• Box Score
CINCINNATI -- The University of Evansville volleyball team started the weekend in Cincinnati on a positive note after earning a 3-1 victory over the College of Charleston Friday to improve to 3-1 on the season.
“We knew that it would be a tough match, but I thought that we played well,” said Evansville head coach Mike Swan. “The second set was a huge win for us because it was so close and we ran out of subs, but we managed to win. Getting double-digit kills from Emily Wandersee, Brooke Maher and Hannah Wilson was huge, and our blocking was much better.
“I though that it was a great team win, and I hope that we can carry that confidence into the next matches.”
Junior Emily Wandersee broke her career high with 19 kills on the night while hitting .447 on the match. Wandersee also collected four blocks. Sophomore setter Ellen Sawin, whose sister Emily plays for the Cougars, tied her career-high 57 assists and posted three blocks.
Sophomore Brooke Maher tabbed another double-double with 17 kills and 17 digs. Freshman Hannah Wilson continues to let her presence be known with her first double-double with 16 kills and 18 digs. Libero April Lubrecht improved her career high in digs with 26 in the match.
The first set saw Evansville reach the board first, but CofC quickly got off to a 3-1 lead. The Cougars reached a four-point lead before a kill by Maher tied the score at 13. A 3-0 scoring rally gave UE a 17-14 advantage with a block from Ginta Gabruseva and another kill from Maher. CofC was relentless throughout the set and pulled close, but a 25-22 victory was sealed for the Lady Aces after kills from Wilson and Gabruseva.
In the next outing, both teams proved that they are close in competition and their will to win was high. With the score very close the whole set, UE was able to capitalize on CofC errors at 24-23 to tie the game at 25. After back-and-forth points, kills from Wilson and Maher capped the final three points of the set to give UE a 37-35 win. Maher posted nine kills in the set while Sawin tallied 21 assists.
The third set differed from the others in favor of the Cougars. CofC got on a 5-0 run after UE scored the first point and the Cougars never stopped. The Lady Aces pulled within five on two different occasions, but it was not enough to take the sweep, as CofC took the third set 25-18.
The Lady Aces jumped out to a 3-0 lead with kills from Gabruseva and Wilson to start off the final set. UE continued the good with a 4-0 run to go up 14-8. The Cougars pulled ahead 21-19 after UE mistakes, but didn’t last long after kills from Wandersee and Wilson along with a block from Wandersee and Sawin ended the set 25-22 to give the Purple Aces the 3-1 win.
Evansville returns to the Fifth Third Arena Saturday to face home team Cincinnati at 11:30 a.m. and Youngstown State at 4:00 p.m.
