Aces get 4^th road victory in a row

 SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Finishing with 19 kills each, Alondra Vazquez and Giulia Cardona led the University of Evansville volleyball team to a 3-1 road victory over Missouri State on Friday evening.  It was the fourth road victory in a row for Evansville.

Vazquez led the Purple Aces with 16 digs and hit .286 in the win while Cardona tallied 11 digs while hitting a solid .319.  Blakeley Freeman had a stellar outing, picking up 13 digs and a kill.  Madisyn Steele and Hannah Watkins recorded eight kills apiece.  Kora Ruff had 54 assists and 9 digs.

Set 1 – MSU 25, UE 23

Laura Ruiz recorded an early service ace to give the Aces a 3-0 at the start.  Missouri State took their first lead at 6-5.  Over the next sequence, neither team would lead by more than two before Evansville changed that pattern.  Up 14-13, UE extended the lead to by a pair and would remain up by three when a kill from Emilee Scheumann made it a 20-17 score.

Following a time out, the Bears stormed back into the thick of it.  Three service aces in a row highlighted a 5-0 run that gave them a 22-20 edge.  Alondra Vazquez picked up two kills to tie it back up at 23-23, but MSU scored the final two points to win the set.

Set 2 – UE 26, MSU 24

Up 1-0 in the match, the Bears came out swinging in game two, jumping out to a 7-2 lead.  Missouri State would extend the lead to 13-5 before leading by as many as nine points at 19-10.  Just when it looked like the Bears were going to cruise to a 2-0 lead, the Aces had other ideas.

Wrapping up the set on a 16-5 run, Evansville stormed back to take a 26-24 win to tie the set.  UE cut slightly into the gap, turning a 20-12 deficit into a 22-19 score with Cardona posting an ace and a kill.  Looking to regain the momentum, Missouri State used a time out but it provided only a temporary fix.  After scoring the first point out of the break to go back up by four, MSU saw Evansville reel off four in a row to tie the game at 23-23.

The Bears would have set point following a UE error, but a kill by Vazquez tied it right back up.  An error by MSU put the lead in the Aces hands before Hannah Watkins had the clinching kill in a 26-24 victory.

Set 3 – UE 25, MSU 20

Twelve ties led to an 18-18 score in the third frame.  Both squads took a 2-point lead with the other fighting back each time.  That pattern changed when Kora Ruff posted a kill that sent the Aces on a 4-0 run.  Cardona also had a kill during that stretch.  Missouri State got back within three at 23-20, but it was Vazquez putting the finishing touches on the set.  Two more kills capped off a 25-20 win that gave Evansville a 2-1 advantage.

Set 4 – UE 25, MSU 19

Three consecutive errors by the Bears turned a 3-3 tie into a 6-3 Aces lead before Cardona added a kill to make it a 9-4 game.  With contributions coming from everywhere, Blakeley Freeman posted a kill in a sequence that made it a 16-7 game.  The lead for the Aces reached as many as 10 points when Madisyn Steele picked up a kill.

MSU rallied late, getting within four points (22-18), but it was Steele coming up clutch once again.  Her perfectly placed service ace landed just inside the line to clinch the 25-19 set win and a 3-1 match victory.  Tomorrow, the Aces are in Carbondale to face Southern Illinois at 5 p.m.

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University men’s basketball team picked up a big win Friday night at the P.E. Complex, defeating Malcolm X Community College 106-57 on the first day of the annual Kiwanis Classic.

VU got off to a quick start, grabbing an early four-point lead after sophomore guard Tasos Cook (Columbus, Ohio) scored the first seven points for the Blazers.

Malcolm X responded back in the hostile environment to grab the lead at 15-11.

Vincennes would then take the lead back for good aided by a 13-2 scoring run.

Vincennes would use another pair of double-digit scoring runs to extend their lead to 22 points at the break, heading into the locker room holding a 47-25 advantage.

The Trailblazers continued to build on this lead early in the second half, growing the lead to 34 points with a 14-0 run.

Malcolm X looked to battle back and cut into the deficit late, but a massive 18-0 scoring run put the Trailblazers ahead 93-46, as VU continued to add on to reach the final margin of 106-57.

“I thought we let them be the aggressor a little bit early,” VU Hall of Fame Head Coach Todd Franklin said. “Then Tasos got a little more aggressive going downhill. We stopped letting them play us and we started playing them. Really, once that happened, things turned.”

“I thought Malcolm X came out and played really well early,” Franklin added. “I thought our team kind of took them out of things, more than they were just not able to play. I didn’t think they were bad. The final score might indicate something different, but I think that was more indicative of how we played tonight. Then there is a point where they get broken because they are so far down and we can keep bringing in waves of guys to come at you.”

“But I thought Malcolm X gave us some good resistance early,” Franklin said. “I thought our guys had to take that and then fight it. But overall, I thought most guys played pretty well. We are going to have to play better tomorrow night. Tomorrow night is going to be an extremely physical game and it’s something that this young team has not been through. So, it will be very interesting to see how we handle that. How we handle that will probably determine the outcome.”

“Tonight, was similar to what we had to defend when we played Tuesday, in concept and I thought our guys did okay,” Franklin added. “We got better at handling the ball screen. We finally get some guys that are better at using their hands and pressing those ball screens and beat it instead of letting them play you. That’s just something they are not used to. It’s a whole different thing at this level. When we do it, we’re not bad. But we are going to have to be better than not bad tomorrow night.”

“I thought it was a good effort,” Franklin said. “It’s up and down and we are learning. We are a long way away from where we need to be, but we were able to cut our turnovers down tonight. We had 14 on the game, got a couple late. I thought we probably handled the ball better in the second half until the very end.”