Box Score
Box Score

CHICAGO – Freshman Genesis Miranda had a career-high 20 kills as the Purple Aces volleyball team picked up a 3-1 victory at Loyola on Friday evening.
 
Miranda's previous high entering tonight's match was 18 kills, which she accomplished on three occasions.  She hit .233 on the night while recording seven digs for the University of Evansville (8-16, 4-8 MVC).  Ashley Ring also had another great night against the Ramblers (7-14, 3-9 MVC).  The senior registered 23 kills and hit .311.  In two matches against Loyola this season, Ring totaled 47 kills.
 
Defensively, Cathy Schreiber had five block assists while Stephanie Cerino posted four block assists and one solo.  Tathianna Cordero notched a team-best 9 digs.
 
Leading the Ramblers was Morgan Reardon.  She notched 21 kills and hit .271.  Brittany Brown matched her total of 21 kills while hitting a team-best .485.  Stephanie Kinane had a match-high 27 digs.
 
Loyola took early control of the opening set before hanging on for a 25-23 victory.  A pair of Kathleen Vogel service aces gave the Ramblers a quick 3-0 lead before two Ashley Ring kills saw the Aces tie it up at 8-8 before taking their first lead at 11-9 on Ring's third tally of the game.
 
UE's lead reached as many as three points at 13-10 on a Cathy Schreiber ace before Loyola knotted it up at 14-14.  The back-and-forth action led to a tie of 18-18 and that is where the Ramblers made the decisive move.  Three UE errors saw the Ramblers take the lead for good as they earned the 25-23 win.
 
Game two proved to be one for the ages with a total of 70 points being scored.  Three early UE errors saw the Ramblers open a 6-2 advantage.  Evansville tied it up for the first time at 8-8 before a Stephanie Cerino kill gave the Aces their first edge at 11-10.
 
Seven ties from there led to another 18-18 tie.  It looked like déjà vu as Loyola scored the next three points and looked to have control, but UE had some late magic as the Aces forced three quick errors to tie it up at 22-22.  A Genesis Miranda kill saw Evansville go up 24-23 and have set point in its sights, but a Morgan Reardon kill ended that hope.
 
Neither team wanted to give in as the set moved to extra points.  Libby Bresser posted a kill to give the Ramblers a 34-33 edge before UE regained control, forcing three errors in a row to earn a 36-34 win.
 
The competitive night continued right into the third frame with four early ties.  Evansville was the first to take a lead of more than one as a pair of LU errors gave the Aces a 6-4 advantage.  The Ramblers fought back to tie it up at 7-7 and took their largest lead of the set at 19-15.  Brittany Brown was the difference-maker as she notched three kills in four points to cap the run.
 
Evansville showed great fight in coming back to tie it up at 22.  Four players recorded kills in the run, finished off by Ring.  The run continued as the Aces finished the set on a 10-3 run in taking a 25-22 win and a 2-1 lead. 
 
In the fourth set, the Aces were able to prevail in yet another hard-fought set.  Both squads were able to take early leads of two tallies.  Evansville's move came with the game all tied up at 16-16.  A Grace Carter service ace and a Ring kill spearheaded a 3-0 run that the Aces would never give up.
 
Loyola got within one point on three occasions, but another Miranda kill helped the Aces win by a 25-22 final. 
 
Tomorrow, UE stays on the road, taking on Bradley at 7 p.m.  The Aces are back home next weekend, facing Drake on Friday evening at 7 p.m. before playing host to UNI on Saturday at 6 p.m.