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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – It is tournament time for the University of Evansville volleyball team as they open up the season with the first of three non-conference tournaments at Belmont on Friday afternoon.
 
Over the next two days, the Purple Aces will play three matches, beginning on Friday versus Youngstown State at 4 p.m.  On Saturday, UE plays two matches, taking on Kennesaw State at 11:30 a.m. before wrapping up the tournament against host Belmont at 6 p.m.  The Curb Event Center on the Belmont campus will host all three matches.
 
Evansville returns a strong nucleus from last season, led by seniors Ashley Ring and Meaghan Holmes.  Ring, a 2-time MVC Scholar-Athlete Team member, started all 29 matches last season and notched 3.40 kills per set, a total that was 4^th in the league.  As a junior, Ring finished with 20 double-digit kill efforts while also setting her career-high with 310 digs.  Her average of 2.98 per set ranked 15^th in the Valley.
 
Fellow senior Meaghan Holmes had her best season at UE under head coach Manolo Concepcion.  Holmes finished the season with a team-high 97 blocks.  That translated to an average of 0.93/set, 7^th in the MVC.  She also got the job done offensively, recording her top season with 191 kills.
 
The Aces will have several new faces after graduating one of the top senior classes in school history.  Eight newcomers will look to fill the roles vacated by the seniors, including all-time UE digs leader Katie Klages and Rachel TenHoor, who had the most efficient hitting season in program history.
 
UE's newcomers include: Melanie Sloneker, Tathianna Cordero, Hannah Owens, Cathy Schreiber, Grace Carter, Montana Schafer, Genesis Miranda and Lillian Rosa.
 
Youngstown State is the first opponent for the Aces.  The Penguins are coming off of a 16-15 mark last season where they actually performed better away from home.  In home matches, YSU went 5-6, but in true road outings, they finished at 8-4.  The Penguins were picked to finish seventh in the Horizon League Preseason Poll.
 
Saturday's first opponent will be Kennesaw State.  The Owls finished 2013 with a 13-17 record under first-year head coach Keith Schunzel.  Their strength was playing at home as the Owls were 10-3 as opposed to 3-14 away from home.  They are expected to see slight improvement this year as they were picked to finish in a tie for 6^th in the Atlantic Sun Conference Preseason Poll.
 
Belmont had the top mark out of the four teams participating last season as the Bruins went 19-14 overall.  The Bruins were 12-4 in Ohio Valley Conference play and tied for second behind 15-1 Morehead State.  The Curb Event Center proved to be a tough place to play at as Belmont was 13-3 in home contests.
 
Fans can following each match through live stats, which are linked above.  The game versus Belmont can also be viewed on the OVC Digital Network.