UE right back in action on Sunday
Alondra Vazquez and Melanie Feliciano led the University of Evansville volleyball squad once again, but in the rematch against Indiana State, it was the Sycamores finishing with a 3-1 win at Meeks Family Fieldhouse on Friday evening.
Vazquez led the Purple Aces (1-1, 1-1 MVC) with 17 kills. She added another double-double with 10 digs. Feliciano added 15 kills and 10 digs. Laura Ruiz led UE with 12 digs while Allana McInnis added 26 assists, 10 digs and an ace. Chloe Bontrager and Elise Moeller recorded 8 and 7 kills, respectively. Moeller added three block assists while Hannah Watkins tied for the match-high with four.
Indiana State (1-1, 1-1 MVC) was led by a 16-kill effort from Mallory Keller
Game 1
The opening two points of the night belonged to Evansville as Allana McInnis posted an ace. The Sycamores fought back to take their first lead at 5-4. With the set tied at 9-9, ISU scored three in a row before extending their lead to five points at 18-13. Evansville used a 9-3 rally to push its way back in front with Laura Ruiz capping it off with an ace to put the Aces in front – 22-21. Despite UE’s momentum, Indiana State countered with the next four points to earn the opening set, 25-22.
Game 2
After falling into a 1-0 hole, the Aces flexed their muscle in the second frame, scoring the first four point before extending that lead to 17-6. Chloe Bontrager notched a kill that gave UE a 9-2 edge and they added to it from there with Vazquez and Feliciano adding kills that made it a double-digit game. The Sycamores fought back to get within five points, but Feliciano’s sixth kill of the set clinched a 25-19 win. Vazquez had seven kills in the second game.
Game 3
Indiana State had their most dominant effort of the night in the third stanza. They posted eight of the first 11 points before taking a 2-1 match lead on the strength of a 25-14 victory. ISU hit .371 in the set while holding the Aces to .032.
Game 4Â Â Â Â
UE jumped out to a 2-0 lead in the fourth set, but ISU countered with seven in a row, forcing an Aces timeout. The break was just what Evansville needed as they went on a 12-5 run to retake the lead at 14-12. Vazquez had two kills in the rally while Kate Tsironis finished the stretch with one of her own. Indiana State reeled off the next three to go back in front before UE came back to tie it up at 18-18. A game-changing stretch by the Sycamores saw them score the next four tallies before clinching the match with a 25-22 win.
Up Next
On Sunday, the Aces travel to Bowling Green, Ky. for a pair of matches. They open against Saint Louis at 2:30 p.m. before playing Western Kentucky at 6 p.m.
