Volleyball opens home schedule Tuesday against SEMO

Aces look to continue hot start

The second season of play on Lois D. Patton Court inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse commences on Tuesday evening when the University of Evansville volleyball team welcomes Southeast Missouri State for a 6 p.m. match.

Evansville made it a perfect 6-0 in the last two seasons at the Leatherneck Invitational.  UE opened with a 3-2 win over Tennessee Tech before earning a 3-1 win over Fairleigh Dickinson; in the finale, the Aces topped Western Illinois in five sets.  Rachel Tam was named the Most Valuable Player in the event while Kerra Cornist and Gabriela dos Santos garnered All-Tournament accolades.

“We can’t wait to play in front of our home crowd! The girls have been working really hard, starting with the returners since the beginning of spring, and the newcomers with their smooth transition into the program,” Evansville head coach Manolo Concepcion said.  “However, more than one game, our focus continues to be on the process of BECOMING. We have 25 more days to grow and develop before MVC, so every rep, every set, and every game matters. We look forward to host our fan base in one of the best volleyball specific facilities in the country.”

Rachel 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.  am recorded 79 kills in 14 sets of action, an average of 5.64 per set.  Just as impressive was her accurate hitting as she finished the weekend at .348.  Entering the weekend, Tam’s career kills mark was 27, which she broke twice in the opening three matches.

Her unbelievable start saw her open the year with 28 kills in 47 attempts, hitting .489 against Tennessee Tech; after recording 22 kills against FDU, Tam finished the weekend with a career mark of 29 kills against the Leathernecks.  She leads the MVC with her kill tally and has a total of 26 more than anyone else in the league.  Last year, Tam led the way for the UE offense with 2.78 kills per set.

Known throughout her career as someone who is dependable on offense and defense, Mildrelis Rodriguez did not disappoint in the opening weekend of 2018.  Rodriguez finished second on the team in both kills and digs.  She tallied 3.21 kills per set with a total of 45 while her 34 digs (2.43/frame) was second only behind Gabriela dos Santos’ 5.64.  In a home win over Bradley last year, Rodriguez had a great 20-20 performance, notching 21 kills and 22 digs while adding three block assists; it was the first such match for an Evansville player since Brooke Maher in 2010.

Senior Gabriela dos Santos had a great start to her senior campaign while helping the Aces to a 3-0 start as the primary libero.  Entering the weekend, her career-high was 21 digs, but she surpassed that in all three weekend matches.  Dos Santos recorded 79 digs, an average of 5.64 per set while adding eight service aces over the weekend.  Her top mark of 28 digs came in the 3-1 victory over Fairleigh Dickinson.

SEMO heads to Evansville with a perfect 3-0 record as they took the Troy Invitational Championship.  The Redhawks earned wins over Southern, Southeastern Louisiana and the host Trojans.  Madara Bajare led SEMO with 3.00 kills per set while Claire Ochs paced the offense with 9.44 assists per game.