After posting a 2-1 record in the past two weekend tournaments, the University of Evansville volleyball team will get another chance at a tournament title when the group travels to Dayton, Ohio, to play in Wright State’s Raider Challenge.

UE carries a 4-2 mark to Dayton where the team challenges home team Wright State on Friday at 6:00 p.m. before facing Kent State at 11:00 a.m. and St. Peter’s at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday.

“We have learned a lot from the first two tournaments,” said Evansville head coach Mike Swan. “I think we have gotten a lot of people playing experience. The girls know that if they are not stepping up and contributing like we expect, then we will make a change. We can make changes, and sometimes get more than what we had originally.

“We just want to get through this weekend without any injuries so we are good to go for Monday’s home opener and the conference season next Friday.”

Sophomore Brooke Maher stepped up for the Aces over the past weekends, as the outside hitter leads the team and third in the Missouri Valley Conference in kills with 83 while she has posted five double-doubles in six games. Setter Ellen Sawin leads the conference in assists with 298 while averaging 11.92 per game. Junior Emily Wandersee ranks first for UE in blocks with 16, including 14 block assists.

Host Wright State enters the tournament with the momentum of claiming the title of the Golden Grizzly Invitational in Rochester, Michigan. Leading the 5-1 Raiders is middle blocker Shaunda Sandifer. The junior has posted 79 kills on 142 attempts for a .408 attack percentage and 23 total blocks.

“Wright State we knew would probably be the team to beat going in, and they are off to a good start,” Swan said. “They have a premier middle that we know can cause problems for us if we don’t serve aggressively and try to take her out of the equation.”

Kent State looks to start an upswing in Dayton after starting the season with a 1-7 mark. Liva Brivule leads the offensive attack with 85 kills and in blocks with 30. Celia Sabo does her part on the defensive side of the ball with 29 blocks, including 22 block assists.

“Kent state has struggled the past few seasons,” Swan said. “They’re very athletic, but they run a quick system and a lot of times they don‘t connect and that kind of causes them some problems. I feel that with them we need to eliminate errors on our side and let them play their game, and hopefully we can come out of there with a win.”

St. Peter’s has a 2-5 mark in the 2009 season. The Peahens rely on Kim Mendoza for the team’s attack as she has a team-high 74 digs. Setter Shannon Doheny has collected 193 assists while Chloe Rost leads the team with 23 total blocks.

Fans can follow the Aces’ games by clicking here or visiting Wright State’s athletics site at WSURaiders.com.