Aces battle Ramblers to the finish
For the second night in a row, the University of Evansville volleyball team battled to five sets, but after an exciting win over Bradley on Friday, the Purple Aces fell to Loyola in a 3-2 match on Saturday.
Evansville (5-21, 1-12 MVC) trailed the match by a 2-1 score, but a 25-12 win in the fourth game knotted it up. In the fifth, Loyola (12-14, 7-6 MVC) used a late run to earn the 15-11 win. Mildrelis Rodriguez led the UE offense once again with 15 kills while Rachel Tam finished the night with ten. Olivia Goldstein notched 17 digs while Cathy Schreiber had a match-high seven block assists.
Morgan Reardon had a game-high 20 kills for the Ramblers while Gabi Maciagowski registered 15.
The opening four points of the night were tied before the Ramblers took a 6-4 lead. Evansville got within one at 9-8 before Loyola scored four in a row on their way to a 25-15 win.
Mildrelis Rodriguez had four kills including the clincher in the second frame as the Aces knotted the match up at 1-1. It was another competitive game from the outset, leading to a 14-14 score. Loyola looked to take control as a Jackie Kocken kill put them up 20-15, but the Aces roared back. Rachel Tam did the serving in a 3-0 stretch before Rodriguez posted the final two kills in the win.
Loyola scooted out to a 6-3 lead in the third game and held strong for a 25-19 triumph. The Aces battled to get within just one at 17-16 on a Rocio Fortuny kill, but the Ramblers overcame the rally.
It was all Aces in the fourth set as the offense hit .286 on its way to a dominating 25-12 victory. Evansville took a 4-1 lead at the start and added to it from there. Up 13-9, UE finished the set on a 12-3 run as a Jelena Merseli service ace finished it off to send the game to a deciding frame.
In the fifth game, a Rodriguez kill saw the Aces take an 11-9 lead. Loyola was able to grab the momentum at that point, reeling off the final six points of the set to take the match with a 15-11 win in the deciding game.
Next weekend, UE returns to the road with matches at Indiana State and Illinois State.
