Sophomore Allana McInnis earned a spot on the Dunn Hospitality Invitational All-Tournament Team as the University of Evansville volleyball team took on Austin Peay and Northern Kentucky on Saturday inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
UE (5-4) fell by a 3-0 final to Austin Peay (7-1) and another 3-0 contest against NKU (5-3). In the other match, the Norse picked up a 3-2 win over the Governors.
The nightcap saw the Aces give it all they had against Northern Kentucky before falling, 3-0. Rachel Tam led everyone with 19 kills while Mildrelis Rodriguez had 11. McInnis paced everyone with 23 assists and Olivia Goldstein had 11 digs. Haley Libs led NKU with 12 kills.
Six ties led to a 6-6 score in game one before NKU took a 10-7 lead. They led by as many as six at 22-16. Evansville made a late rally as a kill from Elizabeth Giller capped off a 4-0 stretch that cut the deficit to a pair. NKU answered back as they finished with the 25-21 win to take a 1-0 lead. Tam posted nine kills in the set.
NKU hit .440 in game two on their way to a 25-15 win. They took a 6-2 lead and quickly extended it to 11-3. Their lead reached 10 at 22-12 before they held that advantage for the final of 25-15.
Tam began game three with two early kills as the Aces took a 4-1 lead. The lead remained at three (8-5) when the Norse rallied to tie it up at 8-8. Tam put the lead back in the hands of the Aces with a kill to give UE a 9-8 edge. The lead would grow to a pair for the Aces at 17-15, but Northern Kentucky rallied back. A pair of UE errors saw them take a 20-18 advantage. From there, they held on for a 25-21 win to clinch the tournament championship.
In the opener for the day, Austin Peay took control in game one, cruising to a 25-9 win. Mildrelis Rodriguez had three kills in the frame. UE quickly regrouped in the second set as a Joselyn Coronel service ace gave the Aces a 5-2 lead. Later, a pair of Governor errors set the Aces lead at 12-8.
Austin Peay battled back, taking a 16-13 lead before freshman Cecilia Thon got the Aces back on track. Her serving helped UE tied it up at 17-17, but the Governors were too much as they pulled away for the 25-19 win.
Evansville put forth its best effort in game three. A Rodrigez kill tied it up at 4-4 before APSU took a 10-6 lead. That is when Rachel Tam accomplished a rare feat. Three service aces in a row, coupled with a kill, helped Evansville tie the game at 11-11 before Kerra Cornist followed with a point of her own to give the Aces a 13-12 lead.
Neither team relented down the stretch as eight more ties led to a 20-20 score. After the Governors posted two in a row, the Aces responded with three-straight points, capped off by a Thon kill. Austin Peay grabbed the momentum back as a Caroline Waite kill helped them record the final three points to take the set, 25-23, while clinching a 3-0 win in the match.
Tam posted 11 kills, tying for the top total in the match. Thon notched eight digs and 11 assists while Allana McInnis posted a team-best 12 helpers.
Tennessee State is next up for UE as the Aces welcome the Tigers on Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. in Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
