Box Score (PDF)

DAYTON, Ohio– A 12-kill effort courtesy of Genesis Miranda, coupled with double-digit kills from Stephanie Cerino and Elizabeth Giller, helped the University of Evansville volleyball team take a season-opening 3-2 win over Tennessee Tech on Friday in the first game of the Holiday Inn Classic. 
 
It was a back-and-forth affair, which led to a game five.  In that frame, the Purple Aces took a 9-6 edge and never looked back, taking a 15-13 win to clinch the match.
 
In her first collegiate game, Mildrelis Rodriguez recorded nine kills while Rocio Fortuny tallied seven.  Fortuny also led the way on the day with three service aces.  Lorena Marquez led UE with 40 assists while Kim Deprez paced all players with 31 digs.
 
"It was a hard-fought win for our girls tonight.  They won the hustle battle and that's what made the difference," head coach Manolo Concepcion said.  "Although some contributions were tangible, I was prouder of intangibles that multiple players contributed to our effort."
 
Genesis Miranda posted five kills as the Aces took set one by a final of 25-19.  UE reeled off the first five points before jumping up by a 7-1 score.  Tennessee Tech committed four errors in that opening sequence.  The lead for UE reached as many as nine points at 19-10 as Miranda tallied three more kills.  A 7-1 stretch saw TTU get within three as Allison Morrett did the serving to bring the Golden Eagles within three.
 
Following the rally, the Aces regained their composure and were able to close out the 25-19 triumph.  Mildrelis Rodriguez and Rocio Fortuny teamed up for the set clinching block. 
 
Just as UE had the hot hand early in the first frame, Tennessee Tech showed its strength in the second.  They scored the first four points before taking a 4-1 lead.  The lead for TTU reached 10-5 before the Aces rallied.  Four points in a row saw UE get within one at 10-9.  Stephanie Cerino led the way with a kill to cap off the rally. 
 
Elizabeth Giller had a kill to tie it up at 16-16 before Fortuny registered a kill of her own to give UE its first lead of the frame at 18-17.  Following a timeout, the Golden Eagles rallied back, scoring the next five points.  That would be the difference as they hung on for a 25-21 win.
 
In the third set, the Aces used a late spurt of their own to go up 2-1 in the match.  With the score knotted at 19-19, Miranda recorded a kill that paced UE to a set-ending 6-1 run as they took a 25-20 win.  Also playing a huge role in that stretch was Fortuny.  She notched back-to-back service aces to send the Aces' lead from one point to three.
 
Tennessee Tech fought back to take a 25-23 win in the fourth game, leading to a decisive game five.  Elizabeth Giller got it started with a kill as UE jumped out to a 9-6 lead.  Just as they had all night, the Golden Eagles had the answer.  Kellie Williams notched two kills as TTU got within one at 12-11.  With UE hanging onto a 13-12 lead, freshman Mildrelis Rodriguez had her biggest kill of the day to put UE up by two.  Evansville clinched the match on a TTU error, taking a 15-13 win.
Tomorrow, UE faces Niagara in the second game of the event.  It is set to start at 10 a.m. ET.
 

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