Aces fall to St. Thomas before defeating Northern Illinois
CHICAGO – Giulia Cardona recorded a match-high 24 kills while Madisyn Steele added a season-high of 10 kills as the University of Evansville volleyball team defeated Northern Illinois to split the opening day of the DePaul Invitational.
Along with the duo of Cardona and Steele, Melanie Feliciano completed the 3-1 win over NIU with 16 kills. In Friday’s opener, St. Thomas won by a final of 3-0. On Saturday, the Aces completed the weekend with a 5 p.m. game versus DePaul.
MATCH #1 – St. Thomas 3, UE 0
Melanie Feliciano and Giulia Cardona recorded 11 kills apiece in a 3-0 loss to St. Thomas on Friday morning. Ainoah Cruz picked up 20 digs while Brooke Springer had 40 blocks. Kora Ruff totaled 28 assists and three aces. Megan Wetter finished with a match-high 12 kills.
Game 1 – St. Thomas 25, UE 22
St. Thomas set the early tone, going on a 5-2 run. Cardona brought the Aces back into it with two of her four service aces in the match to knot the score at 6-6. After UST took an 8-6 lead, Evansville countered with five in a row. Blakeley Freeman opened a 5-0 stretch with a kill as the Aces jumped in front by an 11-8 margin.
After the Tommies forced multiple ties, including a 16-16 score, another ace and kill from Cardona along with two Emilee Scheumann kills comprised a 4-0 run as the Aces looked to be in control. Unfortunately, St. Thomas had other ideas, scoring the next seven points on their way to a 25-22 victory.
Game 2 – St. Thomas 25, UE 18
Kora Ruff opened the second set with consecutive service aces to give her squad the early lead. After St. Thomas tied the score, Madisyn Steele and Luana Gazda Kuhn picked up kills to give Evansville its largest lead at 10-7.
Just as they did in the first set, the Tommies stormed back as they reeled off five in a row to jump back in front – 12-10. Evansville cut the deficit to one point (14-13) before St. Thomas put forth another big run to finish off the set. Outscoring the Aces by an 11-5 margin, UST took the second set, 25-18.
Game 3 – St. Thomas 27, UE 25
Looking to extend the match, the Aces kept the pressure on for the duration of the third set. St. Thomas went up by a 9-7 score at the start before UE fought back, scoring four of the next five points to take an 11-10 edge.
After the Tommies matched their largest lead of three points (15-12), Evansville responded to tie the score at 17-17 before retaking the lead at 24-23. The Aces had another chance to win the set, holding a 25-24 lead, but St. Thomas scored the final three points to clinch the match.
MATCH #2 – UE 3, NIU 1
Performances up and down the roster helped the Purple Aces defeat Northern Illinois by a 3-1 final in Friday’s finale. Led by Cardona’s 24 kills, the Aces rebounded following a morning defeat to St. Thomas. Feliciano and Steele tallied 16 and 10 kills, respectively. Kora Ruff wrapped up the contest with 54 assists while Feliciano paced the defense with 16 digs.
Brooke Springer put forth another strong performance with five block assists. Leading the Huskies was Emily Dykes who had 14 kills.
Game 1 – UE 25, NIU 22
Six kills from Melanie Feliciano saw the Purple Aces fend off the Huskies for a 25-22 win. Northern Illinois turned a 4-4 tie into a 15-11 lead as they looked to open with a win. Giulia Cardona had other ideas, notching two kills and an ace to tie the game at 15-15.
With the score still tied up at 22-22, Madisyn Steele came through with a pair of clutch kills in the final three points to give UE the win.
Game 2 – UE 25, NIU 20
Service aces from Feliciano and Ainoah Cruz put UE in front by a 5-2 score to open the second set. Northern Illinois made their way back, eventually taking a 14-13 edge. At that point, Steele came through once again with three kills in the next four points as UE went on an 8-1 run to take their largest lead at 22-15.
After NIU cut the gap to three points, Evansville got back on track as two late kills from Cardona sealed the 25-20 decision.
Game 3 – NIU 25, UE 22
Early in the set, things remained close as the score was tied up at 10-10. That is when the Huskies made their run, scoring five in a row. Their lead would reach as many as six tallies before the Aces attempted a comeback.
Feliciano compiled two more kills as UE cut the deficit to a single point at 23-22. NIU was able to halt Evansville’s momentum, scoring the final two points to take the 25-22 decision and force a fourth set.
Game 4 – UE 25, NIU 22
For the second time in as many matches on Friday, Kora Ruff opened a set with consecutive aces as UE jumped out of the gate to take a 6-2 advantage. The Aces pushed the lead to five points when a Steele kill extended the lead to 11-6. Northern Illinois rallied back with a 9-2 run to take their first lead of the set at 15-13.
The teams battled it out over the next sequence before Evansville scored two in a row to break a 19-19 tie before Cardona had the match-winner. Her 24th kill of the evening solidified a 25-22 win in the set and a 3-1 triumph in the match.
