Box Score
MURRAY, Ky. – The University of Evansville volleyball team swept past Murray State, 3-0, in its final test before Friday’s home-opening Dunn Hospitality Invitational.
Evansville took a dominating 25-16 victory in set one, following by 25-22 and 25-23 decisions to take the match
“I was pleased with our blocking, it was our best effort of the season,” head coach Mike Swan said. “We had several girls with five blocks and that has been something we have been emphasizing.”
“I felt like we had the games in our control tonight. We stayed aggressive and got quality play from several of the girls.”
Up by an 11-7 score in the opening set, a kill by Ellen Sawin sent UE on a 6-2 run and they would never look back, capturing a 25-16 win to go up 1-0.
Evansville kept the pressure on in game two, jumping out to a quick 5-1 lead, thanks in part to a pair of service aces by Brooke Maher. Murray State would keep things close, cutting the deficit to just a point, 19-18, before the Aces were able to hang on for a 25-22 victory.
Despite being down 0-2, the Racers showed solid fight in game three. The strongly-contested set saw neither team lead by more than two points. Evansville held an early 8-6 lead while Murray State’s top advantage was a 16-14 lead in the middle portion of the set.
With the score knotted at 23-23, a service error, followed by an attached error sealed the match for the Aces.
As a team, UE notched 21 blocks. Kaisi Nixon led the way with six while Ashley Ring and Meaghan Holmes each recorded five. Sawin was right behind the trio with four.
Maher and Nixon led the way on the offensive end with 13 and 12 kills, respectively while April Lubrecht was the team leader with 15 digs.
Murray State was led by Cassy Woolverton, who tallied a match-high 16 kills.
This weekend, the team will welcome Arizona, Southeast Missouri State and Illinois-Chicago to the Carson Center for the Dunn Hospitality Invitational. The action will commence at 4 p.m. when the Aces will take on the Redhawks of Southeast Missouri State.
