Junior Rachel Tam recorded a game-high 21 kills as the University of Evansville volleyball team came up short at Bradley by a final of 3-0 on Saturday evening.
Tam hit .240 in the match with 21 kills in 50 tries for UE (6-12, 0-5 MVC). Mildrelis Rodriguez and Alondra Vazquez finished with 6 and 5 kills, respectively. Vazquez paced the team with 19 digs while Allana McInnis had 24 assists. Erica Haslag and Hannah Thompson paced the Braves (14-2, 4-0 MVC) with 12 and 11 kills.
Evansville led early in game one with a BU error giving them a 2-1 edge. Bradley notched the next two to take the lead before extending the advantage to seven at 11-4. The Aces slowly made their way back, cutting a 22-17 deficit to just a pair at 22-20 with back-to-back kills from Tam and Kerra Cornist. The Braves regrouped following a time out, scoring the final three to win by a 25-20 score.
In the second game, the Braves posted the first two points and never trailed. UE kept it close with a Tam kill getting her squad within three at 14-11, but BU pushed its lead back out to seven (24-17) before the Aces scored three in a row to make it the final of 25-20.
An excellent start saw UE jump out to an 8-1 lead in the third frame. Tam and Rodriguez notched two kills apiece in the run. Bradley came back with four in a row to make it an 8-5 game, but the Aces stood strong with another Tam kill extending the lead back to five at 15-10. The difference for the Braves came in a 10-3 run gave them a 20-18 edge, their first lead of the set. Evansville fought back to tie it at 22-22 on a Vazquez kill, but the Braves hung on, scoring the last three tallies to clinch the match with a 25-22 triumph.
UE looks to regain its stride when it returns home next weekend to take on Southern Illinois and Missouri State.
