Entering the fall of 2019, not too many were giving the University of Evansville volleyball team a chance to rise up the Missouri Valley Conference standings.  The Purple Aces were coming off of a 4-14 showing in league play in 2018 and had not made the conference tournament since 2008.  Fernando Morales was preparing for his first season as the head coach of the Aces, on an interim basis at that point, after serving as an assistant the year before.
 
With those odds factoring in, it seemed like an uphill climb, but Coach Morales and his team welcomed the challenge.  Morales had the chance to work with the team throughout the spring and summer and that allowed him to put his touch on the culture.  It made a huge difference.  Bringing in the international experience from his time as a professional in Puerto Rico, Morales was ready to lead the way for UE.
 
"In the final years of my career, I knew that I would like to coach.  The NCAA was my goal because you could coach volleyball as a career; in Puerto Rico, you would need another job aside from coaching in order to make it," Morales explained.  "Manolo (Concepcion – former UE coach) was trying to get me on his staff for several years and I decided that it was time.  I went through the interview process while I was playing pro ball in Greece and everything worked out."
 
"From the start, I knew there was a lot of potential with the group of girls that we had going into 2019.  We had a good plan on how we were going to run the program.  For me, I knew it would be more responsibility.  As an assistant, I was not making a lot of the big decisions, so once I became head coach, that pressure was all on me."   
 
For the student-athletes on the team, it did not take very long to know that Fernando was the right fit for the job.  They made it one of their goals to ensure that he would get the opportunity to be the permanent leader of the program.
 
"At our first captain meeting with Coach Fernando, he told us that he wanted our team to enjoying playing again while doing whatever he can to make it a great experience," UE setter Allana McInnis said.  "Those were changes that we knew were needed and he did a great job with that.  As everything moved along, co-captain Gabi Macedo and I talked a lot.  We saw the change that was happening and the team coming together.  Our group wanted to leave no doubt that Fernando was the best one for the job."
 
Following a great summer of practice and workouts, the team was set to begin the season with a trip to Puerto Rico in the final weekend of August.  With four student-athletes and the entire coaching staff having ties to the island, this was a rare opportunity to perform in front of family and friends.  Unfortunately, Hurricane Dorian forced the cancellation of the trip.  While it was a tough blow to deal with right out of the gate, the team used it as a rallying point for the rest of the season.
 
"That was the hardest thing I had to do all season – at 5 p.m. on the night we were supposed to leave, I had to walk into practice and tell the girls we were not going to be able to go," Morales recounted.  "The girls from Puerto Rico took the news very hard, but I credit their teammates for really being there for them."
 
Evansville was a very young team in 2019 with six freshmen on the floor.  The upperclassmen on the squad made it a priority to establish a new culture with the freedom they received from Coach Morales.  It is this type of leadership that not only helped UE to overcome the setback of the Puerto Rico trip being canceled, but rally in the coming weeks to post the longest win streak the program had seen in over a decade.  McInnis explained how this all started in July.
 
"For the first time, the entire team was able to return to campus in July.  Other schools had that advantage, so it was extremely helpful to our whole team.  Any issues were clarified in the month leading up to the report date.  Once we reported for practice, we were ahead of the game.  Everyone knew what their job was."
 
All of that hard work paid off big time.  After picking up a win over Jackson State in the first tournament of the year, the Aces traveled to Nashville for a September 10 match at Tennessee State.  The 3-0 road sweep against the Tigers would be the first of eight victories in a row and 11 out of 12 leading into conference play.
 
Included in the streak were a few record-breaking performances.  The finale of the Dunn Hospitality Tournament on Sept. 14 was a memorable one for an abundance of reasons.  UE had just capped off the tournament championship with a 3-2 win over Eastern Illinois.  On the individual side, Gabriela Macedo and Melanie Feliciano put in record-breaking efforts.  Macedo recorded a total of 41 digs while Feliciano added 36 kills.  Both were the best performances in those areas in program history.  Interestingly enough – Feliciano's record would only last for three days.  The Sept. 17 contest against Tennessee Tech saw Rachel Tam record 39 kills.  It passed Feliciano's mark and was the second-most in MVC history.
 
"Because that was something the program was not used to, it showed that all of the work we put in over the spring and summer really paid off," McInnis exclaimed.  "We showed that what Coach Fernando changed was working.  We had the confidence that we could make conference and secure Fernando's spot."
 
Evansville was victorious in its final eight non-conference matches as the Valley slate was on the horizon.  The first league outing would be one of the toughest – the annual road trip to UNI.  Despite dropping the 3-1 match in Cedar Falls, the Aces rebounded with victoriers in their next three league outings.  On Sept. 30., the Aces defeated Illinois State inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.  It was just their 4^th-ever win over the Redbirds.
 
"We had a lot of wins going into conference, but you can go undefeated in non-conference and it does not matter if you do not win in the league," Morales said.  "We opened at UNI and played well, but our girls were upset because they knew we could win.  The year before, we lost but at that time, they were just happy we played well.  That was a big step forward."
 
"The next night, we picked up a big win at Drake and went back home to face ISU.  Going into that match, I knew we had a chance, but after winning, I knew that we could beat anyone in the league."
 
One of the biggest factors in the win against the Redbirds and in each home match during the season was the fan support.  The crowds were getting bigger and the support of fans and fellow student-athletes really made a difference.
 
"We built a good fanbase; it was great to have people coming in and filling the seats," McInnis commented.  "They really had a positive impact on our success.  The impact of fans and other athletes yelling pumped us up and made our facility feel much bigger."
 
With the calendar getting set to turn to November, one of the primary goals set forth by the UE players was accomplished.  On October 30, Fernando Morales was named the full-time head coach of the Purple Aces.  Morales called the moment a "dream come true" but also knew there were a few more items to cross off the list in the final weeks of the regular season.
 
Facing former UE coach Manolo Concepcion and Missouri State on Nov. 15, the Aces earned a 3-1 decision for their 7^th conference win of the season.  That would prove to be enough to clinch a spot in the conference tournament for the first time in 11 years.  Just six of the ten teams in the league advance, so it was a huge moment for the Aces.
 
"It was stressful towards the end of the season – there were a bunch of ties and scenarios.  When we found out we were going to conference, I was so happy to call home and say I was not going to be at Thanksgiving dinner," McInnis said when recalling the moment.  "The MVC Tournament was always bittersweet – you either make conference and go to Iowa or don't make conference and spend Thanksgiving with family.  When Fernando said we officially made it, we were so relieved – the season was not over.  We had more to play for.  For our seniors and I, our season did not end on senior night.  We had more to prove."
 
While the team made the tournament and finished above .500, they wanted to prove that it was not a fluke.  As the team headed back to Cedar Falls, Iowa for the tournament, they were going to lay it all on the line.  It would not be that easy as they were going to take the floor without one of their top players – Melanie Feliciano.  An injury ended her freshman campaign near the end of the regular season.
 
"Our team needed to learn how to play without Melanie at the end of the season; she was one of our top offensive players all year," Morales explained.  "We were very relieved when we clinched a spot in the tournament, but we were not content with that.  Our team wanted to go up there and win."
 
After finishing the regular season against Illinois State, the Aces drew the Redbirds in the first match in Cedar Falls.  Evansville gave the eventual conference champions all they could handle – falling by scores of 25-21, 25-23 and 25-20.  Morales explained that the UE defense played at a top level, but the team could not find the offense that it needed without Feliciano.  Regardless of the outcome, the Aces had a ton to be proud of.  The jump they made in less than a year was remarkable.
 
Coach Morales was proud of what had been accomplished, but building a program is a process and he is excited about what the future holds. 
 
"Going into the winter, we were going to work on a different style play.  Practicing two times per week, we began to make progress; our practices were going to increase to five times per week after spring break, but the pandemic ended all of our on-campus work," Morales said.  "It (the pandemic) takes us back one step, but I am happy that I do not have to call the girls daily.  I know they are putting their work in and are excited for next season."
 
"Our goal again is to go to the conference tournament and prove that it is not a 1-year thing.  Now we want to move up into the top four and show that we can consistently be one of the best in the league."