UE picks up huge conference road win
Trailing by a score of 13-9 in the fifth set, the University of Evansville volleyball team scored the final six points to earn a 3-2 victory over Loyola on Monday afternoon.
After rallying to force five sets in Sunday’s series opener, the Purple Aces accomplished their goal on Monday, ending a 4-match winless streak. Alondra Vazquez led the Aces (3-5, 2-4 MVC) with 17 kills while adding 12 digs. Melanie Feliciano recorded 15 kills and 20 digs while Chloe Bontrager added nine kills. Rachel Basinski set a new career mark with 24 digs. This comes on the heels of a 21-dig effort on Sunday. Allana McInnis and Cecilia Thon finished the day with 22 and 15 assists, respectively. Leading the Ramblers (5-2, 4-2 MVC) was Emily Banitt, who had 18 kills.
“It was a great comeback. We have been close a few times and we have paid the price of being young,†UE head volleyball coach Fernando Morales said. “We are getting better every day and the underclassmen are getting more confident and more comfortable.â€
Game 1
Just a day after going five sets against the Ramblers, the Aces came back on Monday and had a nice start. With game one tied at 12-12, the Aces went in front on consecutive kills by Feliciano. After the Ramblers cut the UE lead to one (15-14), the Aces responded with a 6-2 stretch to go up by five. Vazquez, who had eight kills in the set, recorded two in that stretch. Evansville added to the lead from there before taking a 25-18 decision to go up 1-0.
Game 2
Another back-and-forth frame ensued, leading to a 10-10 score. Loyola scored five of the next six points to go up by four before a pair of kills from Vazquez got the Aces within one at 15-14. The Ramblers halted the momentum and would go back in front on their way to tying the match with a 25-20 victory.
Game 3
Once again – it was a run midway through the frame that made the difference. Kills by Bontrager and Feliciano broke a 9-9 tie. With the Aces up by a 13-11 score, they made a huge statement, posting 8 of the next 9 scores to go up 21-12. Feliciano added two more kills while the Aces forced seven errors. Elise Moeller got the job done at the end of the set, scoring Evansville’s final two points with kills as they Aces picked up a 25-16 win to go in front, 2-1.
Game 4
Facing a 2-1 deficit, the Ramblers jumped out to a 6-2 lead in the fourth frame. Their advantage would reach as many as 12 points at 22-10. Trailing by that deficit, it would have been easy for the Aces to throw in the towel and move on to game five, but that was not the case. A pair of kills by Emilee Scheumann highlighted a 6-0 rally. Evansville cut the gap to four points at 24-20 before the Ramblers scored the final point to force a fifth set.
Game 5
The confidence to cut into a late deficit proved to be an asset for the Aces in the 5th set. The teams swapped the lead in the early-going, leading to a 6-6 score. Loyola scored the next two and would eventually go on to take a 13-9 lead. That is when Evansville rallied once again. Kate Tsironis posted a kill before Laura Ruiz added a service ace to get Evansville right back into it and force a LUC time out. Chloe Bontrager recorded a kill before a Rambler error tied the game at 13-13. Following another Loyola time out, the Aces forced two more errors to clinch the match on the strength of a 15-13 win. UE scored the final six points to pick up the road win.
Evansville returns home next weekend to face Bradley in a pair of 6 p.m. matches on Sunday and Monday.
