UE drops 3-1 match
The Purple Aces began the match with a 25-17 win, but Drake reeled off three set wins in a row to defeat the University of Evansville volleyball team by a 3-1 final on Monday.
Melanie Feliciano was the top performer for the Aces (3-11, 2-10 MVC), recording 15 kills and 10 digs. Alondra Vazquez added 14 kills and 21 digs. Rachel Basinski paced the squad with 22 digs while Cecilia Thon and Allana McInnis recorded 17 and 16 assists, respectively. Drake (8-5, 6-4 MVC) was led by an 18-kill effort from Haley Bush.
Game 1
With the score tied at 7-7, Evansville made a statement, scoring the next three before extending that run to an 8-2 stretch to go up 15-9. Alondra Vazquez got things started with a kill with Chloe Bontrager adding one of her own before Laura Ruiz capped it off with her second service ace in as many days. The Bulldogs scored the next three points to cut the deficit in half, but the Aces responded with three in a row of their own before pulling away for a 25-17 win.
Game 2
An early run by the Bulldogs set the tone in the second frame. After Evansville jumped out to a 3-1 lead, Drake punched back with 11 in a row to take a 12-3 advantage. A Kylee Macke service ace wrapped up the stretch. From there, the Bulldogs were able to tie the match on the strength of a 25-11 decision.
Game 3
Just as they did in game two, the Bulldogs made a run with the score tied at 3-3 as they reeled off five tallies in a row to go up 8-3. With Thon doing the serving, Feliciano added a kill that helped UE get within a pair at 9-7, but the Bulldogs came back with a 5-2 stretch and would go on to win by a 25-17 final to take a 2-1 lead.
Game 4
In a close battle at the start, it was the Bulldogs who took the first multi-point lead, breaking a 6-6 tie to go o up 10-6. Evansville responded with three of their own with Vazquez and Kate Tsironis registering kills to cut the deficit to one. Drake fended off the challenge to push the lead to as many as seven points at 23-16. UE made a final rally when Vazquez posted three kills and Ruiz added another ace to get back within three at 23-20, but following a timeout, the Bulldogs posted the final two points to clinch the match.
Next up for UE is a home series next weekend against Southern Illinois.
