UE plays in Flyer Invitational
Non-conference play comes to a close this weekend as the University of Evansville volleyball team heads to Dayton, Ohio for the Flyer Invitational. UE faces Ohio State, Dayton and Tennessee in the tournament.
On Tuesday, the Aces played their final home non-conference contest against Tennessee State, earning the win in five sets. Rachel Tam had 25 kills while Mildrelis Rodriguez had 14 and Kerra Cornist set her career mark with 12; Allana McInnis added 60 assists, the top mark of her career.
Tam added 25 more kills in 62 tries against TSU and continues to be near the top of the national standings in several categories. She is 3rd in the nation with 193 total kills, 5th in the country with 208.0 total points, 11th with 4.71 kills per set and 25th in the NCAA with 436 total attacks. Tam has finished with at least 11 kills in each match of the 2018 campaign; she has recorded 20 or more on four occasions while hitting .242 or higher six times.
Another impressive effort against Tennessee State saw Mildrelis Rodriguez post a career-high 24 digs while notching 14 kills. The senior has five double-doubles in ten matches this season and ranks second on the team with 3.27 kills per set and third with 2.83 digs per game. Rodriguez is 32nrd in the country with 427 attempts while her total 152.0 points and 134 kills are in the top 100 in the country.
Allana McInnis had the top match of her college career against Tennessee State, registering a total of 60 assists in leading UE to a 5-set win. That effort came just three days after she earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team as UE hosted the Dunn Hospitality Invitational on Sept. 8.
Ohio State brings an 8-1 mark to the Flyer Invitational with wins coming over Texas A&M and Missouri with their only loss coming to Ole Miss. The Buckeyes are led by Lauren Witte, who ranks 17th in the country hitting .423.
Dayton sports a 6-4 record, but three of those losses have come to nationally ranked opponents (12-Washington, 13-Pittsburgh, 16-Kentucky). Lauren Bruns paces the Flyers with 4.23 kills per set.
Tennessee stands at 7-2 and has already defeated two nationally ranked opponents including a season-opening win over #22 Michigan State before earning a win over #16 San Diego last weekend. They are led by Tessa Grubbs’ 3.72 kills per game.
