Aces have strong start to opening weekend

Cathy Schreiber recorded 14 kills while hitting .393 as the University of Evansville volleyball team downed Chicago State, 3-1, in Friday’s season opener at the Leatherneck Invitational in Western Hall.

Schreiber fell just two shy of her career tally of 16 kills.  Rachel Tam and Rocio Fortuny had strong efforts, totaling 10 kills apiece.  A trio of newcomers made their marks in the victory.  Gabriela Dos Santos had 14 digs while freshman Cassie Brooke finished with 29 and fellow frosh Allana McInnis had 48 assists and a game-high six block assists.

“This was a good way to start the season.  We expected to be more nervous in the beginning, because of how many new people we have, as well as returners having new roles,” Aces head coach Manolo Concepcion said.  “But, the girls kept their composure and intensity. I was impressed with the set distribution and precision; it gave us good offensive opportunities.”

Dos Santos registered six digs and three kills as the Purple Aces took set one by a final tally of 25-21.  Rachel Tam had an early kill and service ace as UE jumped out to a 6-3 advantage.  The Cougars inched their way back into the contest, tying it up at 15-15.  From there, it was all UE as an Erlicia Griffith kill put the Aces up 22-18 before the hung on to take set one by a 25-21 final.

Through the entire duration of the second frame, neither squad led by more than two points. With the score tied at 18-18, the focus by both teams continued with each score being tied up to 28-28.  At that point, the Cougars were able to reel off the final two points to finish off with a 30-28 triumph to knot the match at 1-1.

Chicago State used the momentum from its win in the second game to open up the third with a 7-3 lead.  Cathy Schreiber was key to a 7-3 run by the Aces as her two kills helped to make it a 10-10 game.  Schreiber and Mildrelis Rodriguez kept up the intensity as two kills apiece helped Evansville open up a 19-13 advantage before finishing off with a 25-18 win.

Evansville scored the first four points in the fourth game before opening up an 8-1 lead.  Rachel Tam had a pair of kills in the early rally.  The Cougars were once again tenacious, chipping away at the deficit before tying it up late at 21-21.  The Aces scored two in a row on CSU errors before kills by Schreiber and Tam saw the Aces take a 25-23 decision while clinching the match.

On Saturday, the Aces will be back in action for a pair of matches.  They open the day at 10 a.m. versus Manhattan before taking on the host Leathernecks at 7 p.m.

“Tomorrow we have two more good opponents, where we have to be able to keep our emphasis on first and second contact, as well as playing systematic and disciplined,” Concepcion added.

University of Southern Indiana Women’s Soccer was predicted to finish ninth in the Great Lakes Valley Conference this season, as voted on by the league’s head coaches. The Screaming Eagles are coming off an eighth place finish a year ago, returning to the conference tournament for the first time since 2012.

Defending regular season champion Truman State University was predicted to repeat as GLVC Champions in 2017. Rockhurst University received the most first-place votes and was picked second, while defending GLVC Champions McKendree University was predicted third.

Bellarmine University was picked fourth, with the University of Missouri-St. Louis rounding out the top-five. USI follows eighth-place Lewis University and is just ahead of 10^th – place Drury University.

Junior Emily Hopkins (Greenfield, Indiana) returns to lead the Eagles between the posts after winning four games and collecting 55 saves a year ago. Offensively, USI returns seven of its top-nine leading scorers from last year, including junior Ryley Hancock (Evansville, Indiana), who led the team with 14 points on six goals and two assists.

In addition to scoring 12 points on five goals and two assists, junior Olivia Wilde (Racine, Wisconsin) will help anchor a USI defense that only allowed 1.23 goals per game in 2016. The Eagles will also feature 13 freshmen this season.

The 15 GLVC women’s soccer teams will compete in a 14-game round-robin schedule during the regular season with the top eight teams earning a berth to the GLVC Championship Tournament. The top four seeds will host quarterfinal matches on campus on October 29 with the four remaining teams heading to Carroll Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana, for the semifinals and final on November 3 and 5.

USI begins the season on the road with a neutral site match against Tiffin University August 31 at Findlay, Ohio, and then play the University of Findlay September 2. The Eagles’ home opener at Strassweg Field is scheduled for September 22 against the University of Indianapolis.

The complete poll follows below.