Trio recognized prior to MVC championship
ST .LOUIS – Giulia Cardona, Kora Ruff and Alondra Vazquez each received Missouri Valley Conference postseason honors as the league announced its All-Conference squads on Saturday.
Cardona and Vazquez were named to the All-MVC First Team while Kora Ruff earned a spot on the All-Freshman squad.
Alondra Vazquez was named to the All-MVC First Team for the third consecutive season. She was also an All-Freshman honoree in 2018. Vazquez is set to complete a stellar career that saw her break the Purple Aces career kills record. The 5-time MVC Player of the Week in her career currently has 1,864 kills, which is 4th-best in MVC history.
She led the MVC in kills once again with an average of 4.75 per set. In her time at Evansville, Vazquez has accumulated 5,351 attacks, which set the program record and will finish second in the league record books.
Giulia Cardona joins Vazquez on the First Team. The 2021 MVC Freshman of the Year was named to the All-MVC Second Team last season. Her 24-kill performance against Indiana State saw her break the Evansville single season kills record. Currently sitting with 508, Cardona passed Vazquez’ mark of 494 versus the Sycamores.
The top effort for Cardona saw her register 25 kills at Southern Illinois. Â Her average of 4.23 kills per set put her second in the Valley, trailing only Vazquez.
Kora Ruff picked up a spot on the All-Freshman squad. With 1,232 assists in 2022, she ranks fourth in the nation and second among all freshmen nationally. With 10.27 helpers per frame, Ruff is 4th in the league. As the season has wound down, Ruff has been at her best. Over the last 13 matches, Ruff has recorded an average of 11.28 assists.
Ruff has reached the 50-assist mark in a match on five occasions with her top total of 58 coming in a win over Missouri State. Defensively, Ruff has notched at least five digs in 29 out of UE’s 32 contests.
