EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Evansville junior Rachel Tam notched a match-high 14 kills, but her efforts were not enough as the Purple Aces volleyball team fell to Southeast Missouri State by a 3-0 final in Tuesday's home opener inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
Box Score (PDF)
The 14-kill effort for Tam came in 30 tries. She also finished the night with three digs and two blocks for UE (3-1). Mildrelis Rodriguez notched eight kills while Cecilia Thon posted 15 assists. Lauren Murray led all players with 12 digs. SEMO (4-0) was led by an 11-kill effort from Mikayla Kuhlmann while Claire Ochs led everyone with 24 helpers.
Tam had a nice start to the match, recording five kills in the first set. She helped UE take a 4-3 lead and that advantage would later jump to 11-9. The Redhawks made their way back to take a 15-14 lead on a Claire Ochs kill. With the score knotted at 16-16, SEMO used a 6-0 run to take a 22-16 lead before finishing with a 25-19 win.
SEMO had the early edge in the second game, scoring five of the first six points to take a 5-1 lead. Their edge continued to stand strong at 10-6. Evansville fought back with a 3-0 stretch led by a pair of Tam kills coupled with a service ace by Mildrelis Rodriguez. Freshman Cecilia Thon then got in on the action, posting a kill to tie the game at 11-11.
The Redhawks fought off the pressure and retook the lead, pulling back out to an 18-13 advantage. Evansville once again fought back as Olivia Goldstein did the serving in a 3-0 stretch before a Cornist kill tied it up at 20-20. From there, the Redhawks regained control and pulled away for the 25-22 win to take a 2-0 match lead.
UE never relented down 2-0 in the match, beginning game three on a 3-0 stretch led by a Rodriguez kill. SEMO responded as they registered 10 of the nest 12 points. UE closed within a pair at 10-8, but the Redhawks had the answer once again, extending their edge to seven points at 16-9. UE closed within four points at 19-15 before the Redhawks finished the match with a 25-18 win in the third game.
Up next for the Purple Aces is a trip to North Carolina for the Phoenix Classic. UE takes on host Elon Friday evening before facing Gardner-Webb and North Carolina Central on Saturday.
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