Junior led the MVC with 4.43 kills per see

ST. LOUIS – University of Evansville junior Alondra Vazquez capped off a spectacular 2021 spring season by being named to the All-Missouri Valley Conference First Team in an announcement by the league on Wednesday.

Vazquez paced the MVC with an average of 4.43 kills per set over the course of the season.  Her success was not limited to the offensive side as her defensive mark of 3.55 digs per set finished in the top 15 in the league.  The native of Toa Alta, Puerto Rico finished the regular season as the national leader with 1,060 attacks while finishing second with 14.13 attacks per set.

“I am so proud of Alondra, she worked really hard from becoming a defensive player to an all-around player,” UE head volleyball coach Fernando Morales said.  “From beginning to end, she was one of the most dominant players in the conference and, in my opinion, the most complete player.”

In total, Vazquez completed the season with 332 kills, a total that paced the Valley and ranked 10^th in the NCAA.  Her career mark of 32 kills came in a dominant effort that was the first of its kind in the history of the conference.  On March 7 at Drake, Vazquez totaled 32 kills and 32 digs in what was the first 30-dig, 30-kill performance in MVC history and one of fewer than 10 such efforts that have been recorded in the entire NCAA since the 1980’s.

After leading the Purple Aces in double-doubles in 2019, she did the same with 13 in 2021.  She finished with 20+ kills on eight occasions while posting 20 or more digs in four matches this spring.  In her most consistent series of the season, she averaged 5.57 kills and 4.43 digs per frame in a pair of wins against Southern Illinois on her way to MVC Player of the Week accolades on March 16.

This marks the fifth time that an Evansville player has received MVC First Team honors in volleyball.  Vazquez is the first to do so since 2014 when Ashley Ring earned a spot on the team.

Aces remain in sixth place

 

PINEHURST, N.C. – In Tuesday’s final round of the Pinehurst Women’s Intercollegiate, Alyssa McMinn shot a 1-under 71 to come home with a top ten finish at Pinehurst No. 6.

McMinn’s tally for the 54 holes came in at 225 and tied her for seventh place.  Her rally was just two strokes out of the top five.  Caitlin O’Donnell finished second on the Purple Aces squad.  Her final round total finished with a 78 and her 232 put her in a tie for 21^st.

Allison Enchelmayer tied for 35^th on the leaderboard.  She had her best round of the event on Tuesday, carding a 5-over 77 on her way to a 238.  Mallory Russell carded an 86 in the last round and placed in a tie for 41^st with a 244.  After pushing through Monday’s pair of rounds, Sophia Rohleder was scratched on Tuesday.

Evansville remained in sixth place with a 937.  The Aces held off Western Carolina by two strokes.  St. John’s took the team championship with an 897.  They held off Rutgers by one shot.  Tara Bettle from UNC Greensboro was the top individual.  Her 3-round final finished at 213.  She defeated St. John’s Angelica Kusnowo by two shots.

UE is back in action next weekend at the Indiana State Spring Invite.

Aces drop 6-2 midweek contest

 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Trailing by four in the bottom of the sixth, the University of Evansville softball team cut the lead in half, but UT Martin countered with two in the top of the seventh to pick up a 6-2 win over the Purple Aces on Tuesday at Cooper Stadium.

UT Martin (18-7) broke a scoreless tie in the top half of the fifth with three runs crossing the plate.  Shyanne Sheffield hit a 2-run home run to left field to cap off the inning.

Evansville (17-8) had just one baserunner through the opening three frames, but broke through in the fourth when Katie McLean drew her second walk of the game.  With one out, Marah Wood picked up the Aces first hit of the afternoon, but UTM starter Alexis Groet escaped the inning unscathed.

After the Skyhawks extended the lead to 4-0 in the sixth, the Aces got on the board in the bottom of the frame.  Hannah Hood hit a leadoff double before McLean was hit by a pitch.  Haley Woolf helped to advance the runners to second and third before a Marah Wood plated Hood for UE’s first run.  Alyssa Barela added a sacrifice fly in the inning to cut the UTM lead in half.

A Kaitlin Kelley home run in the seventh saw the UTM lead go right back up to four runs and that would wrap up the scoring with the Skyhawks taking the 6-2 win.

Jaime Nurrenbern allowed three runs in five innings in the start while Izzy Vetter gave up three runs in two frames of work.  UE had three hits on the day with two coming off the bat of Wood.  McLean reached base on all three trips to the plate and scored a run.  UTM had ten hits with Sheffield accounting for three.

A trip to Cedar Falls, Iowa is on tap this weekend with the Aces facing UNI in a 3-game series.  The teams meet up for a doubleheader on Friday and a single game on Saturday.