UE travels to North Carolina for the weekend

 With the home opener in the books, the Purple Aces volleyball team takes to the road this weekend as they head to Elon, N.C. for the Phoenix Classic on Friday and Saturday.  UE takes on Elon, Gardner-Webb and North Carolina Central in the tournament.

After a 3-0 start to the season in the Leatherneck Invitational, the University of Evansville volleyball team got tripped up by a 3-0 final in Tuesday’s home opener against SEMO.  Rachel Tam added 14 kills while Cecilia Thon posted 15 assists; Lauren Murray led all players with 12 digs.  Last weekend, the Aces were 3-0 in Macomb, Ill.; UE opened with a 3-2 win over Tennessee Tech before earning a 3-1 win over Fairleigh Dickinson; in the finale, the Aces topped Western Illinois in five sets.

Rachel Tam had one of the best weekends in program history in leading the Purple Aces to a perfect 3-0 mark and the Leatherneck Invitational Championship.  Tam recorded 79 kills over the weekend before adding 14 against the Redhawks; she continues to pace the MVC with 5.47 kills per set.  Entering the 2018 season, Tam’s career kills mark was 27, which she broke twice in the opening three matches.

Two freshmen had stellar debuts in the trip to Macomb and played well in Tuesday’s contest against Southeast Missouri State.  Kerra Cornist garnered All-Tournament Team accolades as she averaged 1.71 kills per set while ranking second on the team with 10 block assists.  Cecilia Thon was UE’s top setter in the 3-0 start, posting at least 24 in all three games including her career mark of 32 against Fairleigh Dickinson.  Thon added 15 assists in the home opener and has led UE in that stat in all four matches so far.

Elon comes into its home tournament with a perfect 4-0 mark.  The Phoenix took top honors in last weekend’s Charlotte Invitational with wins over Presbyterian, Charlotte and USC Upstate.  Kam Terry leads the way with 3.33 kills per set while Kodi Garcia checks in with 8.94 assists per frame.

Gardner-Webb brings its 2-1 record to Elon as they defeated Jackson State and Alabama A&M in the season-opening SWAC/MEAC Tournament.  Nichole Ford paces the Runnin’ Bulldogs with a total of 17 kills while Hannah Donaldson has recorded 13 total blocks.

The Eagles of North Carolina Central recorded a 1-2 mark as they also opened the season at the SWAC/MEAC Tournament.  Their win came over Jackson State.  Morgan Goodwin has notched a team-best 24 kills this year while Isis Mitchel currently has 95 assists, a total of 7.31 per set.  Current UE graduate assistant Melissa Rabell was a player for the program from 2011 through 2014.

The Evansville Otters blasted three home runs to power their way to a 10-6 victory over the Gateway Grizzlies on Wednesday night at GCS Ballpark and moved into a tie with the Florence Freedom for the second wild card spot in the Frontier League.

Evansville broke through with two runs in the top of the third inning to take the lead. David Cronin hit a solo homer, his third of the season, and was immediately followed by Ryan Long with another solo home run, his twelfth of the year.

Hunter Cullen smashed a two-run homer, his third on the year, to give the Otters a 4-0 lead in the top of the fifth.

Trae Santos hit a three-run homer to bring the Grizzlies to within a run in the bottom of the fifth.

J.J Gould plated the fifth run of the game for the Otters with a sacrifice fly in the top of the sixth.

The Otters then broke the game open with five runs in the top of the ninth. Jeff Gardner plated a run with a double and was followed by a two-run single from Carlos Castro. Gould capped off the frame with a two-run single to raise his RBI total to three on the game.

Gateway plated three runs in the bottom half of the frame, but ultimately the Otters prevailed 10-6.

Tyler Beardsley picks up the win for the Otters, his fifth on the year. Beardsley went six innings, allowing three runs on seven hits, two walks and six strikeouts.

Joe Hauser takes the loss for Gateway. Hauser went 5.2 innings, allowing five runs, four earned, on nine hits and one strikeout.

Garrett Harris is credited with the save, his first of the year for Evansville. Harris threw the final three innings, allowing three runs on four hits while striking out two.

The Otters will now go for the sweep of the series tomorrow at 6:35 p.m. at GCS Ballpark.