This weekend, the Purple Aces complete the 2015 season with visits to Missouri State and Wichita State. UE takes on MSU on Friday at 7 p.m. before heading west to Wichita for a 7 p.m. game on Saturday evening to wrap up the year.
With 473 kills this season, Genesis Miranda is the new single-season record holder for the Purple Aces. Her 19 kills on Friday against Indiana State put her past Julie Groves, whose record was 454.
Senior Kim Deprez is pursuing a mark of her own as she currently has 572 digs on the season, just six away from moving into the top five on the Aces single-season list. For the season, Deprez has notched 5.06 digs per set, the top total in the Missouri Valley Conference. She also stands in 26th in the NCAA.
In Saturday’s match against Illinois State, Evansville was credited with 11.0 total team blocks, including 20 block assists. Leading the way for the Aces in that department was freshman Joselyn Coronel, who recorded six blocks assists.
Missouri State enters the final weekend solidly in the MVC Tournament field with an 11-5 league mark and a 20-9 tally overall. Sophomore Lily Johnson is one of the best offensive players in the Valley as her 4.38 kills per set leads the way in the conference. She has posted a total of 499 on the season. Most of her kills have come with help from Kinsey Batten, who has notched an MVC-best 11.03 assists per set.
MVC leader Wichita State goes into the final matches with a chance to clinch the regular season title. The Shockers stand at 14-2 in conference play, just one game ahead of Southern Illinois, who is 13-3. Overall, WSU is 23-7, the top win total in the MVC. Their key to success is their ability to spread the ball around as leading scorer Abbie Lehman ranks 11th in the conference with 2.83 kills per set. On defense, Lehman is even better as her 1.13 blocks per frame is second overall.
