Aces are a perfect 5-0 on the season

 CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – Mildrelis Rodriguez recorded 20 kills while Rachel Tam added 14 to pace the University of Evansville volleyball team to a thrilling 3-2 win over Morgan State in their second game of the Redhawks Invitational.

Evansville improved its season mark to a perfect 5-0 with the win while dropping Morgan State to 0-5.  Cathy Schreiber finished the night with nine kills while Rocio Fortuny chipped in seven.  Allana McInnis posted 33 assists while Taylor Jones finished with 17.  Cassie Brooks led the Aces with 15 digs while Erlicia Griffith had a game-high 8 block assists with Fortuny notching six.

Morgan State was led by Cristen Coryatt, who finished with 17 kills.  Roi Wallace led all players with 50 assists while Jasmine Hubbard had 21 digs.

“It was fun to witness how the girls were able to comeback from a tough situation. Their ability to compensate for each other was tremendous once again. Different players have been able to step up when needed the most,” Aces head coach Manolo Concepcion said.  “Today was Addie Payne and Taylor Jones coming in and creating spacing and an additional offensive tool. I admire how everyone knows that their role is valued in this program, and are not afraid to contribute when requested. I see a locker room where the star of the team is the team concept itself.”

The Bears had the upper had early on, taking the first to sets and opening up a 2-0 lead in the match.  The Purple Aces took a 3-0 lead in the opening frame but the Bears came back with a run of their own to go up 13-7 on a Cristen Coryatt kill.  It was a back-and-forth tilt before UE wrestled away a 20-17 lead thanks to a Tam score.  Morgan State battled back to take the win by a 28-26 score.

In the second game, Morgan State overcame a furious late rally by the Aces.  MSU was up 24-18 and looked to have the set in hand, but Evansville posted five in a row to get back within one at 24-23, but the Bears were able to score the final point and open up a 2-0 lead.

After dropping two close games, Evansville would not give up over the remainder of the night and their hard work finally paid off in the third frame.  With the score tied at 16-16, Cathy Schreiber had a kill and a service ace as UE scored four in a row to open up a 20-16 lead.  From there, they held on for a 25-22 triumph.

UE left it all on the table in the fourth frame.  After Morgan State jumped out to a 5-2 advantage, the Aces registered five in a row as Rodriguez posted three kills in the run.  That momentum was the beginning of a game-ending 23-7 stretch that saw the Aces force a deciding set with a 25-12 win.  Gabriela dos Santos notched a pair of service aces in the run while Schreiber and Taylor Jones also had one apiece.

With four hard-fought sets in the books, the fifth game did not disappoint.  UE took a 3-0 advantage but four in a row by the Bears saw them take the lead.  The action continued with nine ties leading to a 16-16 score.  In the prior points, MSU had match point on three occasions, but the Aces battled back.  The persistence paid off as Evansville forced two Morgan State errors to earn the 18-16 win to clinch the match.

Tomorrow, the Aces look for their second tournament championship in a row as they take on host Southeast Missouri State at 2 p.m.  Fans can watch the match live on the OVC Digital Network.

University of Southern Indiana Volleyball suffered a pair of losses Friday to open its 2017 season at the University of West Florida Hampton Inn-Vitational.

The Screaming Eagles’ rally in their opener against the University of North Alabama fell short as the Lions held on for a 25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 16-14 win. USI suffered a 25-17, 25-18, 25-14 setback to host West Florida in its nightcap.

Both North Alabama and West Florida are receiving votes in the preseason AVCA Top 25 Coaches’ Poll.

USI (0-2) concludes its opening weekend with bouts against No. 2 Southwest Minnesota State University and the University of South Carolina-Aiken Saturday at 9 a.m. and 1 p.m., respectively.

North Alabama def. Southern Indiana 25-19, 25-20, 22-25, 22-25, 16-14 (Box Score)
The Eagles rallied from a two-set deficit to force a decisive fifth game in their five-set loss to North Alabama. USI, however, could not hold on to a 10-6 lead late in the fifth frame.

The Lions (1-1) used a 7-1 run to take a 13-11 lead late in the decisive set. USI rallied for two straight points to tie the frame at 13-13; then fought off a match-point situation moments later to tie the contest, once again, at 14-14. North Alabama, however, got back-to-back kills from Lexie Bradley to earn the 16-14 fifth-set win and 3-2 match victory.

Senior middle hitter Te’Ayla Whitfield (Fort Wayne, Indiana) had 12 kills and six blocks to lead the Eagles, while sophomore middle hitter Shawntel James (Elkhart, Indiana) racked up 10 kills and eight blocks.

Sophomore outside hitter Mikaila Humphrey (Floyd Knobs, Indiana) added nine kills and five aces, while senior libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) added 18 digs.

USI, which finished the match with 11.5 blocks and 11 aces as a team, hit just .147. The Lions, meanwhile, amassed a .244 attacking percentage, including clips of .333 and .310 in the first two sets.

West Florida def. Southern Indiana 25-17, 25-18, 25-14 (Box Score)
West Florida racked up 51 kills and a .432 attacking percentage to hand the Eagles a three-set loss in their second match of the day.

USI battled the Argonauts to a 10-10 tie early in the opening frame, but a 9-0 run allowed West Florida to run away with the eight-point win. West Florida used a 5-1 run to establish early control of the second stanza and, after the Eagles trimmed a large deficit to two points late in the game, slammed the door on a USI comeback with a 5-0 run for the seven-point triumph.

The Argonauts hit .500 in the third set and used a 13-2 run to turn an 8-6 USI lead into a commanding 19-10 advantage.

Humphrey and freshman outside hitter Alyssa Yochum (Columbia, Illinois) each had nine kills to pace USI, offensively, while freshman setter Casey Cepicky (St. Louis, Missouri) had 25 assists.

The Evansville Otters moved themselves to just one win away from clinching a playoff berth with a 10-3 win over the Gateway Grizzlies on Friday night.

Evansville (52-42) used a six-RBI night from Jeff Gardner en route to the crucial victory.

Gateway (30-64) posted 12 hits, but committed three errors in the loss.

Jeff Gardner tied the single-season franchise record for home runs with a three-run blast in the sixth inning for his 23^rd of the year. Gardner’s home run tied Shane Houck who set the record in 2014.

Ryan Etsell dominated on the mound in his fifth start of the year. The Otters ace has yet to allow more than two earned runs in a start. Etsell struck out three in the outing and gave up just eight hits in his second win of the year.

The Otters got off to a hot start scoring five runs in the first two innings.

In the first inning, Gardner posted his first RBI on a single to score Josh Allen. Then in the second inning, Chris Riopedre drove in Brandon Soat on a single, and Zach Welz scored on an error. Dane Phillips added an RBI single to score Riopedre and Gardner hit a sacrifice fly to score Allen for a second time.

Gateway put their first run on the board in the bottom of the third when Blake Brown hit a solo home run to make it 5-1.

Evansville got the run back in the top of the fourth inning. An RBI single from Jeff Gardner scored Allen for a third time to make it 6-1.

In the bottom of the fifth inning, Gateway added their second home run of the evening with a solo shot from Terry McClure to cut the lead to four.

However, Jeff Gardner responded with his three-run home run over the left centerfield wall to add on three more RBI and score Allen and Phillips. Allen finished with four runs scored on the game.

Evansville added on one more run in the eighth with Phillips tallying his 14^th home run of the year to deep right field.

Gateway added one final run in the bottom of the ninth on an RBI single from Brent Sakurai to score Cody Livesay to make it 10-3.

Connor Little also added on two solid innings of relief for Evansville giving up just one hit and striking out two. Brandon Cook finished the game pitching the ninth inning allowing three hits and one run.

Alex Kisena gave up 11 hits and nine earned runs in the loss for Gateway.

The Otters and Grizzlies return to action tomorrow. With an Otters win or a Windy City loss, the Otters will clinch a 2017 playoff berth.

First pitch is set for 7:05 p.m. at GCS Ballpark.

Fans can listen on 91.5 WUEV with Lucas Corley providing play-by-play coverage.

Tickets for August home games are still available by going to evansvilleotters.com or calling 812-435-8686.

America’s Best Racing (ABR), a multimedia fan development and awareness-building platform of The Jockey Club, and Horse Country Inc., a not-for-profit organization composed of farms, equine medical clinics and equine attractions deep inside Kentucky, today announced a multi-year strategic partnership.

As part of the partnership agreement between America’s Best Racing and Horse Country, ABR will feature monthly digital stories and content, including videos, on a dedicated Horse Country page within the ABR platform in an effort to highlight the Kentucky farms, nurseries, clinics, and more that comprise Horse Country. ABR and Horse Country will also cross-promote content through social media channels and email newsletters, as well as collaborate on annual digital and social media driven sweepstakes designed to reward lucky fans with VIP experiences inside Horse Country.  With nearly 80 percent of its social media audience under the age of 44, ABR will look to showcase the offerings of Horse Country to a broader, younger audience. To date, Horse Country has hosted nearly 45,000 guests from 16 countries and all 50 U.S. states.

Inspired by successful, experiential tourist models such as Napa Valley, Calif., and the Kentucky Bourbon Trail and assisted by the storytelling and customer-experience principles offered by the Walt Disney Institute, Horse Country Inc. was formed in 2014 to serve as a central-booking outlet designed to share the overarching story of Kentucky’s rich horse country heritage and the participating locations. Horse Country connects visitors from around the world in memorable and authentic ways with stories of the horses, the land, and the people, and develops fans of farms, clinics, and the sport of horse racing.

“The synergistic missions of America’s Best Racing and Horse Country to create new fans of Thoroughbred racing makes this strategic partnership a natural and sensible fit,” said Stephen Panus, president of TJC Media Ventures Inc., which oversees America’s Best Racing. “We’re excited to fully leverage ABR’s avid audience as well as our growing digital reach to amplify interest, awareness, and visits to Horse Country.”

“The team at America’s Best Racing has a track record of developing truly engaging content that tells the stories of our sport. This partnership will allow us to share a look behind the scenes, where our sport lives from foaling barn to finish line,” said Horse Country Executive Director Anne Hardy. “It’s a natural fit and we’re proud to partner with ABR and reach their ever-growing audience.”