EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The Purple Aces volleyball team is back home with a three-match homestand, beginning with the home Missouri Valley Conference opener against Creighton on Friday evening at the Carson Center.
 
After the meeting with the Bluejays, Evansville will host Drake on Saturday before welcoming Lipscomb on Tuesday.  All three matches are set for 7 p.m. start times.
 
The Aces stand at 11-5 after a tilt at Cincinnati on Tuesday.  The Bearcats extended their home win streak to 40 games, tops in the nation, with a 3-2 win over UE.  Evansville opened the match with a win in set one, but a close loss in the second game proved to be the difference.  A late rally saw the match extended to a fifth set, before a late run gave the Bearcats the victory.
 
Freshman Ashley Ring continued her recent hot streak, leading the Aces with 16 kills while senior Brooke Maher led UE with 20 digs to go along with 13 kills.
 
Creighton enters Friday’s match with a 6-7 mark and stand at 1-0 in league play following a 3-0 win over Drake.  The Bluejays are riding a hot streak as they have been victorious in four of their last five games.  Megan Bober has been a large part of that success, notching a pair of triple-doubles in the last three matches en route to MVC Player of the Week honors.
 
Entering the weekend, Drake has put up a 4-10 mark, falling in four out of their last five contests.  Their last win came last Saturday against McNeese State.  The Bulldogs opened MVC play at Creighton last weekend, losing an 0-3 decision.  Prior to Saturday’s match at the Carson Center, Drake will play at Southern Illinois on Friday evening.  Whitney Westrum has accumulated 153 kills and 111 digs thus far for the Bulldogs.
 
Last year, Evansville was 0-2 against Creighton and a perfect 2-0 versus Drake.  The Bluejays wept both meetings against the Aces while UE grabbed a 3-2 win at home over Drake before finding itself on the winning end of a 3-1 decision in Des Moines.