UE splits Friday meet

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Friday afternoon saw the University of Evansville swimming and diving teams split their meet against USI at Wyttenbach Pool.  Evansville’s men picked up a 152.5-83.5 win while the ladies dropped a close 137-99 decision.

Patrik Vilbergsson, Carlos Souto, Daniel Santos Lopez, and Benjamin Hasanovic opened the day with a win in the 200-medley relay, finishing in 1:34.13.  Joseph Capo earned a solid win in the 200-free.  Registering a time of 1:46.36, he won by just under two seconds.  He picked up his second victory of the day in the 500-free.  His 4:51.32 was over five seconds in front of teammate Wyatt Gallas.

In the 50-free, the Purple Aces swept the top four positions with Hasanovic posting a 21.72 to best Sammy McCall’s 22.01.  Brendan Ulewicz was third with a 22.05 while Boris Tavrosky’s 22.30 was good for 4^th.  Santos Lopez earned top honors in the 200-IM.  With a 1:55.63, he was six seconds in front of the runner-up.  Joao Gulherme was third, posting a 2:03.71.  In the 100-fly, Santos Lopez swam a 50.96 to best the competition by 2.31 and finished his day with a win in the 100-breaststroke, recording a 57.91.  Hasanovic was second, finishing in 1:00.37.

The top six positions in the 100-free belonged to the Aces, led by Michael Pruett’s 47.60.  McCall came in just 0.16 behind while Jakob Grundbacher took third with a 48.81.  Vilbergsson led a top three UE sweep in the 100-backstroke, finishing in 52.29.  Logan Tenison was second, 1.50 behind while Logan Anderson came in third at 55.33.  The men completed the meet with a close win in the 200-free relay.  Tenison, Pruett, McCall, and Mohammed Rashed combined to swim a 1:27.41, finishing less than a half second in front of USI.

Highlighting the day for the women was another stellar performance by Maddie Rollett.  After earning the top spot in the 1-meter with a 265.35, Rollett swept the dives with a score of 255.90 in the 3-meter.  Leah Gardner was fourth in both events, earning a 189.75 in the 1-meter before registering a 194.63 in the 3-meter.

Sveva Brugnoli took top honors in the 200-IM.  Her 2:10.17 was two seconds in front of second place while Mari Mueller took third with a 2:17.20.  Evelyn Chin led a 1-2 finish for the Aces in the 100-fly.  Chin’s 58.53 was just 0.29 in front of Brugnoli.  Ane Madina was the top finisher in the 100-backstroke.  With a 59.98, Madina bested the competition by 1.49.

Madina, Brugnoli, Rafaela Markarewicz and Rebecca Lago took second in the 200-medley relay.  The group finished in 1:48.83, just 0.31 behind the top time.  Hannah Krings was the runner-up in the 500-free.  Krings completed her race in 5:31.99.  Markarewicz and Mueller came in second and third, respectively in the 100-breaststroke.  Finishing in 1:09.42, Markarewicz took second while Mueller checked in with a 1:09.65.

Next up for the Aces is a trip to Carbondale, Ill. for the A3 Invite.  It runs from Nov. 14-16.

Volleyball rallies for 5-set win over Illinois State

UE trailed 2-0 to open the night 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Trailing 2-0 on Friday, the University of Evansville volleyball team staged a furious rally to defeat Illinois State by a 3-2 final inside Meeks family Fieldhouse.

Leading the way for the Purple Aces was Giulia Cardona.  She accumulated 34 kills while hitting an unbelievable .453.  Chloe Cline and Angelica Gonzalez finished with 11 and 10 kills, respectively.  Kora Ruff registered 47 assists, 23 digs, and four service aces while Ainoah Cruz totaled 19 digs.

Set 1 – ISU 25, UE 23

After Kora Ruff opened the night with a service ace, Illinois State came back to take a 3-1 lead.  A pair of kills by Chloe Cline helped UE tie the game at 7-7 before a block from Madisyn Steele and Giulia Cardona put the Aces in front, 14-12.

The Redbirds battled back as they went up by a 21-19 score before the 7^th kill of the night from Cardona was part of a run that put UE back on top at 23-22.  ISU had one final run left, scoring the final three points to take the set.

Set 2 – ISU 25, UE 19

Things were back-and-forth throughout the early moments as Cardona quickly reached double figures in kills as the score was tied at 7-7.  Illinois State was the first to establish a multi-point lead, scoring three in a row to go up 13-10.  From there, they slowly added to their advantage before winning by six points.

Set 3 – UE 25, ISU 19

Madisyn Steele picked up a pair of early solo blocks as UE jumped out to a 7-4 lead.  UE opened by scoring four of the first five before extending its lead to three.  The Redbirds countered with a 4-0 run to take their first lead at 8-7 and would extend it to 11-8.

Kora Ruff recorded her second ace of the night as the Aces rallied to tie it at 12-12 but three in a row by ISU put them back in front.  UE clawed its way back as a solo block by Chloe Cline was followed by an ace from Ainoah Cruz and a Cardona kill to put UE on top at 20-17.  After the Redbirds scored a pair, it was a kill from Cardona that reestablished a 2-point lead.  It was her 22^nd kill of the night that clinched the game and forced a fourth set.

Set 4 – UE 25, ISU 17

Steele opened the set with a kill while Cruz recorded her second ace of the match to put Evansville in front at 5-1.  ISU got within a pair, but the Aces kept the pressure on.  Cardona moved past the 25-kill mark as her team took a 15-10 advantage.

It was Cardona’s serving that extended the lead even more as an ace helped UE take an 18-10 lead.  The Redbirds did not go down without a fight as they fought back as the bounced back to get within four at 21-17.  Two more Cardona kills set the Aces back on track and they would force a fifth set.

Set 5 – UE 15, ISU 7

Evansville scored the opening two points and Cardona continued the rally with three early kills to put her team in front at 4-2.  Cline added a kill that pushed the edge to 8-4.  Illinois State was unable to cut into the deficit as UE cruised to the 15-7 victory to clinch the match.  The Aces will look to sweep the weekend when they face Bradley on Saturday at 5 p.m.

UE cross country finishes 10^th and 12^th at MVC Championships