Aces face Bradley and Illinois State
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Another road weekend awaits the University of Evansville volleyball team as they travel to Bradley and Illinois State this weekend. Friday’s opener has UE visiting the Braves before they head to Normal, Ill. on Saturday to face the Redbirds; both matches begin at 6 p.m. CT and will be available on ESPN+.
Last Time Out
– Evansville took a commanding 2-0 lead on Saturday at Murray State, but a furious rally by the Racers saw them win in five set
– Giulia Cardona set her season mark with 31 kills in the contest while Madisyn Steele recorded three solo blocks and five block assists
Adding to her Total
– Senior Giulia Cardona added a season-high 31 kills to her tally and continues to raise the UE program record, which stands at 1,971
– On Sept. 28, Cardona broke the Purple Aces program record of 1,911 kills, which was set by Alondra Vazquez
– On Sept. 21, she broke Evansville mark for service aces and now has 211; the previous record of 205 was set by Kim Seib in 1984
– Cardona holds the NCAA lead in total kills (337), total points (384.5), total attacks (956) and attacks per set (14.94)
– Her season average of 5.27 kills per frame paces the MVC and ranks 2nd nationally
Back in the Lineup
– After missing 11 matches, Kora Ruff returned to the floor on Oct. 4 at Belmont
– Ruff finished with 28 assists against the Bruins before adding 29 versus the Racers
– In the opening weekend of the season, Ruff posted 10.70 assists per set, which paced the MVC; she had 30 assists in the opener against Akron before posting 52 in the win over UPR-Rio Piedras
Scouting the Opposition
– On Friday, the Aces open the weekend at Bradley, who has won five of its last six matches while starting the MVC slate at 3-1
– Iva Popovic holds the team lead with 3.40 kills per set
– Illinois State begins the weekend with a record of 8-9 while winning three of their opening four league contests
– Aida Shadewald holds the team lead with an average of 3.47 kills per frame
