Aces have just three matches remaining

Just three more matches remain in the 2016 campaign as the Purple Aces return home for all three.  One is on tap for this weekend as the Aces welcome Southern Illinois to the Carson Center on Friday evening.

Trips to Indiana State and Illinois State rounded completed UE’s road slate last weekend.  Despite dropping both matches, the squad competed to the end

Sophomore Mildrelis Rodriguez stands at 1,074 attempts on the season and officially moved into the top ten on the UE single season list.  Her tally is currently 8th.  Genesis Miranda set the single-season mark last year with 1,435. Two weeks ago, Rodriguez led the Purple Aces to their first conference win of the season and came close to making it 2-0 in a hard-fought match against Loyola.  Rodriguez notched a career-high 23 kills in a 5-set victory over Bradley on Friday while hitting .311.  She also led all players with an impressive 19 digs.  She followed that up with 15 more kills versus the Ramblers and 10 digs.

On her way to moving up the charts to 7th place in the MVC with 6.40 assists per set, Jelena Merseli has had a strong roll.  She has notched double digit assists in 12 of the last 13 matches.  She has posted a total of 634 assists this year.  In the Oct. 28 win over Bradley, Merseli set her career mark with 62 helpers.

Last season, Rocio Fortuny led the Purple Aces with 100 total blocks.  That tally looks to be attainable to a pair of Evansville players this season.  With three matches remaining, juniors Erlicia Griffith and Cathy Schreiber stand with 91 and 89, respectively.

Southern Illinois comes to the Carson Center on Friday in a battle for the top spot in the MVC.  The Salukis are 20-9 overall and 11-4 in the league.  Missouri State sits atop the league standings with a 12-2 mark.  Pacing the Salukis is the duo of Alex Rosignol and Kolby Meeks, who rank 3rd and 4th in the MVC in hitting percentage, respectively.  Meg Viggars runs the offense and is 8th in the Valley with 6.30 assists per set.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Indiana University dive Michael Hixon was named the Big Ten Co-Diver of the Week on Wednesday, the league office announced.

The honor is the first this season for Hixon and the fifth of his career. Hixon is the fourth IU swimmer or diver to earn weekly Big Ten accolades, joining Lilly King, Blake Pieroni and Kennedy Goss.

Against Michigan State this past weekend, Hixon won both the 1 and 3-meter dives. In the 3-meter, the Amherst, Mass. Product scored a 464.03 to earn the victory, while in the 1-meter, Hixon totaled a 401.70.

This past summer, Hixon won a silver medal for Team USA in the 3-meter synchro at the Rio Olympic Games. The redshirt junior also placed 10^th overall in the 3-meter at the Olympics.

The Indiana University swimming and diving teams will be back in action on Friday, Nov. 11 when the Hoosiers host Cincinnati in a dual meet at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center. The meet scheduled to begin at 2:00 p.m. ET.

Also next weekend, a total of 14 Indiana University swimming will participate in the inaugural USA College Challenge – Big Ten vs. USA Swimming on Nov. 12-13 at the Indiana University Natatorium on the campus of IUPUI in downtown Indianapolis.

Be sure to keep up with all the latest news on the Indiana men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams on social media – Twitter, Facebook and Instagram.

University of Southern Indiana Volleyball suffered its eighth consecutive loss Tuesday night as host Bellarmine University defeated the Screaming Eagles 25-11, 25-21, 25-16 in a Great Lakes Valley Conference bout at Knights Hall.

USI (9-19, 3-13 GLVC) got off to a slow start from the opening of the match as Bellarmine won nine of the first 11 rallies to build a commanding seven-point lead in the first set. The Knights closed the opening frame with an 8-1 run to earn the 10-point win and one-set lead.

The Eagles jumped out to an 8-6 lead in the second set, but Bellarmine countered with four straight points to steal momentum from USI. The two teams traded points for the remainder of the second frame as the Knights kept the Eagles in the rearview mirror for a four-point win.

Bellarmine (19-10, 8-8 GLVC) used an early 5-0 run in the third set to establish control. The Knights used a 4-0 string later in the frame to seal the nine-point win and three-set victory.

Freshman outside hitter Mikaila Humphrey (Floyd Knobs, Indiana) had 11 kills and 11 digs to lead the Eagles, while sophomore setter Erika Peoples(Bloomington, Illinois) also had a double-double with 21 assists and 12 digs.

Sophomore defensive specialist Haley Limper (Springfield, Illinois) had 19 digs to pace the Eagles’ back row, while junior libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) contributed 17 digs to bring her season total to 538 and career total to 1,329.

USI returns to action Friday at 7 p.m. when it travels to Springfield, Illinois, to take on the University of Illinois Springfield. The Eagles conclude the season Saturday at 5 p.m. when they take on McKendree University.

Short Box Score (Match)

Univ. of Southern Indiana Volleyball

Southern Indiana vs Bellarmine (Nov 08, 2016 at Louisville, KY)

Bellarmine def. Southern Indiana 25-11,25-21,25-16

Southern Indiana (9-19, 3-13 GLVC)

(Kills-aces-blocks) – Humphrey, Mikaila 11-0-0; Zwissler, Amy 8-0-0; Jung, Amanda 5-0-3; Whitfield, Te’Ayla 3-0-2; Coleman, Elexis 3-0-1; Totals 30-0-3.0. (Assists) – Peoples, Erika 21. (Dig leaders) – Limper, Haley 19; Farrell, Shannon 17; Peoples, Erika 12; Humphrey, Mikaila 11

Bellarmine (19-10, 8-8 GLVC)

(Kills-aces-blocks) – Horihan, Margaret 14-0-2; Dailey, Hayden 9-0-0; Jefferson, Ashley 8-0-2; Lange, Lydia 5-0-3; Adams, Katie 5-0-2; Guinane, Bridget 2-0-1; Muha, Allie 2-1-1; Schlaug, Abby 0-1-0; Kuchenbrod, Jordyn 0-2-0; Totals 45-4-6.0. (Assists) – Muha, Allie 32. (Dig leaders) – Muha, Allie 22; Kuchenbrod, Jordyn 15; Dailey, Hayden 13; Horihan, Margaret 13; Schlaug, Abby 8

Site: Louisville, KY (Knights Hall)

Date: Nov 08, 2016   Attend: 168   Time: 1:22

Referees: Mark Tullis, George Svaranowic