UE welcomes Austin Peay, Dayton and Kent State
 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The sixth version of the Dunn Hospitality Tournament will be held on Friday and Saturday as the University of Evansville volleyball team welcomes Austin Peay, Dayton and Kent State to the Carson Center for a total of six matches.
Action begins Friday at 4:30 p.m. when Dayton and Kent State face off. Evansville takes on Austin Peay at 7 p.m. The Golden Flashes and the Governors tangle on Saturday at 10 a.m. before the Aces face the Flyers at 12:30 p.m. The final two matches feature Austin Peay/Dayton at 4 p.m. and Evansville/Kent State at 6:30 p.m.
Both of the Aces’ matches on Saturday will be carried live on The Valley on ESPN3.
Evansville picked up its first victory of the season on Monday evening against Southeast Missouri State. After dropping the first set, the Aces grabbed a 2-1 lead. The Redhawks tied the match up with a 4th-set victory before the Aces were able to take control in the fifth, clinching the match with a 15-9 triumph.
This weekend marks the sixth Dunn Hospitality Tournament. The first one took place in 2010 and has been played each year since except for 2012. The Aces are 11-4 in the event and went a perfect 3-0 in the 2010 tournament. Interestingly enough, the first-ever match in the history of the tournament took place against Western Carolina which, at the time, was led by current UE head coach Manolo Concepcion.
Sophomore Mildrelis Rodriguez matched her career-high with 18 kills on Monday. She also notched 15 digs to lead the way for the Purple Aces. For the season, she leads the way with 2.80 kills per set and is knocking on the door of the top ten in the MVC. On the defensive side, Rodriguez led the team with 15 digs against SEMO and ranks second for UE with 2.40 digs per set.
The amazing start to the season continued for junior Erlicia Griffith as she notched two solo blocks and nine block assists in the win over SEMO. She pushed her average for the season to 1.65 per set, which is tops in the MVC and began the week in the top ten in the country. That effort came off of a weekend that saw her finish with 8 block assists versus Green Bay.
Austin Peay will be the first opponent of the weekend for the Purple Aces. The Governors come to Evansville with a 3-4 mark after dropping two out of three matches at the Trojan Invitational in Troy, Ala. They earned a win over Southern before falling to Valparaiso and New Mexico State. Offensively, they are a balanced squad with four players averaging 2.27 kills or more, led by Ashley Slay’s 2.81 per set.
Dayton comes to the Dunn Hospitality Tournament with a perfect 7-0 record. They earned wins over Xavier, Northwestern and Chattanooga in their home tournament last weekend. Jessica Sloan is their top offensive weapon, notching an average of 3.77 kills per frame.
Rounding out the weekend will be Kent State. The Golden Flashes begin the weekend with a 4-3 record, splitting their home tournament last weekend. They earned wins over Robert Morris and Wright State and fell to Boise State and Tennessee. Kelsey Bittinger leads KSU with 3.91 kills per set.
