ELON, N.C. – Senior Mildrelis Rodriguez recorded 15 kills and 10 digs as the University of Evansville volleyball team dropped its opening match in the Phoenix Classic on Friday evening.
Evansville (3-2) fell by a 3-1 final to Elon, who improved to 5-0 on the season. Rodriguez led UE with her 10 digs while her 15 kills tied Rachel Tam for the top tally on the team. Allana McInnis notched 17 assists to lead the squad while Rodriguez had 10 digs with Lauren Murray posting nine.
Box Score (PDF)
Elon was led by Kam Terry, who had a match-high 17 kills. Kodi Garcia paced everyone with 38 assists.
The Purple Aces got off on the right foot in the opening frame, taking a 6-3 lead as Tam and Rodriguez each had early kills. Elon got within a pair, but the Aces had the answer each time. After the Phoenix cut the UE lead to 13-11, the Aces extended their advantage to five points (18-13) on a kill from freshman Mya Whaley. Elon kept battling back and their efforts paid off when they tied the set at 21-21.
Rodriguez posted two huge kills in a 3-0 stretch before Elizabeth Giller had the clinching point with her kill lifting UE to the 25-22 win.
From there, the undefeated Phoenix took control of the match. They jumped out to a 9-3 lead in the second game before pulling away for a 25-14 win. A 7-1 start to the third frame sent them to a 25-13 win before the put the finishing touches on the evening with a 25-10 win in the fourth set.
Tomorrow, the Aces look to rebound as they start the day at 9 a.m. CT versus Gardner-Webb before playing North Carolina Central at 3:30 p.m. CT.
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