Box Score
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Rachel TenHoor and Lauren Seyller led the University of Evansville with 11 kills, but a 20-kill performance by Karen Rivatto led the Missouri State volleyball team to a 3-1 win over the Purple Aces Saturday evening at the Carson Center.
Three Aces (12-12, 2-7 MVC) notched 15 digs or more, led by Brooke Maher’s final tally of 20. Katie Klages notched 16 while Jenn Murphy notched her fifth-consecutive double-double with 15 digs and 15 assists. Ellen Sawin was the Aces’ leader with 24 assists.
Missouri State (15-5, 8-1 MVC) got off to a fast start, taking a 25-17 win in the first set. Rivatto had the hot hand recording nine of her 20 kills in the opening frame. With the score tied at 4-all, the Bears scored the next three points and would not relinquish their advantage. Evansville would close within a point down 14-13, but a set-ending 11-4 stretch gave MSU the upper hand.
Evansville used an early run of their own to even the match. Following an early 3-3 tie, the Aces reeled off four in a row, assisted in part by three MSU errors. The Aces would continue to add to the lead as it would reach double figures for the first time when a 6-0 spurt lifted them to a 19-8 lead. A kill by Sawin gave UE the set as they would finish with their largest edge of the contest, 25-13.
Led by a pair of TenHoor kills, the Aces jumped out to a 10-5 lead to begin game three, but MSU quickly regrouped to tie the game at 11-11. What would turn into a 5-0 run continued for the Bears as they would take a 13-11 lead. As was the case in the first set, Missouri State utilized their mid-game momentum to cruise to a 25-16 win. The Bears put up the final five points of the set, but were helped by three UE errors and a service ace which sealed the win.
Game four was a hotly contested battle, which saw the Aces once again have the upper hand early, taking their largest lead at 14-9. With the score tied at 6-6, a Seyller kill led Evansville on an 8-3 stretch. The Bears fought back to tie the game up at 17-17 and grabbed their first lead of the set at 19-18.
MSU appeared to be in good shape, up 23-20, but UE refused to give up, scoring a pair of points on a Seyller kill and a MSU error. Missouri State went back up 24-23 thanks to a Kaitlin Jaeger kill, but Evansville fought back to take a 26-25 lead on a Maher kill, but an MSU kill followed by a pair of UE errors sealed the match for the Bears.
Rivatto was the lone Bear with double figure kills. Calli Norman was second on the team with nine. Carly Thomas led all players with 43 assists.
Next weekend Evansville will be back on the road at Drake and Creighton before returning home for five of their last seven contests.
