Aces look for big weekend at the Fieldhouse
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Sitting at 14-5 overall and 5-3 in Missouri Valley Conference play, the University of Evansville volleyball team looks to continue building with a huge home weekend. Evansville opens it on Friday at 6 p.m. against Drake before welcoming UNI to Meeks Family Fieldhouse on Saturday for a 5 p.m. match.
Weekend Recap
– For the first time since 2000, the Purple Aces earned a conference road weekend sweep, earning victories against Southern Illinois and Missouri State
– UE picked up a 3-0 win against the Salukis on Friday with Rachel Tam tallying 16 kills
– The Aces edged SIU in the opening two frames (27-25, 29-27) before putting it all together for a 25-18 win in the third set
– On Saturday, it was Alondra Vazquez recording 14 kills and 21 digs in a 3-1 win over the Bears
– With the match tied at 1-1, the Aces put together two solid sets (25-18, 25-22) to clinch the win
Let’s Get It Started
– Winning five of its first eight MVC matches in 2019, the Aces are off to their best start since 2010
– Evansville was 5-3 to begin Valley play that season
– The 14-5 record is also the best start since 2010; UE was 16-3 to start that year
Top Rankings
– UE is not only near the top of the conference rankings in several categories, but is also impressive on a national scale
– With 39.79 attacks per set, the Aces offense ranks fourth in the nation
– Led by Gabriela Macedo’s 5.79 digs per set, the Aces average 17.93 per game
– That total is 10th in the NCAA and third in the Valley
– Macedo’s tally paces the MVC and is 6th in the country
– Evansville is second in the league and 41st in the NCAA with 12.56 assists per set while the teams kill total of 13.44/game is 45th nationally and second in the conference
– Individually, Melanie Feliciano is second in the Valley with 4.43 kills per set; she ranks 17th in the nation in that stat and is the #2 freshman
– Feliciano’s season total of 361.5 points is 17th in the country
– UE’s freshman is 16th in the NCAA in total kills with 332 while Rachel Tam is 23rd with a total of 309
– Allana McInnis is second in the conference with 10.75 assists per set; her average is 30th in the NCAA while her total of 806 helpers in 2019 is the 14th-highest tally in the NCAA
– Hannah Watkins paces UE with 1.03 blocks per game; that is third in the MVC
Digging into the Record Book
– Gabriela Macedo picked up her second MVC Defensive Player of the Week award on Monday after averaging 6.86 digs per set at SIU and MSU
– She had 16 digs in three frames against the Salukis before recording 32 at MSU
– For the season, Macedo is averaging 5.79 per set; her total leads the MVC and is 6th in the country
Scouting the Opposition
– Drake comes into Friday’s meeting with a 7-14 overall mark while standing at 1-7 in Valley action
– Haley Bush leads the way for the Bulldogs with 4.04 kills per set while Emily Plock checks in with 3.27
– Gillian Gergen is second in the MVC in blocks with 1.08 per game
– UNI sits atop the Valley with an 8-1 league mark while going 14-9 overall
– Karlie Taylor is one of the top offensive forces in the conference, leading the league with 4.65 kills per set
– Rachel Koop has established herself as one of the top setters in the conference, leading it with 11.12 assists per game
