, but the Bulldogs were able to hang on to open the match with a 25-23 win.
Patricia Joseph gave the Aces their first lead of the night in game two when her kill made it a 4-3 game. Watkins and McInnis combined for their third block of the evening to push the lead to 8-6, but the Bulldogs came right back, going back in front by a 15-11 tally. Trailing 19-15, UE made another late rally. Kills from Watkins and Feliciano made it a 1-point game at 19-18. The Aces rallied to go back in front by a 24-23 score with Tam and Alondra Vazquez registering kills, but Drake fought back again with two in a row to go back in front and finish with the victory.
UE came out of the gate in great shape to start the third set with Vazquez recording two kills to give the Aces a 5-1 lead. Evansville not only maintained the lead, but added to it with service aces by McInnis and Feliciano extending the lead to 16-7. Another ace from Feliciano gave the Aces a double figure lead and they would cruise to a 25-10 victory to cut the match deficit to 2-1.
Another blazing start saw the Aces take a 6-1 lead in the fourth game with Tam adding two kills to her tally. Hannah Watkins continued to anchor the defense and her second solo block of the evening continued what was a 10-2 start for Evansville. UE padded that lead when a Vazquez kill made it a 19-9 game and tied the match at 2-2 thanks to a 25-15 decision.
The 22nd kill of the night for Vazquez gave UE a 3-2 lead to begin the fifth before Drake stormed back with four in a row to go up 6-3. The Aces worked to claw their way back when a Vazquez ace got UE within a pair at 8-6, but the Bulldogs did not let UE get any closer as they extended their lead to the final of 15-8.
