Aces face UNI and Drake
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Next up for the University of Evansville volleyball team is a weekend trip to Iowa to face the top two squads in the Missouri Valley Conference. UE takes on Northern Iowa at 6 p.m. Friday before traveling to Drake for a 4 p.m. match on Saturday with ESPN+ having the broadcast of both matches.
Last Time Out
– The Purple Aces earned home wins over Southern Illinois and Missouri State last weekend before falling at Indiana State on Monday
– Friday’s win over SIU saw the Aces pick up the win in five sets with Giulia Cardona picking up 37 kills; she added 30 more to her tally in the win over the Bears
Up to 2K
– With a season-high 37 kills against SIU, Giulia Cardona became the second player in MVC history to reach 2,000 in her career
– She now has a total of 2,089 and is chasing the all-time league mark of 2,293
– With an average of 7.44 kills per set over the weekend, Cardona was named the MVC Player of the Week on Monday
– Cardona leads the nation in kills/set (5.55), total kills (455), points/set (6.24), total points (511.5), total attacks (1,278) and attacks/set (15.59)
– Her kills average is even higher against league opponents – 6.34/set
Double Figures
– Angelica Gonzalez is putting up the most consistent numbers of her UE career
– Over the last three contests, the sophomore is averaging 2.25 kills/set
– She registered 11 kills in the win over SIU before finishing with 10 versus the Bears
– Gonzalez set career marks in kills (14) and attempts (35) in the win over the Beacons
On the List
– Ainoah Cruz has now reached the threshold to become eligible for MVC stat rankings
– With her season mark of 3.56 digs per set, the sophomore is 11th in the conference
– Cruz picked up 23 digs in her first contest of the season at USI before matching that tally in the win over Valpo
Double Digits
– For the first time in her collegiate career, Chloe Cline reached double figures in kills, finishing the SIU win with 10
– Equally impressive was her accuracy as she hit .625; in the weekend wins over SIU and MSU, she averaged 2.11 kills per game
– Cline has registered 4+ kills in 10 of the last 12 matches
Scouting the Opposition
– Northern Iowa is 14-7 overall and a perfect 9-0 in league play heading into the weekend
– The Panthers are led by Kira Fallert and Cassidy Hartman, who are averaging 3.86 and 3.53 kills per set, respectively
– Drake holds a 12-8 mark while opening their MVC slate with eight wins in nine contests
– They are led by Macy Daufeldt’s average of 4.15 kills per game
