Weekend Match Notes  -  Tournament Central

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Sitting near the top of the NCAA in kills and points, University of Evansville sophomore Genesis Miranda and the Purple Aces volleyball team travel to Mt. Pleasant, Mich. for the Chippewa Challenge.
 
Evansville begins the tournament on Friday against the host Chippewas before facing Nebraska Omaha and San Jose State on Saturday.
 
The unbelievable start to the season for Genesis Miranda has resulted in her being near the top of the NCAA in two of the most important offensive categories - points and kills.  With 5.58 points per set, Miranda ranks fifth in all of the NCAA.  Her 4.69 kills puts her in 11th in the nation.  On top of that, Miranda leads the Missouri Valley Conference in both of those statistics.
 
Offensive numbers were up across the board as the Purple Aces began their home schedule over the weekend in the Dunn Hospitality Tournament.  Through its first eight matches away from home, UE hit .195 while averaging 12.27 kills per set.  In the three home matches, Evansville improved drastically, hitting .278 with 14.11 k/s.
 
Kim Deprez and Genesis Miranda were named to the Dunn Hospitality All-Tournament Team on Saturday thanks to stellar weekends.  Deprez notched a total of 46 digs, an average of 5.11 per set and has moved back up to second in the MVC in that category.  Miranda extended her lead in the Valley in kills and points as she notched a total of 44 kills to sit atop the league with 4.69 per set.  She also leads the way with 5.58 points.
 
Freshman Mildrelis Rodriguez has been strong all season for the Aces, but what has been impressive has been her maturity.  In the opening weekend at Wright State, Rodriguez attempted 7.3 attacks per set and averaged 1.58 kills while hitting .125.  In the home-opening weekend, she had less attempts (6.9), but chose her spots in a way that saw her record 3.11 kills and hit .306.
 
Miranda has notched at least 12 kills in all 11 of UE's matches in 2015.  She capped off the home-opening tournament with 18 vs. NKU after having an efficient start to Saturday against Western Illinois, hitting .294 with 14 kills.  She has recorded 17 service aces thus far and continues to near last year's total of 23.
 
Hosting this weekend's tournament is Central Michigan, who is 3-7 entering the weekend.  In last weekend's Fresno State Invite, the Chippewas defeated Cal State Fullerton before falling to Sacramento State, UC Riverside and Fresno State.  The other wins for CMU came against UIC and Binghamton earlier in the season.  Jordan Bueter has been one of the top offensive player, recording 3.24 kills per set while Jamison Wolffis has led the defense with 4.44 digs.  Central Michigan is the #2 hitting team in the Mid-American Conference, checking in at .213.
 
The Mavericks come into the weekend with a 4-6 record following a 2-1 trip to Kansas City last week.  In the UMKC Kangaroo Classic, the Mavs defeated SIUE and Bradley before falling to UMKC in the finale.  Omaha ranks as the top defensive team in the Summit League, posting a league-best 16.25 digs per set.  On the individual side, Sydney O'Shaughnessy is 2nd in the conference with 9.75 assists per set with Megan Schmale ranking 2nd in blocks with 1.23.
 
Starting the season with a 6-4 mark through their first 10 matches is San Jose State.  The Spartans swept through the UMass Lowell Invitational a week ago, posting wins over UMass-Lowell, Quinnipiac and Holy Cross.  Another stellar defensive squad, SJSU has allowed opponents to hit just .137 this year, the best in the Mountain West Conference.  They also lead the conference in service aces with 1.69/set.
 

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