Match Notes  

Match 1 vs. Tennessee Tech - Live Video - Live Stats
Match 2 vs. Niagara - Live Video - Live Stats
Match 3 at Wright State - Live Video - Live Stats

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Entering his third season at the helm of the University of Evansville volleyball team, head coach Manolo Concepcion has high expectations with the 2015 season set to begin on Friday afternoon at the Holiday Inn Classic in Dayton, Ohio.
 
Evansville begins the event on Friday at 5 p.m. ET versus Tennessee Tech.  An early 10 a.m. ET match against Niagara begins the second day of the event before the Aces play host Wright State in the 5:30 p.m. ET finale.  All three matches will be carried live on ESPN3.
 
The Purple Aces return eight players from last season and welcomes seven newcomers.  Included in the new class are a pair of transfers as Gabriela Roman comes to UE for her senior campaign from Jacksonville University and Jelena Merseli played her freshman season at Langston University.
 
Five seniors will be looked upon to provide leadership to a team with ten freshmen and sophomores.  Kim Deprez and Stephanie Cerino will each be completing their fourth year with the program.  Deprez is coming off of a season that saw her finish with 4.28 digs per set, a tally that was 6th in the Missouri Valley Conference.  Cerino had her best season as a junior in 2014, posting 120 kills and 59 blocks.
 
Going into her third season at UE is Lorena Marquez.  She has evolved into a solid setter for the Purple Aces, finishing second on the squad with 252 assists last year.  Tathianna Cordero came to UE last season as a junior and finished with 206 digs with her season-high of 22 coming versus Drake.  Completing the senior class is Gabriela Roman, who transfers in from Jacksonville.
 
Leading the way for the underclassmen is sophomore Genesis Miranda.  The 2014 MVC All-Freshman Team member finished second on the team and 7th in the MVC with 328 kills.  This came despite playing the final portion of the season as the Aces' setter due to mounting injuries on the squad.  Her 23 service aces led the team and was 15th in the MVC.  She also tallied 68 blocks in her first collegiate season.
 
Following a 1-6 start in 2014, Tennessee Tech went 14-13 over the remainder of the season and 9-7 in the OVC to tie for 4th place.  Cody Dodd led the Golden Eagles with 433 kills, second-most in the conference.  She is a senior this year and led the OVC with 47 service aces.  Her efforts have TTU picked to finish fifth in the OVC Preseason Poll as she was a preseason all-conference team pick.
 
Niagara posted a 14-18 overall record while going 9-9 in the Metro Atlantic Athletic Conference to take sixth place.  A pair of freshmen led the way for the Purple Eagles.  Rylee Hunt posted 45 service aces, an average of 0.37 per set to finish third in the MAAC.  Alexis Gray was one of the top setters in the league, tallying 1,166.  That translated to an average of 9.48 per set, fourth in the conference.
 
Wright State - Horizon League member Wright State is coming off of a 5-23 year in 2014.  Their Horizon mark came in at 2-12.  Jessie Thornton, who will be a sophomore this year, led the conference with 532 digs last year, an average of 5.43 per set.
 

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