CAPE GIRARDEAU, Mo. – It was a new tournament but the same results for the University of Evansville volleyball team as they opened up the Redhawks Invitational with a 3-0 win over Arkansas-Pine Bluff on Friday morning.
With the win, the Purple Aces move to 4-0 on the season. UE earned wins of 25-22, 25-14 and 25-14 to cement the win. Mildrelis Rodriguez led the way with nine kills with Rachel Tam and Rocio Fortuny accounting for eight apiece. Rodriguez was also on point defensively, posting 18 digs. Allana McInnis led everyone with 23 assists.
Box Score (PDF)
"We had a slow start in what we do best, but once we got into a rhythm, the girls gradually got better on the simple things," UE head coach Manolo Concepcion said. "There were key elements that kept us in the game, especially with Rocio's (Fortuny) efficiency as an attacker and Erlicia (Griffith) as a blocker. Both middles were consistently disciplined, sticking with responsibilities and that allowed our ball control to improve throughout the game."
A quick start in game one saw the Aces take a 4-0 lead as Rachel Tam and Cathy Schreiber each had a kill. The Golden Lions rebounded to tie it up at 5-5 and later took a 14-13 lead. Trailing 18-16, Evansville put its best foot forward, finishing the frame on a 9-4 run to earn a 25-22 victory. Allana McInnis had back-to-back service aces to set the tone for the rally.
Just as they did in the opening set, the Aces had another quick 4-0 start a Mildrelis Rodriguez posted a kill. UAPB rallied back to take a 12-11 lead on a Taylor Burrall kill before UE wrestled away a 14-13 advantage. At that point, another Schreiber kill was the starting point for an 11-1 stretch as Evansville cruised to a 25-14 decision. Gabriela Dos Santos finished the set in style, recording an ace to give the Aces the 2-0 advantage.
Arkansas-Pine Bluff had the upper hand early in the third game, taking an early 7-4 lead as Taylor Sheppy had a pair of kills. The Golden Lions continued to lead at 10-8 before the Aces put together another impressive stretch. A 7-0 rally turned into a game-ending 17-4 stretch as Evansville moved to 4-0 on the season.
"We still met 3 of our 4 main benchmarks for the match and are going into the second match recognizing that we will need to provide more consistent efficiency if we want the result that we are aiming for," Concepcion added.
Later this afternoon at 4:30 p.m., the Aces are back on the floor to take on Morgan State.
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