Evansville faces Loyola and Bradley this weekend
  For just the second weekend of the season, the University of Evansville volleyball team will be at the Carson Center as the Purple Aces open up the Missouri Valley Conference portion of their home schedule on Friday evening against Loyola.
The Aces and Ramblers tangle at 7 p.m. on Friday with Bradley making its way to the Carson Center for a 6 p.m. match on Saturday.
Saturday evening saw the Aces put together their top conference performance in recent memory despite falling by a 3-2 final at UNI. It marked the first time the Aces and Panthers went to five sets since the 1997 season and was just the fourth time since 1997 that the Aces have pushed the Panthers past three sets.
Evansville opens up its home conference schedule this weekend with matches against Loyola and Bradley. Last year, the Aces completed a weekend sweep over the pair, earning its first home conference weekend sweep since 2010. Interestingly enough – the Aces did record a weekend conference sweep each season from 2008-10.
A 40-kill performance by Kim Deprez set the University of Evansville program record on Saturday versus UNI. Her final tally was the second-most in the NCAA this season and was the top MVC tally thus far. Deprez has averaged 5.33 digs per set this season and is solidly in the top 15 in the NCAA.
The performance against the Panthers marked the most digs by a player in UE history. It broke Julie Sylvester’s record of 38, which was set in 2009. Her total was the 8th-most in a match in conference history and was the most that a league player recorded since 2013. She was also strong in the MVC opener at Drake, posting 20 kills in just three sets against the Bulldogs. Deprez leads the MVC with 5.33 per set and is even better in two league outings, posting 7.50.
Aces sophomore Genesis Miranda is ranks near the top of the NCAA in several key statistics. Her highest rank is 3rd in the nation in total points with 318.5. That translates into 5.06 per set, 15th in the country. When it comes to attacks, her numbers are just as impressive. She ranks 4th in the nation with 772 total attacks and is 9th with 12.25 per set. Many of those attacks are converted into kills and her 4.25/set is 28th in the NCAA while her total kill tally of 268 is 7th.
Off to their best start since 1995 are the Loyola Ramblers, who are off to a 12-3 start to the season. They had an 11-match win streak snapped on Monday with a 3-1 loss to Drake. Aside from their stellar record, the Ramblers lead the conference in several categories including: hitting percentage (.258), opponent hitting (.154), assists (13.14) and kills (13.94/set). Sami Hansen is the top hitter in the league as she begins the weekend at .441.
The Braves start the weekend with an overall mark of 5-9 and are 0-2 in league play. After starting the season with a 5-1 record, Bradley has dropped its last seven matches, including a Tuesday loss to UNI. Senior Jessica Teel ranks second in the conference in service aces with 0.37 per set. She is just 0.02 away from the top spot. Defensively, Lea Sack is third in the Valley with 4.75 digs per set.
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