UE faces Austin Peay and Northern Kentucky
The annual Dunn Hospitality Tournament is next up for the University of Evansville volleyball team as the Purple Aces return to Meeks Family Fieldhouse to host Austin Peay and Northern Kentucky on Saturday.
UE faces the Governors at 3 p.m. before taking on the Norse at 7 p.m.; APSU and NKU will square off at 11 a.m. Evansville is coming off of another strong weekend that saw them go 2-1 at the Phoenix Classic. After dropping the opener to Elon, UE fought back to defeat Gardner-Webb and North Carolina Central. Mildrelis Rodriguez and Rocio Fortuny earned All-Tournament honors.
A great beginning to her junior season continued for Rachel Tam, who has recorded at least 13 kills in all seven matches for UE. Tam’s 138 kills ranks second in the nation while her 145.5 total points is fourth; she ranks 20th in the country in total attacks with 309. Tam had one of the best weekends in program history in leading the Purple Aces to a perfect 3-0 mark and the Leatherneck Invitational Championship with 79 total kills including her career mark of 29 at WIU.
Mildrelis Rodriguez continued to show her prowess on both sides of the floor over the last week of play for the Purple Aces. She was second on the team with 3.44 kills/set and 3.12 digs/frame with her top effort coming against Gardner-Webb as she tallied 20 kills and 17 digs. Overall, she ranks second on the squad in both statistics for the season.
Senior Olivia Goldstein saw extended playing time in the Elon trip and responded in a big way, posting back-to-back 24-dig performances in wins over Gardner-Webb and NC Central, both were the highest totals of her career. Her previous career mark in digs was 22.
Defending Ohio Valley Conference champion Austin Peay will mark the first match of the home tournament. The Governors were 30-6 last season and have carried that momentum into 2018, winning their first six matches in tournaments at UMKC and Middle Tennessee State. Cecily Gable leads APSU with 4.20 kills per set while Kristen Stucker averages 10.87 assists/set.
Northern Kentucky enters play with an even 3-3 mark with wins over Toledo, Weber State and Northern Illinois; their losses have come to Notre Dame, Virginia and Nevada. Hale
