DePaul Box Score  -  Toledo Box Score

CHICAGO – In a pair of marathon matches on Saturday, the University of Evansville volleyball team fell to DePaul and Toledo as the team wrapped up the DePaul Invitational.  For her performance in the three matches, sophomore Genesis Miranda was named to the All-Tournament Team.
 
"Although we are not happy with the result, we went from less to more this weekend," UE head coach Manolo Concepcion said.  "We faced good opponents that will prepare us for the season."
 
With the losses, UE falls to 3-4 on the season with a match on Tuesday evening at Tennessee on the horizon.  The Aces head to Knoxville for a 7 p.m. ET match, which will be carried by the SEC Network Plus. 
 
In the first match of the day against DePaul, Stephanie Cerino led the way with 15 kills while Genesis Miranda checked in with 13.  Lorena Marquez led the way with 40 assists while Kim Deprez had 17 digs.
 
It was DePaul who got off to the quick start, taking an early 4-2 edge in the opening frame before winning by a final of 25-19.  In the second game, luck finally found its way to Evansville's side.  Trailing 7-6, the Aces scored five in a row with four of those tallies coming via Miranda kills.  Gabriela Roman also registered an ace in the rally. 
 
They kept the lead until a bad set by UE helped the Blue Demons tie it up at 17-17.  Evansville was able to get the lead back as an attack by Elizabeth Giller saw UE go up 24-20.  DePaul got within one at 24-23 before a service error saw UE take the 25-23 win.
 
With the match tied at 1-1, DePaul rallied back to take the final two sets.  The fourth game was a marathon that saw the Blue Demons take a 33-31 win.  Saige Gallop and Caitlyn Coffey broke a 31-31 tie to put DU up 2-1.  An 11-3 advantage in the fourth was all that DePaul needed as they clinched the match with a 25-12 win.
 
Genesis Miranda had a career-best 28 kills versus the Rockets while Mildrelis Rodriguez had a great match of her own with 18 tallies.  Marquez led UE with 57 assists and Deprez had 27 digs.  A balanced offensive attack for Toledo saw five players record 10 or more kills, led by Rachel Vidourek's final of 19.
 
The Aces got off to a good start against the Rockets, taking the first two sets.  Toledo led the opening game by a 16-12 score before Miranda brought the Aces back.  UE rallied to tie it up at 18-18 before Miranda took control.  Six of Evansville's last seven points were kills by the sophomore as the Aces won, 25-23.
 
UE made it a 2-0 lead as they won by a 25-20 final in game two.  After the Aces jumped out to a 5-1 advantage, Joselyn Coronel helped the lead grow to six at 12-6 with a kill.  A Carly Townsend kill capped off a Rocket rally as they tied it up at 18-18, but the Aces punched right back as Miranda had three kills in a game-ending 7-2 rally.  It was an ace from Miranda that clinched the set.
 
Both teams duked it out in the third and fourth sets, but Toledo was able to eke out 25-22 and 25-23 wins to tie the score and push it to a fifth set.  With the score tied at 12-12, Toledo scored the next to and had match point.  With their backs against the wall, the Aces rallied back with three in a row to have match point on their side, up 15-14.  Just as fast, the Rockets fought back and scored the last three points to clinch the match with a 17-15 victory.
 
 

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