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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Seniors Ashley Ring and Meaghan Holmes wrapped up their historic careers at the University of Evansville as the Purple Aces fell by a 3-0 final to Southern Illinois in the season finale on Friday evening at the Carson Center.
 
Honored prior to the game, the duo played throughout the whole match as the Aces (8-22, 4-14 MVC) had just seven healthy players.  Ring totaled a game-high 10 kills while tying the team high with seven digs.  She also tallied three service aces.  Holmes notched four kills and two block assists.
 
For Southern Illinois (16-14, 10-8 MVC), it was Abby Barrow posting 10 kills.  Taylor Pippen was just behind with nine.  SIU hit .267 on the day en route to its 16^th win of the season.
 
Senior Day started out well for Ashley Ring as she posted the first point of the night on a kill.  Southern Illinois made its first run, scoring the next four points to take a 4-1 advantage.  Evansville punched right back with a 4-1 stretch of its own to knot the game up at 5-5.
 
The Salukis scored the next two, but Evansville rallied back to take an 11-10 lead.  Ring played a pivotal role with a block assist and kill in the stretch.  Once again, SIU had an answer, scoring the next five before going up as many as seven points at 19-12.  The Aces did their best to rally back as Stephanie Cerino posted a kill and block to lead the Aces within three at 20-17.
 
UE's rally was not mean to be as the Salukis were able to hang on for the 25-20 win as Taylor Pippen notched five kills in the frame.
 
Ring had the opening kill once again in the second game, but SIU was strong out of the gate, scoring eight of the first ten points before going up 12-4.  Despite facing an 8-point deficit, Genesis Miranda helped serve the Aces back into it, closing the gap to four at 15-11.  She posted a kill in the rally while the team forced SIU into a pair of errors.  After UE cut into the deficit, SIU took a time out and took control from there, earning a 25-17 win.
 
SIU came out firing after the intermission, taking a 6-1 lead before extending it to 13-3 as Abby Barrow had three kills in the early-going.  Cerino put a halt to the run with her third tally of the night, but SIU kept rolling, going up by 12 at 21-9.  With her career winding down, Ring made sure to finish on a high note, serving UE back into it with four points in a row.  She was responsible for all four tallies in the run with a pair of kills and two more service aces.  Following a quick time out, the Salukis were able to regroup and finish off the night with a 25-13 victory.
 
One of the most prolific careers in program history comes to a close as Ashley Ring played her final game at UE.  She has not only had an impact on the UE record book, but also leaves her mark on the Missouri Valley Conference.  Ring's total of 4,068 kill attempts is 18th in conference history and 4th for the University of Evansville.  She finished just five shy of the Aces season mark.  For her career, Ring finished with 1,338 kills and clinched fourth place on the UE all-time list.  She has had the best season of her career in 2014, posting 418 kills.
 
Meaghan Holmes has been a presence in the middle for the Purple Aces since her arrival on campus in 2011 and secured a spot in the Evansville record book.  Holmes finished with 382 career blocks and was just six behind Jenny Zenthoefer, who ranks third with 386.  She also finished solidly in second place in all-time block assists with the program.  Her tally of 332 puts her second behind only UE Hall of Famer Jessica Kiefer.