Box Score

The University of Evansville volleyball team improved to 11-1 overall and 1-0 in Missouri Valley Conference play with a 3-2 win over undefeated Drake (25-23, 25-17, 22-25, 18-25, 25-12).

With the win, the 2010 Aces now claim the best start to a season in the program’s Division I history, beating the current record of 10-1 set by then-coach Mark Hardaway’s 1998 team.

“It’s obviously a big win for us,” said head coach Mike Swan. “To open up the conference season with a match like that should give us a lot of confidence, especially given Drake’s record coming into tonight.”

Drake came into the match with an untarnished 14-0 record, but the Aces managed to put up more kills, assists and service aces as they handed the Bulldogs their first loss.

“I was really proud of the way we rallied back to pull out the win,” added Swan, “Especially after we had a lot of errors in the third and fourth set. It shows a lot about our team’s character.”

On the night, UE recorded 68 kills as four Aces put up double-digit numbers. Senior Emily Wandersee led the offense with 20 kills and a .340 attack percentage. The Missouri Valley Player of the Week also put up 9 total blocks on the night. Junior Ellen Sawin racked up 55 of the Aces 62 assists. Freshman Katie Klages had another stellar defensive performance, totaling a season-high 25 digs against a powerful Bulldog offense.

Set one started with a 4-4 tie before a kill by Emily Wandersee lit the Aces’ offensive fire and UE charged ahead to a 15-9 lead. The Bulldogs managed to bring the score within two at 16-14, 20-18 and again at 21-19 before eventually tying the score at 21-all. Each team fought for the last point, but a kill by Wandersee at 24-23 gave the Aces the first win.

UE broke out to an early 8-4 lead to begin game two. The Bulldogs threatened to come back as they brought the score to 9-6, but UE answered back to run the score all the way up to 24-17 before Wandersee hit another game ending kill. The UE defense put up a match-high nine blocks in game two.

UE had a 9-5 lead to start off set three, but the Bulldogs fought back to tie the game at 10-all. With no side able to gain more than a two-point advantage, the score stood at 22-20 before Drake pulled ahead with the 23-20 lead. The Aces couldn’t hold on, as the Bulldogs went on to win the set 25-22.

The Aces began round four with another early lead, but Drake was once again able to tie the game at 7-7 before taking control. The Aces struggled to catch up, but the offense was burdened by 13 errors and a .044 attack percentage. UE went on to lose set four 25-18.

Despite the loss of momentum, the Aces regained composure and enthusiasm in the final set. The finale proved to be a nail-biter to the finish, as neither side was able to hold onto the offensive advantage. Going back and forth, the Aces finally managed a 2-point lead at 14-12 before a kill by junior Kaisi Nixon ended the match with a 15-12 Aces victory.

The Aces will return to action as they host Creighton tomorrow at 7:00 p.m. in the second MVC match-up this weekend. The Bluejays took a 3-0 win from Southern Illinois tonight with set scores of 26-24, 25-22 and 25-20.