Jacksonville State Box  -  Nicholls State Box

JACKSONVILLE, Ala. – Junior Cathy Schreiber garnered Gamecock Invitational All-Tournament honors as the University of Evansville volleyball team finished up the weekend with some momentum, defeating Nicholls State by a 3-1 final. 

In Saturday's opener, Evansville (4-9) fell to Jacksonville State in a 5-set match.
 
"This was a weekend that we wanted to test our growth-mindset, knowing that we would play a high volume of sets," Aces head coach Manolo Concepcion explained.  "They showed a lot of heart & "all-in" attitude throughout the way. The best part about it was the fact that all players continue to contribute to the process, being ready for when their names are called for them to step up to the task in hand."
 
Mildrelis Rodriguez led the way in the win over Nicholls State, posting 15 kills and 14 digs.  She was one of four Aces players to record 10 or more digs.  Olivia Goldstein notched 17  while Rachel Tam had 12 and Jelena Merseli had 10 to go along with her 32 assists.
 
Rodriguez continued her solid play with six kills in the first set as the Aces topped Nicholls State, 25-20, to take a 1-0 lead.  Despite trailing 5-1 in the early going, UE rallied back to tie it up at 11-11.  The run continued as a 10-2 stretch gave Evansville a 15-12 lead.  From there, the Aces hung on for a 25-20 win.
 
The Colonels came back to take a 25-19 win in the second frame to tie the match up at 1-1.  Evansville did not let the bump in the road phase them as they fought back for a 25-17 win in the third game.  The turning point came with the scored tied at 3-3.  Following a NSU error, Rodriguez notched a kill to give her squad the lead for good. 
 
Evansville extended the lead to 10-5 on a Schreiber kill.  The Colonels cut the deficit to three at 20-17, but the Aces reeled off the final five points to take the 2-1 match lead.
 
A fifth set appeared to be on the horizon as Nicholls State took a 15-9 lead in the fourth frame.  The Purple Aces showed their fight as Rocio Fortuny did the serving to get UE back on top at 18-17.  NSU scored three in a row of their own to retake the 20-18 advantage.  Some more late magic was needed for the Aces to finish.  Trailing 21-20, Goldstein did the serving as the Aces finished on a 5-0 run to earn their fourth win of the season.
 
Rodriguez had the best offensive game of her career in Saturday's opener, registering 20 kills in 61 attempts, both career highs.  Cathy Schreiber and Rachel Tam each notched 11 kills while Tam also had 19 digs. 
 
Jacksonville State dominated the first set, taking a 25-15 win, but the Aces had the answer in the second frame, winning 25-20.  With the score tied at 3-3, Evansville went on a 10-5 stretch to open up a 13-8 lead.  The Gamecocks came right back with five of their own and later took an 18-17 advantage.  The Aces fought back again as a Schreiber kill and Tam service ace gave UE the lead for good as they rallied for a 25-20 victory.
 
A 3-1 start to the third set was enough to see the Purple Aces to cruise to a 25-19 triumph in the third game.  JSU got within one at 8-7, but the Aces came right back with an 8-3 rally to go up 16-10.  Schreiber accounted for a pair of kills in the run.  Evansville kept it rolling from there as Olivia Goldstein capped off the game with two service aces.
 
The fourth set saw a battle go down to the wire.  The Gamecocks took a 23-02 lead, but kills by Jelena Merseli and Erlicia Griffith got UE within one before Tam tied it up at 23-23.  JSU was able to respond, notching the final two kills to force game five.  A 5-1 run opened up the set for JSU and the continued to lead at 13-10.  Just when it looked like the match may be over, Evansville came back, scoring four in a row.  Rocio Fortuny had a kill as UE took a 14-13 lead.  Neither team relented and fought to a 16-16 tie.  That is where JSU was able to finish it off, scoring the final two points to clinch the win.
 
Missouri Valley Conference play begins next weekend for the Aces, who welcome Drake to the Carson Center on Friday before hosting UNI on Saturday evening.
 

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