Freshman Adeline Payne set her career-high with 8 kills as the University of Evansville volleyball team opened the weekend with a 3-0 loss at Ball State on Thursday evening.
Payne notched her eight kills in 26 attempts. After notching just four kills in her first seven collegiate matches, Payne has hit her stride, finishing with a total of 13 in the last two matches. Rachel Tam matched Payne’s team-high in kills with eight. Allana McInnis posted a team-best 19 kills while Cassie Brooks checked in with 11 digs for the Purple Aces (6-4). Meg Starling paced the Cardinals (7-4) with nine kills.
“Ball State came in ready to take command of the match early on and we were not able to get into a rhythm,†UE head coach Manolo Concepcion said. “I give them a lot of credit for dominating the serve and pass battle. We already knew about the high quality of the opponents this weekend, but we need to be more systematic tomorrow.â€
Ball State had the early advantage as they opened the night with a 25-15 win. The Cardinals started the opening frame by taking a 4-1 lead before the Aces stormed back to tie it up at 7-7 as kills by Rachel Tam and Cathy Schreiber got UE back on track. BSU regained control, scoring four in a row on their way to the set victory.
Another early spurt saw Ball State take a 6-2 advantage in game two. Just as they did in the opening set, Evansville rallied back, this time tying the score at 10-10. An Allana McInnis service ace, coupled with a Tam kill, tied the score. UE’s defense then took over, forcing consecutive BSU errors to take its first lead of the night at 13-12.
BSU had the answer once again. Up 16-15, the Cardinals reeled off four in a row and were able to extend their lead to 25-18 to open up a 2-0 lead.
It was the Aces who had the upper hand to begin the third game as they scored six of the first seven points to go up 6-1. Rocio Fortuny had a kill and also teamed up with Joselyn Coronel for the block. The Cardinals responded with an 11-2 rally as they took a 12-8 edge before finishing the match with a 25-14 victory.
Tomorrow, the Aces remain in M
