Aces travel to Southern Illinois and Missouri State
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Week two of Missouri Valley Conference play will see the University of Evansville volleyball team travel to Southern Illinois and Missouri State. UE opens the weekend on Friday evening in Carbondale at 6 p.m. before traveling to Springfield, Mo. for a 4 p.m. contest on Saturday; the match against the Bears will be carried on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
– In its second home match of the season, the Purple Aces welcomed Chicago State on Monday evening
– Hitting .329 in the contest, the Cougars earned a 3-0 win over UE
– Giulia Cardona and Melanie Feliciano finished with 10 kills each
She’s #1
– Giulia Cardona finished the first conference weekend with an unreal average of 8.86 kills per set
– After finishing with 26 at Murray State, Cardona reset her career-high with 36 at Belmont on Saturday
– Her 36 kills was the most in the NCAA in a 4-set match this season and tied for the highest tally in any match of the 2023 season
– For her efforts, Cardona was recognized as the MVC Player of the Week for the second time this season and third instance in her career
– She continues to lead the nation with 5.67 kills and 6.46 points per set while her 14.78 attacks per game is second nationally
Scouting the Opposition
– After splitting their first two MVC matches of 2023, Southern Illinois enters Friday’s match with a 9-4 overall record
– The Salukis defeated UIC last weekend by a 3-1 final before falling to Valpo in straight sets on Saturday
– One of the most accurate hitters in the MVC is Imani Hartfield, who is third in the league with a season tally of .394
– Missouri State dropped to 6-8 on the season with a pair of conference losses to Valparaiso and UIC
– Deja Bickers paces the Bears with 3.11 kills per frame
Setting up the Offense
– Averaging 11.86 assists over the first two MVC matches, Kora Ruff improved her season average to 10.71/set, which is third in the conference
– Ruff’s average is 15th in the nation
– Defensively, she has chipped an average of 2.62 digs, which is 20th in the league
– In the final two contests of the DePaul Invitational, Ruff averaged an unreal 14.57 assists including a season-high of 54 against Northern Illinois
