UE opens as the #5 seed
Â
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For the second time in three years, the University of Evansville has advanced to the Missouri Valley Conference Championship where they open against Valparaiso on Thursday in Normal, Ill. The 3:30 p.m. match will be available to watch on ESPN+.
Â
A Little History
– This year marks the sixth time the Purple Aces have advanced to the conference tournament
– In its five previous appearances (1998, 2000, 2006, 2008 and 2019), the Aces are 1-5 with the victory coming in 2000 against Creighton
– Evansville has been the sixth seed in four of its previous five appearances…the Aces were seeded #5 in 2000 when they defeated the Bluejays
Last Time Out
– Regular season action came to a close last weekend when the Purple Aces traveled to Southern Illinois and Missouri State
– After defeating SIU by a 3-0 final on Friday, UE dropped the regular season finale on Saturday at MSU by a 3-1 final
– Alondra Vazquez led UE in kills in both matches with 14 versus the Salukis and 18 on Saturday
– Blakeley Freeman set her career high with 19 digs against the Bears
– Giulia Cardona recorded 13 kills, 4 digs and 2 aces to begin the weekend before posting 16 kills and 9 digs to go along with a pair of aces in the regular season finale
Scholar-Athlete
– Senior Cecilia Thon has accumulated a 3.96 GPA as an International Studies major and was recognized on Tuesday as a member of the MVC Scholar-Athlete Honorable Mention Team
– Thon was one of UE’s top servers this fall, averaging 0.24 pe set, which was tied for 21st in the conference
Top Five
– Alondra Vazquez continues to add to her kill total and currently stands with 1,367 in her Aces career
– She moved into the fifth spot in the final weekend of the regular season, surpassing Ashley Ring’s total of 1,338
– Her next jump will be into the #4 spot, which is currently held by Lisa Sampson with 1,437
– Vazquez also moved into the top ten in career digs with 1,224…9th place is Sarah McClellan with 1,279
Still Going Strong
– Over the last 40 sets of work, freshman Giulia Cardona has recorded a total of 25 service aces, an average of 0.625 per set
– Her season average has risen to 0.50 per set, which leads the MVC, ranks 16th in the nation and leads all freshmen nationally
– She is currently on an offensive streak that has seen her record at least 12 kills in each of the last 16 matches while raising her season average to 3.90 per set
– Aside from leading the Valley in aces, she is second in points per set (4.56) and third with her kill average
Finishing Strong
– Freshman Blakeley Freeman heeded the call when her team needed it at UNI
– With libero Rachel Basinski having to leave the match, Freeman came in and contributed 8 digs in the UE programs first-ever road win at UNI
– Back in the starting lineup at Drake, Freeman contributed 13 digs, 6 assists and a pair of service aces before totaling 9 digs and 3 helpers in the win over Indiana State
– The regular season finale at Missouri State saw her set a new career mark with 19 digs to lift her average to 2.59/set, which is second on the team
