UE falls by 3-1 final
 CARBONDALE, Ill. – Sophomore Giulia Cardona registered a career-high 25 kills as the University of Evansville volleyball team fell to Southern Illinois by a 3-1 final on Saturday night.
Cardona added six digs and an ace in the contest. Alondra Vazquez picked up 21 kills. Blakeley Freeman and Kora Ruff led the way with 12 digs while Ruff had 37 assists.
Set 1 – SIU 25, UE 23
Giulia Cardona notched an early kill as part of a 3-0 run to open the match. Southern Illinois stormed back with five in a row before going up 11-6. Blakeley Freeman picked up a service ace to help the Aces make it a 12-10 deficit, but SIU fended off the challenge to take a 19-14 advantage.
Refusing to give up, Evansville used an 8-0 run to take the lead. Consecutive kills by Cardona got things going while Alondra Vazquez picked up a kill and an ace. What finished up as a 9-1 run resulted in a 23-20 edge for UE. Southern Illinois did not let UE score again as they recorded the next five points to rally for the win.
Set 2 – UE 30, SIU 28
Madisyn Steel recorded an ace while Cardona chipped in two more kills to put the Aces up 6-3. SIU came back to tie it at 6-6 prior to taking an 8-7 lead. Laura Ruiz provided an ace that put UE in front at 12-11, but SIU responded once again to take a 17-13 advantage. The lead for SIU remained at four (22-18) when a quick spurt by Evansville cut the deficit in half.
The Salukis quickly scored a pair to have set points at 24-20, but Evansville never gave up and took advantage of three SIU errors with Vazquez adding a kill to tie it at 24-24. Both teams battled into extra point with UE wrestling away the win by a 30-28 final.
Set 3 – SIU 25, UE 23
UE grabbed an 11-8 lead when Steele had a kill that was the start of a 3-0 stretch. SIU came back to tie it at 13-13 before Emilee Scheumann put the lead back in the Aces hands. Another kill from Cardona solidified the Evansville advantage at 22-19 and it looked as if the Aces would pick up another win. Once again, SIU came back to finish the frame on a 6-1 rally to take a 2-1 match lead.
Set 4 – SIU 25, UE 19
After taking a 4-1 lead to open the fourth set, Southern Illinois did not look back. Their start extended to a 7-2 edge before UE worked its way back into the contest when a pair of Vazquez kills made it a 12-10 score. Evansville did its best to stay within striking distance but could not get over the hump as SIU clinched the match. Next weekend, UE plays host to Belmont and Murray State.
