EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Looking to add to what has been one of the best starts in school history, the University of Evansville volleyball team is back inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse this weekend to take on Valparaiso and Loyola. The Aces play host to the Crusaders on Friday at 6 p.m. before welcoming the Ramblers on Saturday at 5 p.m.
Weekend Recap
- For the first time since 2010, Evansville is 2-1 in Valley play
- After dropping a hard-fought 3-1 match at UNI, the Aces quickly rebounded the next night for a 3-1 win at Drake
- On Monday, UE picked up its most impressive win of the season, defeating Illinois State in five sets
- The Aces hope to improve their Valley start; with a win on Friday, UE would be 3-1 for the first time since 2006 while a weekend sweep would see UE stand at 4-1 in the league for the first time since the 1998 campaign
- This is the best overall start for UE since starting the 2010 season at 13-2
- UE is a perfect 5-0 inside the fieldhouse
Top of the Valley
- Evansville continues to lead the MVC in kills (13.95) and assists (13.11)
- Nationally, the Aces are 17th in assists and 23rd in kills
- While UE's 17.11 digs per set rank 4th in the conference, it is 16th in the NCAA with the Valley having five of the top 17 in that stat overall and six of the top 27
- Individually, Melanie Feliciano paces the Valley with 4.77 kills per set; she ranks 8th in the nation in that stat and tops among freshmen
- Feliciano's season totaly of 289.0 points is sixth in the country
- UE's freshman is 6th in the NCAA in total kills with 267 while Rachel Tam is 11th with a total of 248
- Allana McInnis continues to lead the conference with 11.00 assists per set; her average is 20th in the NCAA while her total of 616 helpers in 2019 is the 5th-highest tally
- Gabriela Macedo is 15th in the nation with 5.25 digs per game and second in the conference; her 23 service aces on the year is tied for 40th nationally
- Hannah Watkins paces UE with 1.09 blocks per game; that is tied for the second-highest total in the league
Record-Breaking Freshman
- Melanie Feliciano has garnered MVC Freshman of the Week recognition in three of the last four weeks
- She is the top offensive freshman in the NCAA, totaling 4.77 kills per set
- Over three conference matches, Feliciano has upped her kill average to 5.08 per set; she has recorded at least 20 kills in all three league outings
- Overall, Feliciano has notched at least 10 kills in 12 out of 14 matches
A Helping Hand
- Allana McInnis continues to add to her numbers in 2019, leading the Valley with 11.00 assists per set; she is 20th in the nation with that average while her total of 616 assists is 5th in the country
- The top two contests of her career saw her post 65 helpers against Eastern Illinois before recording 64 in the win over Tennessee Tech
- She has recorded at least 29 assists in 13 out of the 14 matches in 2019
Scouting the Opposition
- Valparaiso heads to Evansville with a 5-11 mark while dropping their first two MVC matches against Loyola and UNI
- Known for their defense, the Crusaders are led by Rylee Cookerly, who ranks fourth in the Valley with 4.68 digs per set
- On the offensive side, Brittany Anderson has a team-best 6.95 assists/game
- Loyola starts the week with a 9-6 mark overall while picking up wins in their first two MVC outings
- The Ramblers began league play with a 3-0 sweep over Valparaiso before earning a 4-set win over Drake on Monday
- Taylor Venuto is the most accurate hitter in the MVC, checking in at .374
- Defensively, Maddy Moser is on top of the Valley with 5.32 digs per frame
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