• Boxscore

Just call the volleyball Purple Aces the “Comeback Kids,” as the University of Evansville (10-7, 3-2) came back after falling behind two sets to defeat Illinois State (7-10, 2-4) for the second time in school history 3-2 with scores of 20-25, 25-21, 19-25, 25-17, 15-5.

“This was a huge win for us, and it capped a great weekend,” said Evansville head coach Mike Swan. “I thought that games four and five were the best that we have played all season. Ginta (Gabruseva) came up big for us in that stretch. It was a great effort from several people. Our blocking has had a huge turnaround, and it’s encouraging to see us playing at this level.”

Senior Ginta Gabruseva led the way for the Aces with 20 kills while hitting .302 in the match. Emily Wandersee and Brooke Maher both posted 13 kills while Maher also tabbed 16 digs. Julie Sylvester collected 23 digs, and setter Ellen Sawin recorded 48 assists. Senior Rachel Robinson helped lead the charge defensively with a career-high nine total blocks.

In the first set, the Redbirds quickly jumped to a 3-0 lead. Kills from Jessica Knackmuhs, Wandersee and Maher brought the Aces back to tie the score at 10. Illinois State produced a 9-5 scoring run to go up 19-15, and the Redbirds finished off the set 25-20.

The teams traded points early in the second, but the Redbirds found their groove to take a 17-13 advantage. UE capitalized on Illinois State errors to get within two at 18-16 and proceeded to rally to tie the game at 21. A five-point scoring run including a kill and ace from Wandersee capped the 25-21 win for the Aces.

The next contest had Illinois State leading for a majority of the third. With a .205 attack percentage compared to the Aces’ .080, the Redbirds led as much as six before taking the third 25-19 and the 2-1 advantage.

Blocking from Gabruseva, Robinson and Hannah Wilson played a major factor for the Aces’ 4-0 lead to start the fourth. An error-free set from Maher and one error on 11 attempts from Gabruseva helped UE clinch the fourth 25-17.

In the concluding set, it seemed that everything went right for UE. The Aces pounced on the Redbirds 8-1 out of the gate. A perfect 5-of-5 from Gabruseva in the set helped put the Aces on top 15-5

Next weekend UE pack its bags and heads toward Wichita State Friday and Missouri State Saturday with both games starting at 7:00 p.m.