Aces and Bulldogs meet up on Saturday and Sunday

 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For the third weekend in a row, the University of Evansville softball team takes to the road as a 3-game series at Drake will take place on Saturday and Sunday in Des Moines.  Saturday’s action features a 12 p.m. doubleheader while Sunday’s final contest will start at 12 p.m.; Sunday’s contest will be featured on ESPN3.

 

Last Time Out

– Facing preseason MVC favorite Southern Illinois, the Purple Aces left it all on the field, outscoring the Salukis by a 10-9 margin in the three games while taking the second contest by a final of 8-2

– The opener was a pitchers duel that saw the game tied up at 1-1 heading into the bottom of the 7th before SIU hit a walk-off 2-run home run

– Evansville scored two runs apiece in the first two innings of game two on their way to an 8-2 victory…Marah Wood added a 3-run home run to add some insurance…Wood and Eryn Gould each scored twice

– In the third contest, the Salukis picked up a 4-1 win to clinch the series

One of the Best

– Eryn Gould continues to shine in her final season at UE and is currently batting .439 with an on-base percentage of .580

– The on-base tally ranks 13th in the country while her average is 44th…she has reached base safely in 28 out of 30 games this season and has gotten even better in MVC games – reaching base 67.5% of the time…between March 20 and 28, Gould reached base in 21 out of 26 plate appearances – a rate of 80.7%

Finding her Groove

– Izzy Vetter was spectacular at Southern Illinois, throwing 13 innings while striking out 14 batters and finishing with a 2.69 ERA

– She kept the Aces in the opener, allowing one run through six innings before picking up her 10th win of the season with another gem in game two

– With a total of 139 strikeouts in 2021, Izzy Vetter is 18th in the nation and second in the MVC…she reset her career mark with 12 strikeouts in the opener against Valpo…prior to that, she recorded 11 K’s in wins over Purdue Fort Wayne and Green Bay

– Vetter checks in with a 10-6 record and a 2.75 ERA

– On the national side, Vetter is 49th with an average of 8.9 strikeouts per 7 innings

The University of Evansville women’s soccer program wraps up a successful season in the Missouri Valley placing four on the All-Conference team.

Highlighting the squad is senior goalkeeper Michaela TIll, who earns second team all-MVC after an incredible season between the pipes for the Purple Aces. Till finished the season ranked 12th in the country in goals-against-average and first in the MVC, allowing two goals in five games played for a .367 GAA on the season. Till also posted 26 saves, including 11 against Loyola to help give UE the 1-0 victory over the Ramblers, she ranks eighth in the NCAA in saves percentage .929.

“This team from the very first training in August until the last game has shown up and competed,” head coach Chris Pfau said.

Rachel Rosborough earned All-Freshman team honors after playing in all eight games for the Aces in the back line. The freshman from Ontario, Canada was key in both the Aces top-20 NCAA defense and the forward moments of the ball on the offensive end. Rosborough saw action in 666 minutes and earned freshman of the week on March 16 this season.

Emilie Hill and Abby Phelps both found places on the honorable mention team. Hill recorded most of her time as a center back for the Purple Aces, while also finding the back of the net against Loyola to help earn her first career goal and the win over the Ramblers. Hill also played in all eight games, playing all but 10 minutes this season. Phelps earned her spot after her top notch midfield play during the season, attempting 10 shots, including a career high five at Drake.

“It has been an incredible year for our women and what they have accomplished this spring,” Pfau said. “Three weeks after I was hired we were shut down due to COVID and we missed out on our spring games to build that foundation. Then our first games that we got to play opened right in our conference schedule.  As a new coach you never know what to expect until you start playing. Then as you get into games you start to figure things out, start to get to know the players and what works and what does not work. And at the end of the spring season we qualified for conference tournament.”

The Aces ranked as the best defensive team in the Missouri Valley Conference this season and one of the top-20 in the NCAA, posting a top-10 in goal-against-average, allowing only three goals in eight games, posting five shutouts and not losing back to back games on the season.

“We built a great foundation in the fall and for our players to have the spring we had shown that we are headed in the right direction and can compete with anyone in our conference,” Pfau said. “We are all excited about the fall and the future of our program.”

Eagles collect their first tournament victory since 2010

University of Southern Indiana Volleyball earned its first GLVC tournament victory since 2010 via a common theme of its season, a sweep, beating sixth-seeded Lindenwood in three closely contested sets.

The Screaming Eagles and Lions were neck-and-neck throughout each set and recorded 16 ties and four lead changes total in the three-set match. The Eagles utilized two major categories to gain the advantage throughout the contest, aces and blocks. USI posted seven service aces while Lindenwood recorded zero and, at the net, USI recorded 18 blocks versus the Lions 12. The Eagles’ across-the-board contributions from the regular season carried into the GLVC championship with seven players blasting at least one kill, six adding an ace, six players recording two-plus digs, and six thwarting at least one opposing attack. The first set of the match and the entire tournament proved to be the most difficult for the Eagles, taking a late push with USI winning the last five points and nine of the final 10 points to nab the set. Set two proved to be an equally difficult fight but USI prevailed and did not trail after it tied the match a nine points each. The third and eventual final set of the match featured the Screaming Eagles taking hold early in the set and never trailing enroute to victory.

On offense, USI’s All-Conference sophomores Leah Anderson and Katherine Koch led the charge with Anderson bombarding the Lions with 13 kills on a .258 hitting percentage with an ace and Koch recording 10 more kills on an attack percentage of .348, adding an ace and three assists. The contest marks the sophomores’ fifth-straight match with double-digit kills and points each. Just behind the sophomore duo was freshman Abby Weber with eight kills, adding her sixth match with 10-plus points in seven contests. The floor general Casey Cepicky went right into her role to set the tone, dishing out 31 assists to fuel the offense of the Eagles. Overall, USI assisted on 36 of 38 kills in the three-set victory.

The USI defense proved to be a true fortification once again, especially at the net, with Sidney Hegg and Taylor Litteken both recording five blocks. Anderson chipped in another three blocks while Koch, Weber, and Cepicky each thwarted two opposing attacks. Callie Gubera and Katherine Koch both scooped-up nine attacks while Anderson and Cepicky were narrowly behind with eight and seven digs a piece.

With the victory, the 21st-ranked Eagles improved to 2-0 against the Lindenwood Lions on the season and 15-4 overall. USI, after dropping two-straight matches on March 20, has now won five-straight contests.

NOTES:
USI lengthens its winning streak to five games with the first round win over Lindenwood. The Eagles’ streak dates back to their final home match of the season against McKendree on March 26, which USI won 3-1 over the Bearcats.

The Eagles have won eight matches this season via a sweep. USI, following its first match of the year against then-No. 14 Lewis (a loss in five sets), won five-straight matches without losing a set. The Eagles also beat Southwest Baptist, UIndy, and now Lindenwood in straight-sets.

The sophomore duo of Leah Anderson and Katherine Koch recorded their fifth-straight match with 10-plus kills and at least 10.0 points each.

Senior setter Casey Cepicky dished out 30-plus assists for the 15th time on the season. She now owns 2,914 assists in her USI career which ranks fourth all-time in USI history.

Aces set to wrap up the spring season

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In the final event of the 2021 spring season, the University of Evansville women’s golf team will travel to Saint Charles, Missouri for the Missouri Valley Conference Championship.

Opening on Monday, April 19, the tournament begins at 8 a.m. with the opening two rounds.  On Tuesday, the third and final round will also begin at 8 a.m. at Bogey Hills Country Club.  It will be the first MVC Championship since the spring of 2019 due to the 2020 version being canceled due to COVID-19.

Sophia Rohleder had a strong performance in the 2019 championship, tying for 5^th place in the final standings.  A 2-over 74 in the first round of play was a strong start to an effort that saw her score a 226 for the three rounds, 10 over par.  She garnered All-Conference honors for her efforts.  Heading into this year’s finale, Rohleder continues to perform at a high level.  She leads the team with a 77.00 scoring average and won the opening two tournaments this spring – the ASU Spring Classic and the Don Benbow Invitational and is coming off of a 4^th place tie last time out at the Jan Weaver Invite.

Mallory Russell was the Purple Aces’ second-leading performer in its last event.  The freshman carded a 77 to begin the tournament before completing the three rounds with a 236.  She tied for 41^st.   Just behind her was Allison Enchelmayer, who recorded a 237.  Her top round came in the opening day as she tallied a 76.

Caitlin O’Donnell had a consistent performance, notching rounds of 81-80-81 on her way to a 242 while Alyssa McMinn registered a 243.  Her low score was a 77 in the second round.