Aces compete to the finish

  It was Mildrelis Rodriguez pacing the University of Evansville offense once against as the Purple Aces volleyball team came up just short at Illinois State on Saturday night.

Rodriguez had a team-best nine kills and also led UE (5-23, 1-14 MVC) with 11 digs.  Joselyn Coronel had a solid night, posting nine digs and four kills.  Jelena Mersei notched 20 assists.  Three Redbirds (16-10, 10-5 MVC) notched double digit kills, led by Ella Francis’ game-high of 12.

Illinois State began the night with a 25-16 win.  Evansville fell behind by a 10-3 margin, but picked up momentum in cutting the gap to 11-7.  Trailing 21-16, UE gave up the final four tallies as ISU took a 1-0 lead.

Evansville had a pair of early leads in the second game before the Redbirds wrestled away a 13-9 lead.  They added to it from there, taking a 25-18 victory.
The never-give-up attitude of the Aces was evident in the third set as they overcame an early 5-1 deficit to fight back to trail by just one at 9-8.  Cathy Schreiber had a service ace in the rally.  Just a few points later, the Aces tied it up at 13-13.  The pivotal moment came after UE made it a 19-17 game.  Illinois State scored three in a row and fended off the challenge to clinch the match with a 25-20 win.

On Friday night, UE is back home to face Southern Illinois in a 7 p.m. match.

                                                    USI Volleyball Falls To Maryville In Four Sets

ST. LOUIS—Despite fighting off match-point six times, the University of Southern Indiana volleyball team could not overcome a two-set deficit as it fell to Great Lakes Valley Conference foe Maryville University 25-22, 25-19, 27-29, 26-24 Saturday afternoon.

The Screaming Eagles (9-18, 3-12 GLVC) fought off match-point to earn a two-point win in set three; then stymied the host Saints on five straight match-point chances in set four to tie the frame at 24-24.

Maryville (4-24, 2-14 GLVC), however, rebounded to win the next two points to capture the two-point win and four-set victory in the match.

Earlier in the contest, the Eagles saw a 17-13 lead evaporate in the opening frame as Maryville used a 12-5 run to end the game with the three-point win. The Saints used a 6-0 run to end the second stanza and build a two-set lead; then overcame a 20-13 deficit in set three to create their first of seven match-point opportunities.

The Saints jumped out to a 6-0 lead in the fourth set, but USI rallied to take a 9-8 lead. Maryville led 24-19 late in the set, but the Eagles once again rallied to tie the stanza at 24-24.

Senior middle/outside hitter Amy Zwissler (Bloomington, Indiana) had 14 kills to lead the Eagles’ offense, while freshman outside hitter Mikaila Humphrey (Floyd Knobs, Indiana) had a double-double with 13 kills and 21 digs.

Freshman right side hitter Amanda Jung (Belleville, Illinois) added 13 kills and three blocks, while junior middle hitter Te’Ayla Whitfield (Fort Wayne, Indiana) added 12 kills and three blocks. Redshirt freshman middle hitter Elexis Coleman (Joliet, Illinois) chipped in nine kills and six blocks, while sophomore setter Erika Peoples (Bloomington, Illinois) and junior libero Shannon Farrell (Munster, Indiana) had 55 assists and 33 digs, respectively.

Farrell became the first player in program history to eclipse the 500-dig plateau in back-to-back seasons—she had 575 digs a year ago. She currently has 521 digs in 2016 and 1,312 digs in her career; and needs 70 digs in her final three matches to tie Kayla Heldman ’14 for the single-season school record of 590, set in 2013.

USI returns to action Tuesday at 6 p.m. (CST) when it travels to Louisville, Kentucky, to take on Bellarmine University. The Knights (18-10, 7-8 GLVC) suffered a three-set loss to the University of Missouri-St. Louis Saturday.

Short Box Score (Match)
Univ. of Southern Indiana Volleyball
Southern Indiana vs Maryville (Nov 05, 2016 at St. Louis, MO)

Maryville def. Southern Indiana 25-22,25-19,27-29,26-24

Southern Indiana (9-18, 3-12 GLVC)
(Kills-aces-blocks) – Zwissler, Amy 14-0-1; Jung, Amanda 13-0-3; Humphrey, Mikaila 13-0-0; Whitfield, Te’Ayla 12-0-3; Coleman, Elexis 9-2-6; Peoples, Erika 1-0-4; Shoultz, Quin 1-0-0; Lee, Jessica 0-1-0; Farrell, Shannon 0-2-0; Totals 63-5-10.0. (Assists) – Peoples, Erika 55. (Dig leaders) – Farrell, Shannon 33; Humphrey, Mikaila 21; Limper, Haley 9; Peoples, Erika 8

Maryville (4-24, 2-13 GLVC)
(Kills-aces-blocks) – Selman, Ashley 18-0-4; Wright, Kara 12-0-4; Lakin, Allison 10-0-2; Arndt, Cassidy 7-0-1; Zeiter, Zoe 6-0-2; Basler, Emma 5-1-2; Campbell, Makayla 1-0-0; Escue, Michelle 1-1-0; Luebbers, Taylor 0-1-0; Totals 60-3-9.0. (Assists) – Buxton, Kayla 27; Escue, Michelle 20. (Dig leaders) – Campbell, Makayla 24; Basler, Emma 14; Luebbers, Taylor 13; Lakin, Allison 10

Site: St. Louis, MO (Moloney Arena)
Date: Nov 05, 2016 Attend: 107 Time: 2:05
Referees: Shane Allen, Tracy McFadden

Indiana Swimming & Diving Sweeps Michigan State

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – The Indiana University men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams swept the Michigan State Spartans on Saturday afternoon, earning a pair of wins at the Counsilman-Billingsley Aquatic Center in Bloomington, Ind.

“It’s exciting to have our first Big Ten meet of the season,” IU head swimming coach Ray Looze said. “I thought we did a really good job across the board with having to overcome some injury and illness this week. We got to work on some things today that will be critical at the end of the season. We’re appreciative the Spartans came all the way from East Lansing to compete with us and we look forward to our competitions next week against Cincinnati and the USA College Challenge.

With the victory, the No. 1-ranked Indiana men’s team improves to 7-0 on the season, while the No. 12-ranked Hoosier women’s team moved to 5-2 on the season. In total, Indiana won 28 of the 32 events on the day.

“I thought it was a great team performance,” Indiana head diving coach Drew Johansen said following the meet. “Everybody stepped up and had their best performances of the season so far and the results showed it. We handled the day pretty well, but more importantly, we stayed true to the things we’ve been working on the last month and a half.”

Both the Hoosier men and women got the meet off to a great start, as both squads won the 200 medley relay. For the women, the team of Ali Rockett, Lilly King, Gia Dalesandro and Gabriela Rajic won with a time of 1:42.62. For the men, the team of Bob Glover, Levi Brock, Vini Lanza and Ali Khalafalla touched first with a mark of 1:29.31.

Freshman Cassie Jernberg was impressive in the women’s 1000 freestyle, winning by over 11 seconds with her time of 10:13.32. Teammate Delaney Barnard was second with a mark of 10:24.53.

Andrej Ivanovic led a 1-2-3 sweep for the Hoosiers in the men’s 1000 freestyle, touching the wall in a time of 9:28.75. Joey Snodderly was second in 9:28.96, while Trey Hubbuch finished third with a mark of 9:35.95.

Dalesandro led the IU women in the 200 freestyle, winning with a time of of 1:51.69, while Rockett took second in 1:52.96. Stephanie Marchuk was third overall with a mark of 1:53.16.

Lanza was impressive in the men’s 200 freestyle, winning with a time of 1:39.05. Jackson Miller was second with a time of 1:39.22, while Max Irwin touched third with a mark of 1:41.74.

Brooklyn Snodgrass took the victory in the women’s 100 backstroke, winning with a time of 55.30. Rachel Matsumura was second overall with a mark of 56.90. On the men’s side, Khalafalla won for the Hoosiers with a time of 50.69.

In the women’s 200 breaststroke, Christine Jensen placed second with a time of 1:05.39. On the men’s side, Brock took second as well with a time of 56.78.

In the women’s 200 butterfly, Reagan Cook earned the victory for IU, touching first in a time of 2:02.32. On the men’s side, Marwan Elkamash won with a time of 1:51.05.

In the 50 freestyle, Sam Lorentz won for the Hoosiers with a time of 20.59. On the women’s side, King led IU with a second-place finish, touching in 23.85.

IU men dominated the 3-meter dive on Saturday, taking the top-four spots. Michael Hixon won with a great score of 464.03, while James Connor was second with a total of 429.60. Cody Coldren took third with 389.78, while Joshua Arndt as fourth with a score of 369.23. All four divers earned NCAA qualifying marks.

The Hoosier women were just as impressive, taking the top-three places in the 1-meter dive. Jessica Parratto won with a score of 332.25, while Taylor Pamplin was second with a total of 299.25. Michal Bower was third overall with a score of 287.10. All three divers earned NCAA qualifying scores in the event.

In the women’s 100 freestyle, Dalesandro notched her individual win of the day, touching first with a time of 51.53. On the men’s side, Anze Tavcar won with a mark of 44.52.

Snodgrass won the women’s 200 backstroke for the Hoosiers with a NCAA B cut time of 1:58.97. On the men’s side, Wyeth Brock placed third with a time of 1:55.73.

Mackenzie Atencio touched the wall first in the women’s 200 breaststroke with a time of 2:20.86 for IU. For the Hoosier men, Cody Taylor won with a mark of 2:02.56.

In the women’s 500 freestyle, Marchuk took first place with a time of 4:57.73 for the Hoosiers. On the men’s side, Irwin won with a time of 4:31.59.

Jensen notched her first win of the afternoon in the women’s 100 butterfly, touching first with a time of 55.37. For the IU men, Oliver Patrouch earned the victory with his time of 49.75.

In the women’s 3-meter dive, Bower led the Hoosier charge, winning with a score of 323.93. Parratto took second for the Hoosiers with a total of 319.20, while Pamplin placed third with a score of 289.73. All three IU divers earned NCAA qualifying marks with their scores.

Hixon completed the sweep for the Hoosiers in the men’s 1-meter, winning with a score of 401.70, while Connor took second with a total of 395.78. Arndt placed third overall with a mark of 346.13, while Coldren was fourth with a score of 325.28. All four divers again achieved NCAA qualifying marks.

Sam Lisy earned a win for the Hoosiers in the women’s 400 IM, touching the wall first in a time of 4:23.67. On the men’s side, Lanza won his second individual event with a time of 3:57.79 in the 400 IM.

The Hoosiers wrapped up a dominant effort against the Spartans with a pair of wins in the 400 freestyle relays.

For the IU women, the team of Rockett, King, Rajic and Dalesandro won with a time of 3:29.81, while the Hoosier men’s relay of Lorentz, Tavcar, Khalafalla and Elkamash touched first in a time of 3:02.15.

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.

Four All-Region runners help send Eagles to National Championships

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Four University of Southern Indiana Men’s Cross Country runners earned All-Region honors with top-25 finishes to help the Screaming Eagles to a second-place finish at the NCAA II Midwest Region Championships Saturday at Angle Mounds. The finish secured a spot in the NCAA II National Championship in two weeks.

Senior Chase Broughton (Marengo, Indiana) was the top USI finisher with a sixth-place finish and time of 30 minutes, 34.21 seconds. Broughton was the top finisher for the Eagles at the regional meet for the second straight year, while also earning his second straight All-Region award.

Also finishing in the top-ten was fellow senior Noah Lutz (Evansville, Indiana) with a time of 30:52.11 in 10th. After missing out on the award by a single spot last season. Lutz earns his second All-Region nod and his first since 2013.

Junior Bastian Grau (Höchstadt, Germany) and sophomore Darin Lawrence (Indianapolis, Indiana) also earned All-Region honors with finishes of 23rd and 24th, respectively, The award is the first for either in their careers.

The final three USI runners all earned top-50 finishes. Junior Cain Parker (Petersburg, Indiana) finished 36th, junior James Cecil (Owensboro, Kentucky) crossed the finish line in 43rd, and freshman Nathan Hall(Springfield, Missouri) was 49th. Hall, the GLVC Freshman of the Year, was the fourth fastest freshman at the regional.

Grand Valley State University was the top finishing team with 45 points, while USI followed with 99. Also earning bids to the National Championships were Saginaw Valley State University, Hillsdale College, and Lewis University.

Advancing to the National Championships as individuals were the top three individual finishers overall. Tiffin University’s James Ngandu, Ashland University’s Nick Hall, and Bellarmine University’s Chris Striegel all advance to the National Championships.

The NCAA II National Championships will be held in St. Leo, Florida November 19 with the men’s race scheduled for 7:30 a.m.

2 Southern Indiana 31:06.76 70 99
Team Overall Name Time Score
1 6 Chase Broughton 00:30:34.21 6
2 10 Noah Lutz 00:30:52.11 10
3 23 Bastian Grau 00:31:11.12 23
4 24 Darin Lawrence 00:31:13.24 24
5 36 Cain Parker 00:31:43.15 36
6 43 James Cecil 00:31:51.29 0
7 49 Nathan Hall 00:31:56.45 0