UE is at Illinois State on Saturday

 PEORIA, Ill. – Giulia Cardona and Angelica Gonzalez combined for 17 kills on Friday as the University of Evansville volleyball team dropped a 3-0 decision at Bradley.

Cardona led the Purple Aces with 11 kills and Gonzalez added six.  Jenna Heidbreder posted five kills.  Ainoah Cruz had 10 digs while Lexi Owen paced the team with 14 assists.  Kaylenn Hunt completed the match with 11 kills for the Braves.

Game 1 – Bradley 25, UE 16

Bradley took a 3-1 lead out of the gate before pushing the advantage to 10-4.  From there, the Braves went up by a 19-10 score and took the set by a similar 9-point advantage to pick up the 1-0 match lead.

Game 2 – Bradley 25, UE 15

After scoring the first three points, Bradley added to the lead to make it a 13-4 game.  Evansville made a nice run to make it a 14-9 game as Maddie Hawkins registered an ace while Angelica Gonzalez picked up a kill.  Gonzalez kept the deficit at five with a kill that made it a 15-10 game before BU regrouped to complete the set on a 10-5 run to take a commanding 2-0 lead.

Game 3 – Bradley 25, UE 16

Looking to clinch the match, the Braves quickly jumped out to a 4-1 lead.  Evansville never gave up, remaining within striking distance as a Chloe Cline kill saw the Aces get within three at 14-11.  Things quickly turned when Bradley countered with a 6-1 run that put them up by a 20-12 margin.  They finished with a 25-16 win to take the match.

Saturday evening features a match-up at Illinois State with a 6 p.m. start time.

LITTLE ROCK, Ark.– University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (8-10, OVC 3-3) were unable to mount a comeback digging an early hole against the University of Arkansas at Little Rock (9-10, OVC 4-2) falling in four sets, (23-25, 21-25, 25-16, 15-25). The Screaming Eagles and Trojans entered play tied for fourth place in the Ohio Valley Conference both looking to make jumps into the top three after the weekend as Little Rock gains the edge.
 
Freshman Kerigan Fehr earned a career high of 14 digs, while sophomore Leah Coleman tied her career high of 13 kills on the offensive side. Sophomore Ashby Willis extended her double digit kill streak to five games with a team best 18 tonight.
 
Set 1: USI 23, LR 25
USI’s defense came out strong in set one as junior Keira Moore had three shoestring digs and Willis swatted a block to fire up the Eagles leading 8-7. Two straight USI service errors helped the Trojans gain a 11-9 lead. The outside hitters kept the Eagles within striking distance as graduate senior Jasmine Green, Coleman, and Willis combined for eight kills trailing 17-19. Green laid her body out on the line diving into the scorers table, along with getting rewarded with a kill later in the rally as the Eagles trailed 23-24 before the Trojans clinched set one with a kill. The Trojans took advantage of two USI service errors, while manufacturing three aces and three and a half blocks.
 
Set 2: USI 21, LR 25
Coleman smashed her team leading sixth kill as both squads traded early points. Junior Bianca Anderson found the seam in the block with two slides, along with an ace from freshman Layla Gonzales tying the match at nine. Willis transitioned into the net three times before finally finishing her seventh kill tying the match at 12. Senior Abby Weber gave the Eagles a 18-16 lead with her 19^th service ace of the season. The Trojans used a 7-1 run to end the set as the Eagles dug themselves a hole down two sets. Middle hitters senior Paris Downing and Anderson took their turns in set two with eight combined kills.
 
Set 3: USI 25, LR 16
Anderson’s signature slide worked again helping the Eagles gain a 7-5 lead. Willis used an off-speed kill for her 11^th of the match gaining the 10-8 advantage. Senior Carly Sobieralski and Anderson executed a textbook block assist extending the lead to 17-14. Another successful Gonzales ace and slide from Downing helped contribute to the 8-1 run giving USI a 23-15 lead. Back-to-back kills from Willis gave USI the dominant set three victory tallying 15 on the game, along with 15 digs.
 
Set 4: USI 15, LR 25
The Trojans used three early blocks to build a 11-5 lead. Coleman helped the Eagles climb back with her 12^th kill closing within four. Little Rock totaled their eighth service ace to build a 18-9 lead. Redshirt Freshman Maeve Moonan tallied her first statistic as an Eagle with a block assist with Sobieralski to cut the lead within ten. However, the Trojan attack oulasted the Eagles winning round one of the series.
 
Willis lead offensively with 18 kills for third straight match along with capturing her sixth double-double at 18 digs. Sobieralski racked up 44 assists on 17 digs, while Moore led defensively with 23 digs. Moore has snatched 15+ digs in her past five matches. Sobieralski and Anderson both swatted three blocks, while Gonzales finished with a career high three service aces.
 
As a team, USI finished with 64 kills, 48 assists, 97 digs, nine aces, six blocks, and a .089 attacking percentage. The Trojans earned 43 kills, 40 assists, 92 digs, nine aces, 15 blocks, and a .143 hitting percentage.
 
Next up for the Eagles
USI is back in Little Rock tomorrow looking to sweep the Trojans at 2 p.m.
 

PARK HILLS, Mo. – The Vincennes University volleyball team opened a very tough weekend tournament Friday evening and split their first two games of this four-game weekend at the 2024 Mineral Area College Cardinal Classic in Missouri.

The Blazers took their first game of the day against Hutchinson Community College in Kansas 20-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-21, 15-12 before falling in game two of the day to host Mineral Area College 11-25, 15-25, 11-25.

Vincennes opened their day against Hutchinson Community College and this match was very even right from the beginning.

The two teams traded points for most of the opening set before the Blue Dragons pulled away late with five straight points and close out the first set with a 5-1 run to take set one 25-20 and gain the early 1-0 match lead.

Set two was another back and forth battle with Hutchinson gaining the early advantage with a 16-12 lead midway through the set before the Blazers battled back with four straight points.

Vincennes would close out the second set by scoring five of the final six points to take set two 25-21 and even the match at 1-1 going to a pivotal third set.

VU would ride this momentum into the third set, taking a 14-11 lead midway through the set before Hutchinson answered back strong with a pair of 4-0 scoring runs to pull away late and take set three 25-18.

Vincennes looked determined to force a fifth set early in set four, gaining the early 11-8 lead before Hutchinson shifted the momentum back to their side with six straight points.

The Trailblazers would get the momentum back with a 6-0 scoring run of their own, before using another late 6-0 scoring run to take set four 25-21 and force a winner take all fifth set.

In set five, Vincennes once again got out to the early lead, leading 11-5 before Hutchinson would rally back with five straight points to cut the deficit to a single point.

Vincennes was able to regain composure and close out the fifth set strong, completing the comeback with a 15-12 set five victory.

The VU offense was led by sophomore Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) who finished the first match of the day with 17 kills, four blocks, two digs and one set assist.