INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. – Trailing the match by a 2-1 score, the University of Evansville volleyball team fought back to force a fifth game, but Duquesne was able to hang on for a 15-10 win in the deciding set to earn a 3-2 match win on Saturday at Hinkle Fieldhouse.
Rachel Tam was the leader for the Aces, posting 18 kills, 9 digs and 6 service aces for the Purple Aces (6-6). Adeline Payne continued her stellar weekend, posting 15 kills. She was named to the All-Tournament Team. Allana McInnis finished the day with 33 assists and Cassie Brooks recorded 17 digs. Cathy Schreiber tied her career mark with 9 block assists. Duquesne (5-9) was led by Maddie Bazelak, who had 18 kills.
Box Score (PDF)
"We are obviously never happy with a loss, but we are excited for what this group is capable of achieving together," Aces head coach Manolo Concepcion said. "We made sure that everyone had a chance to show what they can contribute to the program. That has impacted the buy-in tremendously, because it has help them understand that this is a performance-based environment where we value both tangibles and intangibles that would correlate with team success. Thats why we have seen different people excelling on different weekends. This weekend was a breakthrough for Addie Payne, who came in and impacted our lineup in multiple ways, especially offensively."
"A lot of credit to Allana McInnis, who has done a great job managing the game, has continued to stay hungry for improvement, and is mastering the art of learning," Concepcion added.
Four ties in the opening frame led to a 7-7 score. The big run for the Purple Aces saw them score nine of the next ten points to open up a 16-8 advantage. Cathy Schreiber paced the offense with three kills in the run. A Taylor Jones service aces saw the lead grow to a game-high 10 points at 20-10 before the Dukes got closer, making it a 24-20 game before Adeline Payne had the deciding kill to give UE a 25-20 win and a 1-0 lead.
Duquesne had its best performance of the day in the second game, jumping out to a 9-3 advantage before winning by a 25-14 final. The Dukes also led for the duration of game three, hanging on to win, 25-21.
In one of their best efforts of the season, the Aces put together a great set in the fourth, tying the match at 2-2 on the strength of a 25-10 victory. Evansville jumped out to a 10-3 lead on a Payne kill and kept rolling from there as Tam took over with two aces and two kills to force a deciding set.
After the Dukes scooted out to a 5-2 advantage, UE fought back as a Tam kill knotted the score at 8-8. Duquesne responded with five tallies in a row
Missouri Valley Conference action gets started next week as the Aces head north to Terre Haute to face Indiana State on Friday. The home conference opener will take place on Monday, Sept. 25 versus Illinois State.
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