EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Following a 2017 season that saw the University of Evansville volleyball team double its win total from 2016, the Purple Aces are ready for 2018. For the second season in a row, Evansville opens the year in Macomb, Ill. at the Leatherneck Invitational hosted by Western Illinois.
WEEKEND SCHEDULE
8/24 - UE vs. Tennessee Tech - 3 p.m. -
Live Stats
8/25 - UE vs. Fairleigh Dickinson - 10 a.m. -
Live Stats
8/25 - UE at Western Illinois - 7 p.m. -
Live Stats -
Video
"We are looking forward to finally see all the girls in action. After a successful introduction of systems and organizational culture this past training camp, we look forward to implementation and experimentation," UE head coach Manolo Concepcion said. "The team is eager to play together and start building with the blocks that they have established a base from during the past two weeks. We have high respect for every opponent that we are facing in Macomb (and the rest of pre-season adversaries), but preparation and focus will begin from within."
"The goal is to solidify on the things that we can control, by competing with a growth mindset and taking advantage of every learning opportunity."
Four starters and nine players overall return from the 2017 squad including senior Mildrelis Rodriguez and junior Rachel Tam. Rodriguez has consistently been one of the Aces top players in her college career and last year was no different. Rodriguez assisted UE in all facets of the game, ranking second on the team with 2.44 kills per set while posting 3.50 digs per frame, also second on the squad.
Rachel Tam took a large step forward in 2017, leading the way for the UE offense with 2.78 kills per set. Her top career match came at Southern Illinois last year when she set career marks with 27 kills and 79 attempts; her 27 kills was the most for a UE player since 2015.
Senior Rocio Fortuny looks to finish her career on a high note following a junior season that saw her finish with 2.11 kills per set along with a total of 47 block assists. Fortuny looks forward to the Western Illinois trip as she earned a spot on the All-Tournament Team at the event last season. In three matches in the event, she registered a total of 29 kills including 11 in a 5-set win over the host Leathernecks.
The Opponents
- Tennessee Tech - posted a 4-24 record in 2017 while going 2-14 in OVC play...senior Shealene Little is their top returning player, posting 2.90 kills per set
- Fairleigh Dickinson - coming off of a 5-24 campaign in 2017 which saw them go 1-13 in Northeast Conference play...as a freshman, Magdalena Maksimovic led the offense with 2.59 kills per game while fellow 2017 freshman McKenna Setterlund posted 8.06 assists/set
- Western Illinois - went 8-20 in 2017 but return three of their top four offensive players including sophomore Emma Norris, who averaged 2.27 kills per set last year...setter Jaime Johnson returns for her senior season after posting 7.95 assists per set last year...Ben Staupe was named the WIU head coach on August 7
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