Rodriguez named to All-Tournament Team as Aces finish weekend

Aces fall to IU and NKU

 BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Sophomore Mildrelis Rodriguez earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team as the University of Evansville volleyball team finished up its opening weekend at the Indiana Invitational.

“We definitely had our ups and downs throughout the tournament, but it was great to play this kind of high level opponents. It will help us get ready for Conference competition,” head coach Manolo Concepcion said.  “The highlight of our weekend was probably the way that we played against a Big Ten team like IU. It showed our girls the kind of team that we have the potential to become, seeing themselves battle toe to toe, putting ourselves in a position to win every set. Now we need to get back into the drawing board, and keep bettering our mistakes and improving our systematic habits.”

In the day’s opener against the Hoosiers, Mildrelis Rodriguez led the way with seven kills while Rachel Tam finished with six as UE (0-3) dropped a 3-0 decision..  Erlicia Griffith got the job done offensively with six block assists.  Kendall Beerman led IU with 11 kills while Victoria Brisack kept the offense rolling with 34 assists and three kills.

After IU took the opening set by a final of 25-18, the Purple Aces put their best foot forward.  Tam posted four kills as the Aces battled down the stretch before Indiana pulled out a 27-25 victory.  Evansville took a 3-1 advantage as Montana Schafer had an early kill.  IU battled back to tie it up at 5-5.

Each point was tied leading to an 11-11 score.  That is where UE took advantage of three IU errors to take their largest lead at 14-11.  The Hoosiers came right back with four of their own to retake the lead.  The Aces continued to play well, retaking a 17-16 lead before holding a 24-22 advantage.  IU forced a pair of Evansville errors to tie it up at 24-24 before a Beerman kill helped them finish with a 27-25 triumph.

Rodriguez did her best to keep the Aces rolling in the third frame, recording six kills.  Indiana led throughout the majority of the set, but Rodriguez paced a late rally.  Trailing 23-18, Evansville forced five errors in a row to tie it up at 23-23.  Rodriguez did the serving in the run as the Aces showed great fight.  Just as they had throughout the match, IU had the answer as a Brisack kill put them up 24-23 before a Taylor Lebo service ace saw the Hoosiers hang on once again for a close win.

Northern Kentucky earned a 3-0 win over the Aces in the second match of the day.  The Norse opened up with a 25-17 win before holding the Aces to 13 points in the second set.  In the third frame, NKU put the finishing touches on the win, taking a 25-16 win.

Tam had her best match of the weekend, notching 10 kills while hitting .227.  Deja Clark registered five kills and had two digs while Rodriguez had seven kills of her own.

Next weekend, the Aces head west to Edwardsville, Ill. for the SIUE Tournament.  UE faces Green Bay on Saturday at noon before taking on SIU Edwardsville at 7 p.m.