PEORIA, Ill. – With the results of the other Missouri Valley Conference matches on Friday evening, the University of Evansville volleyball team has officially clinched a berth in next week's conference tournament.
 
Evansville will finish in the top six and head to the tournament for the first time since the 2008 campaign.

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Box Score (PDF)

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"The girls have done so much for the program this year," Aces head coach Fernando Morales said.  "They deserved this.  I am so happy and proud of them and excited about the future of this program."
 
The Aces (16-12, 7-10 MVC) dropped a 3-0 decision on the road at Bradley (14-14, 10-7 MVC) on Friday.  Rachel Tam led UE with 10 kills while Alondra Vazquez finished with nine.  Gabriela Macedo finished with 18 digs and officially holds the single-season program record.  Allana McInnis had 21 assists.  The Braves were led by a 15-kill effort from Hannah Thompson.
 
Bradley got the evening started on a strong note, taking a 25-14 win.  Up 6-5, the Braves scored six of the next seven to take a 12-6 lead.  From there, they continued to add to it before winning by 11.
 
Evansville regrouped and had a much better start to the second frame, taking a 7-1 lead.  After notching three kills in the first set, Chloe Bontrager added her fourth before Rachel Tam had three in a row.  The Braves pushed back with five in a row to get within one, but the Aces continued to hold the lead until late in the match.  Bradley was finally able to tie it at 19-19 before taking a 2-0 lead on the strength of a 25-21 win.
 
In the third set, the Braves scored six of the opening seven points and would go on to take a 25-16 win to clinch the 3-0 match.
 
Tomorrow, the regular season comes to an end with a 5 p.m. match at Illinois State.
 

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