Mildrelis Rodriguez and Rachel Tam posted 14 kills apiece as the University of Evansville volleyball team gave it everything they had but came up just short in a 3-1 loss to Ohio State on Friday afternoon in the Flyer Invitational.

After dropping the opening set by a 25-16 final, UE (6-5) picked up the second one by a 25-19 final.  The Buckeyes (10-1) took the third game by a 25-17 final before clinching the match with a 25-20 triumph in the fourth set.

Days after setting her career mark with 60 assists against Austin Peay, Allana McInnis led all players with 33.  Olivia Goldstein paced the Aces with her 10 digs.  In her second match of the season, Alondra Vazquez notched 8 kills while Kerra Cornist finished with six.

Despite falling into an early 9-1 hole, the Aces were able to hang tough for the remainder of the first set.  Rachel Tam and Mildrelis Rodriguez notched four kills apiece in the frame as UE was able to cut the deficit to six points on a few different occasions.  A late 3-0 rally by the Buckeyes made the difference, pushing them to a 25-16 win to open the day.

OSU scored the first three tallies of the second set, but the Aces came right back with three of their own, including an Olivia Goldstein ace.  The first lead of the match came for UE when an Ohio State error gave them a 7-6 edge.  Evansville continued to play well, extending their lead to as many as four points at 13-9.  Rodriguez was pivotal in the run, registering three kills in a row.

The Buckeyes battled back and retook the lead at 16-15, but the Aces rallied back and the teams tied and the teams posted four ties leading to an 18-18 score.  That is when the Aces defense took over, forcing three consecutive errors to go up 21-18.  UE was able to pull away from there for the 25-19 win to knot the match.

In the third game, Ohio State led throughout, but the Aces never let them get too far away.  Their lead remained at three points – 15-12 before OSU made a late push.  They notched seven of the next ten points before pulling away to pick up the win by a 25-17 final.

Game four featured another battle to the finish.  After OSU jumped out to an early 7-4 advantage, the Aces reeled off five points in a row to go up by a 9-7 score.  Goldstein did the serving in the rally.  The Buckeyes responded with a run of their own, posting six in a row to go up by a 13-9 margin.  That run was part of a 12-2 stretch that saw them turn a 9-7 deficit into a 19-11 lead.

UE never gave up as a Vazquez ace cut the gap to just three points at 21-18 before OSU was able to finish the match with a 25-20 triumph in the fourth set.

University of Southern Indiana junior forward Eric Ramirez (Vincennes, Indiana) scored a pair of second half goals to rally the Screaming Eagles to a 2-1 victory over Drury University to open Great Lakes Valley Conference action Friday afternoon at Strassweg Field. The Eagles see their record go to 3-1-0 overall and 1-0-0 GLVC, while the Panthers go to 0-4-1, 0-1-0 GLVC.

USI fell behind in the opening half when Drury scored the half’s only goal at 22:30. The Panthers would hold the 1-0 advantage though the halftime despite USI leading in shots, 8-5, and a 4-2 margin in corner kicks.

In the second half, the Panthers clung to the 1-0 lead until 82:55 when Ramirez took over. USI senior defender Kent Katzman (Spring Hill, Tennessee) ignited play with a pass to the right corner where Ramirez gathered ball. Ramirez’s first shot was saved by the Drury goalkeeper Nico Hellin before he slid the rebound into the back of the goal to knot the match at 1-1.

Ramirez struck again five minutes later with the eventual game-winning goal. Freshman midfielder Ryan Nevins (St. Peters, Missouri) started USI’s second scoring run by heading the ball of the Drury defense to Ramirez, who deposited the ball into the back of the goal for his second of the season.

Between the posts, sophomore goalkeeper Justin Faas (Carmel, Indiana) allowed one goal and made three saves to earn his third win of the year. Faas faced a total of seven shots, four on-goal.

The Eagles go back on the road Sunday when they visit Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. The Bulldogs, currently, are 2-0-1 overall and 0-0-0 in the GLVC and are slated to kick off against Lewis University at 3:30 p.m. at home this afternoon.

USI is looking to even the score with the Truman State and even the all-time record. Truman State leads 9-8-2 all-time in a series that dates back to 1983 when it was known as Northeast Missouri State University.

The University of Southern Indiana women’s soccer team scored three times in the first half and cruised to a 3-1 victory over Drury University to open the Great Lakes Valley Conference schedule Friday afternoon at Strassweg Field. USI goes to 2-2-1 overall and 1-0-0 in the GLVC, while Drury sees its record go to 0-4-1, 0-1-0 GLVC.

USI jumped on top in the first 15 minutes when senior midfielder Olivia Wilde (Racine, Wisconsin) scored off a shot and rebound by junior midfielder Courtney Spicer(Loveland, Ohio) to give the Screaming Eagles a 1-0 advantage at 14:04. The goal was Wilde’s first of the season.

The Eagles increased the margin to 2-0 at 25:25 when freshman midfielder Lyndsee Monac (New Brighton, Pennsylvania) scored her first collegiate goal off a rebounding shot. Monac slipped the ball into the goal after sophomore defender Madelyne Juenger (Columbia, Illinois) started the play by driving the ball into the box off a free kick and freshman midfielder Rachel Gray (Franklin, Tennessee) headed the ball off the Drury goalkeeper.

USI sealed the match when Gray got her chance and posted her first collegiate goal to make the score 3-0 at 39:18. Gray took a pass from junior midfielder Caroline Canoy (St. Peters, Missouri) before finding the back of the Drury net.

Drury would try to rally, getting a tally before halftime to cut the Eagles’ lead to 3-1, but Panthers would not get any closer as the USI defense took control the rest of the way. Senior goalkeeper Emily Hopkins(Greenfield, Indiana) picked up her second win of the year by allowing one goal and making two saves against nine total shots, three on-goal.

USI returns to the road Sunday when it visits 20^th-ranked Truman State University in Kirksville, Missouri. The Bulldogs saw its record go to 4-1-0 overall and 0-1-0 in the GLVC after falling at home to Lewis University, 2-1, this afternoon.

The Eagles trail Truman State all-time, 7-2-1, in a series dating back to 1997. USI defeated the Bulldogs, 2-1, last year at Strassweg Field and broke a four-game losing streak to Truman State.