Evansville Plays Three Matches On Friday And Saturday
 With its first four matches taking place away from home, the University of Evansville volleyball team opens its 2019 home schedule with the Dunn Hospitality Tournament. UE opens play at 6 p.m. Friday against Purdue Fort Wayne before taking on Middle Tennessee State and Eastern Illinois on Saturday.
Weekend Recap
– The season opened for the Aces over the weekend in Cape Girardeau, Mo.
– Evansville dropped a hard-fought 3-2 match against Western Illinois in the opener before bouncing back with a 3-0 win over Jackson State
– Saturday’s finale saw the Aces challenge in each set before Southeast Missouri State finished with a 3-0 win
– Melanie Feliciano earned All-Tournament honors averaging 3.64 kills and 3.27 digs per set
– The Aces continued play on Tuesday, earning a 3-0 win at Tennessee State; it marked the first non-conference road sweep since UE did so against NC Central in 2013
Dunn Hospitality Tournament
– This season marks the ninth Dunn Hospitality Tournament; it has been held annually since 2010 with the exception of 2012. – Last year, UE fell in contests against Austin Peay and Northern Kentucky; overall, the Aces are 13-10 in the event and went a perfect 3-0 in the first tournament in 2010
Freshman of the Week
– In her first weekend of collegiate action, freshman Melanie Feliciano led the Aces with 3.64 kills per set while garnering a spot on the Redhawks Invitational All-Tournament Team along with MVC Freshman of the Week honors
– Feliciano began her career with a 19-kill, 14-dig performance against Western Illinois; she hit .333 and finished with two block assists
– She continued her success against the Tigers adding 15 kills and stands second in the MVC with 3.93 per game; that average is one of the top 15 tallies in the nation among freshmen
Senior Success
– Patricia Joseph is off to a nice start in the first week of her senior campaign
– Limited to 36 sets last season, Joseph has played in all 14 frames this year, averaging 1.79 kills per set
– She set her career mark with 9 kills in 19 tries against Western Illinois
Scouting the Opposition
– Purdue Fort Wayne has a 2-5 mark entering the Dunn Hospitality Tournament
– The Mastodons are led on the offensive side by Katie Crowe’s 2.74 kills per set while Rachel Cruis anchors the defense to the tune of 4.36 digs per frame
– Their wins have come over South Alabama and UC Riverside
– Middle Tennessee State will mark the first opponent of the day on Saturday; the Blue Raiders come to Meeks Family Fieldhouse with an 0-6 mark
– Urte Neimantaite and Emma Grever lead MTSU with 3.29 and 3.11 kills per game, respectively
– Sarah Sumida checks in with 10.83 assists per game while Taylor Hammill is averaging 8.94
– The weekend finale pits the Purple Aces against Eastern Illinois, who starts the weekend with an 0-6 record
– EIU is paced on the offensive side by Ireland Hieb, who has 2.71 kills/set; Katie Sommer is just behind her with 2.39
– Bailey Chandler sits at 8.45 assists per set and has a team-best eight service aces
– On the defensive side, Madison Cunningham has a team-high 3.91 digs/frame
