Evansville, IN.: Despite outshooting Knoxville in the game, the Thunderbolts just couldn’t get the bounces to go their way, as they lose a close game to the Ice Bears, 4-1. The Thunderbolts next home game will be on Sunday, November 14^th at 3:00pm CT as they host the Birmingham Bulls. General Admission is free of charge and will not require a ticket.  For non-General Admission tickets, call (812)422-BOLT (2658), buy online at EvansvilleThunderbolts.com, or buy tickets in person at the Ford Center Box Office.

The Ice Bears would score the opening goal on a perfect deflection by Anthony McVeigh at 4:28, which would be the lone goal of the first period.  Evansville responded with the tying goal from Scott Kirton on a rebound at 4:15 of the second period, assisted by Brandon Lubin and Austin Plevy.  In the third period, Tanner Butler nearly gave Evansville a lead, but his shot would hit the post and fail to bounce in.  The Ice Bears came back minutes later and scored to take a 2-1 lead, scored by Andrew Bellant at 7:47 of the third period.  Knoxville added two late empty net goals from Dean Balsamo and J.D. Baker to round out the scoring, 4-1.  Brian Billett finished with 21 saves on 23 shots.  The Thunderbolts next face Knoxville on Sunday, January 16^th at Knoxville Civic Coliseum, face-off at 4:00PM CT.

The Thunderbolts are currently competing in their fifth season in the SPHL (Southern Professional Hockey League).  Season tickets are less than $9 per game.  To order your tickets for this season, call 812-422-BOLT(2658).

Aces defeat Bulldogs after trailing 2-0

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Trailing by a 2-0 score on Friday evening, the University of Evansville volleyball team rallied in a big way to defeat Drake in five sets inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

Alondra Vazquez recorded a match-high 24 kills to help the Purple Aces (18-7, 8-7 MVC) overcome the 2-0 deficit against the Bulldogs (10-13, 5-10 MVC) to win by a final of 3-2.  She added 15 digs and a pair of service aces.  Giulia Cardona picked up 17 kills, 9 digs and three aces while Melanie Feliciano completed the night with 12 kills and 11 digs.

“This team never quits and we knew that we were not out of it when we went down 2-0,” Aces head volleyball coach Fernando Morales said.  “Our message to them was that if we started to play better, we were going to have a chance.”

UE looked to be on its way to taking the second set to knot the match at 1-1, but a 4-0 rally by the Bulldogs saw them take the commanding lead.  From there, the Aces went on to win by finals of 25-16, 25-18 and 15-13.  Taya Haffner led the way with 51 assists while Vazquez recorded a solo block and four block assists.  Madisyn Steele and Kate Tsironis recorded four block assists each.  Drake was led by Mariana Rodrigues’ 16 kills.

Set 1 – Drake 25, UE 14

Drake had a strong start, recording the opening three points before continuing the run to take a 12-5 lead, forcing an Evansville time out.  The Bulldogs extended the lead to 19-10 before Blakeley Freeman picked up an ace that got her squad back within seven.  Unfortunately, that was as close as UE would get as the Bulldogs pulled away for a 25-14 win.

Set 2 – Drake 26, UE 24

A pair of blocks early in the second set saw UE take a 6-3 advantage.  Hannah Watkins assisted in both blocks.  Alondra Vazquez picked up a kill that extended the UE edge to 12-7 before Drake cut the deficit to one at 13-12.  A kill by Giulia Cardona got the Aces back on track where they would go back by four at 16-12, but a run by the Bulldogs saw them tie it up at 17-17.  Cardona put her team back in front with a kill and ace as UE would go back up by four at 23-19.  The Bulldogs continued to fight back and their persistence paid off as they would rally all the way back to take a 26-24 decision.  Trailing 24-22, DU reeled off the final four points to take the set and a 2-0 lead.

Set 3 – UE 25, Drake 16

After falling behind by a 3-0 score, Evansville stormed back to take the lead on a double block from Vazquez and Kate Tsironis.  The Bulldogs tied it at 7-7, but a service ace from Freeman put Evansville back on top.  After that, it was Cardona notching a kill before picking up back-to-back aces to put UE up 13-8.  It was Vazquez who helped her team pull away even more, adding consecutive aces before UE took the 25-16 victory.

Set 4 – UE 25, Drake 18

It was the Bulldogs taking the early lead once again, posting the first three points before going up 9-5.  The Aces came back once again, knotting the score at 12-12 when Cardona and Tsironis picked up a block.  One possession later, it was Cardona putting UE in front with a kill.  From there, it was all Evansville with the Aces pulling away to force a fifth game with a 25-18 decision.

Set 5 – UE 15, Drake 13

Evansville had the upper hand to begin the fifth set, scoring the opening four tallies, but Drake never gave up.  Trailing 8-3, the Bulldogs scored four in a row to cut the gap to one.  UE regained the edge, going up 14-10 on a Taya Haffner ace. Once again, the Bulldogs fought back, cutting the deficit to 14-13.  With the pressure on, it was Vazquez who had the deciding point, recording her 24^th and final kill of the night to seal the match.

On Saturday, the Aces close out the home schedule for the regular season with a 5 p.m. match against UNI.  Seniors Elena Redmond and Cecilia Thon will be recognized before the match.

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer senior forward Katlyn Andres (Louisville, Kentucky) scored five minutes into the second overtime to give the Screaming Eagles a 1-0 victory over University of Missouri-St. Louis in the Great Lakes Valley Conference Tournament semifinals Friday morning in Springfield, Missouri. The Eagles, who are the fifth seed, go to 12-5-2 in 2021, while the Tritons, who are seeded eighth, finish the season 8-8-3.

The Eagles advance to the GLVC Championship match for the third-straight year and will face the winner of second-seeded Drury University and sixth-seeded Missouri University of Science & Technology Sunday at noon. The GLVC Tournament winner will receive the league’s automatic qualifier to the NCAA Division II Tournament.

USI and UMSL battled to a scoreless draw through 105 minutes with neither team gaining much of an advantage or momentum. The Tritons had the better first half with four shots on-goal, while the Eagles had a 4-1 lead in corner kicks.

USI took advantage of the wind in the second half, posting a 9-4 lead in shots and a 4-0 margin in corner kicks, but could not find the back of the net. Both teams ended regulation and the first overtime in a 0-0 draw, setting the stage for Andres in the final overtime period.

Andres gathered a loose ball in the offensive end of the field and raced to the goal, shooting from 22 yards out. The shot ricocheted off a UMSL defender and the right post into the goal for the game-winner at 105:08.

The unassisted goal was Andres’ fourth of the season, tying for third on the team.

Between the posts for USI, sophomore goalkeeper Maya Etienne (Midland, Michigan) posted her eighth shutout of the season. Etienne, who had a USI career record 29 shutouts in three-plus seasons, faced 11 total shots and made four saves.

UPCOMING GLVC TOURNAMENT:  USI vs. Winner Drury/Missouri S&T

USI advances to the GLVC Championship match Sunday at noon against the winner of second seeded Drury University and sixth-seeded Missouri University of Science & Technology. The semifinals and the conference championship game is being hosted by Drury in Springfield, Missouri.

The Eagles lead the all-time series with Drury, 9-8-0, with USI winning the last six meetings. USI won the sixth-straight with a 2-1 win in Springfield last month during the regular season.

The Miners lead the all-time series with Missouri S&T, 11-7-1, but USI has won the last five meetings. The Eagles defeated the Miners, 3-1, during the regular season last month on Senior Day.