Aces coming off excellent 2019 campaign
After earning their first Missouri Valley Conference berth in over a decade, the University of Evansville volleyball team was picked to finish 6th in the MVC Preseason Poll, which was released by the league on Wednesday.
The poll, which is voted on by the MVC coaches, saw the Purple Aces finish with 47 points. Preseason favorite UNI earned 96 points overall and four first-place votes while Illinois State was chosen second with 93 points and four top votes. Loyola (77), Bradley (71) and Missouri State (48) round out the top five with UE taking 6th.
Valparaiso (39), Southern Illinois (36), Drake (26) and Indiana State (17) round out the ten conference institutions.
UE finished with 2019 fall season with a 16-14 record on the way to its first conference tournament berth since 2008. Still a young team – the Aces have just one senior in the spring – Allana McInnis. One of the top setters in program history is already in the top five in program history with her total of 2,980 assists. She stands in fourth place in the record books and is 207 away from moving into the top three.
Melanie Feliciano returns as one of the top offensive weapons in the Valley. The 2019 VolleyballMag.com All-Freshman Honorable Mention set the program freshman record with 456 kills. Her 4.18 kills per set was second overall in the MVC and in the top three among freshmen in the entire nation.
Action gets underway in less than a week when the Aces travel to Indiana State on Monday, January 25 for a 2:30 p.m. CT match. UE is home on January 29 for a 5 p.m. rematch against the Sycamores.
