Game 1 Box Score
Game 2 Box Score

TUCSON, Ariz. – The University of Evansville volleyball team split in the first day of the Wildcat Classic, dropping the season opener 3-0 to host Arizona before closing the night with a 3-1 win over Utah Valley State.

Sophomore Ashley Ring paced UE’s offense, posting double-double performances in both matches, totaling 31 kills and 26 digs on the day. As a team, the Aces tallied 89 kills and 118 digs against today’s opponents.
 
The Aces will close out play at the Wildcat Classic with a single match against Cal State Northridge tomorrow at 3:00 CST.
 
Game 1:
Arizona 3, UE 0 (25-19, 25-20, 25-14)
Arizona jumped out to an early 6-1 lead in the first set before Evansville took advantage of two Wildcat attack errors and a kill by Ring to bring the score within three at 7-4.  Keeping pace, Arizona built a six-point lead at 15-9, but another kill by Ring followed by an Arizona error and a back-to-back block and kill by junior Rachel TenHoor allowed the Aces to close the gap at 15-13.  The two teams battled back in forth, keeping the game within three points before the Wildcats eventually pulled ahead with a 23-19 lead. An Arizona service ace brought the set to match point before a final kill closed out the set with Arizona winning by a score of 25-19.
 
A kill by sophomore Meaghan Holmes opened set two with UE leading 1-0. The score was tied six times as the lead went back and forth between the two teams in the early part of the set. Arizona eventually reclaimed the lead at 8-7, sparking a four-point run that put the Wildcats up 11-7 before timeout was called. UE chipped away at Arizona’s lead, but was never able to come within closer than two points as the Wildcats controlled the board the rest of the game before closing with a 25-20 victory.
 
A block by junior Lauren Seyller put the Aces in the lead to start set three. Tied at 4-all, Arizona used a block and a kill to pull ahead with a 6-4 lead. The Aces tried to close the gap as a kill by Ring cut the lead to 6-5, but Arizona went on to put up five consecutive points and extend its lead to 11-5.  The deficit would prove to be too much for the Aces to overcome, as the Wildcats sealed the set with a 25-14 victory to end the match.
 
Ring led the Aces with a double-double, notching 12 kills and 11 digs. Seyller added eight kills to Evansville’s final tally of 30 while junior Katie Klages paced the defense with 16 of the Aces’ 50 digs.

Game 2:
Evansville 3, Utah Valley State 1 (25-23, 25-22, 27-29, 25-20)
The Aces struck first in the second game, claiming an early 2-0 lead before the Wolverines were able to fight their way back to tie the score at 5-all. Four UVS kills and a UE attack error put Utah Valley on a four-point run, pushing the score to 9-5 before senior Hannah Wilson answered with a kill to cut the Wolverine’s lead to 9-6. The Aces battled as they chipped away at the lead. Down 18-15, UE rallied to claim the lead, using a kill by TenHoor, a block assist by Seyller and TenHoor, a kill by Seyller and a service ace by freshman Kim Deprez to take control of the game at 19-18. The two teams battled to keep control of the score, tying it up at 19-, 20- and 21-all. Back-to-back kills by Seyller and Ring gave the Aces the push they needed to take the lead into the final points. Up 24-23, TenHoor came through with her fourth kill of the set to secure the 25-23 win.

After starting set two down 2-0, the Aces battled back to tie the score at 4-all before a block by TenHoor gave UE its first lead of the set. After tying the board at 7-, 8- and 10-all, the Wolverines managed to take the lead briefly at 11-10. But back-to-back kills by Ring and a kill by Wilson, along with an attach error by Utah Valley State, put the Aces back in the lead at 14-11. Then Wolverines once again then tied the score three different times before eventually breaking out as the leader at 17-16. But another TenHoor kill and two UVS attack errors gave UE a 2-point cushion as the Aces led 19-17. Both teams fought to maintain the advantage, as the game once tied once again at 19- and 22-all before an attack error gave UE the final lead at 23-22. Back-to-back blocks by Ring and Holmes closed out the win ad the Aces took game two by a final score of 25-22.

Three kills and a service ace by Seyller gave UE a 4-1 lead to start game three. Keeping the pace, Evansville cruised to a 10-3 lead before the Wolverines fought back with a 6-point run to cut the Aces’ lead to just 10-9. Regaining composure, Evansville used six kills and a service error to expand its lead to 17-13. But with the help of five UE errors, Utah Valley once again mounted a comeback, this time taking a 21-20 lead to mark their first advantage of the game. The game stayed within one point through the finish, tying at 21-, 22-, 23-, 24-, 25-, 26- and 27-all before the Wolverines came through with a block and a service ace to take the 29-27 win.

The Wolverines came out strong in set four, jumping out to a 5-0 lead before a kill by Seyller finally put UE on the board. The Aces managed to cut down Utah Valley’s lead slowly, tying the game at 9-, 10- and 11-all before a UVS service error and a block assist by Holmes and Ring gave UE its first lead of the game at 13-11. The Aces never looked back, racking up six kills, three service aces and two blocks as they maintained the lead the rest of the way, winning the match and the game by a score of 25-20.

Ring notched her second double-double of the day, leading UE with 19 kills and 15 digs. Seyler was just two digs shy of a double-double, putting up 12 kills and eight digs while  TenHoor tallied 14 kills and five total blocks. Klages anchored the back row with 22 digs while Deprez added 10 digs.