University of Evansville Athletics

SPRINGFIELD, Mo. – Melanie Feliciano and Alondra Vazquez combined for 48 kills in a 5-set match that saw Missouri State use a late rally to finish with a 3-2 victory over the University of Evansville volleyball team.
 
Feliciano led the Purple Aces (3-9, 2-8 MVC) with 25 kills while Vazquez added 23.  Feliciano hit an impressive .368 while adding 12 digs.  Rachel Basinski added a career-high 31 digs on the defensive side while Brooke Springer and Allana McInnis had three block assists apiece.  McInnis also had 50 assists.  Leading the Bears (11-2, 7-1 MVC) was Brooklyn Cink, who had 25 kills.
 
Game 1
Missouri State broke a 5-5 tie by scoring four in a row.  Evansville rallied back when Laura Ruiz had consecutive service aces to tie the score back up at 12-12.  The Aces tied it up on two more occasions, but the Bears wrestled away a 19-15 edge before taking the set by a 25-21 final.  Evansville closed within one at 21-20 on a Hannah Watkins kill, but the Bears countered with the late rally.
 
Game 2
In game two, a pair of Feliciano kills saw the Aces jump out to a 7-2 lead.  They would add to the advantage, going up by seven points on another Feliciano tally that pushed the lead to 13-6.  Missouri State closed within three points on a few occasions, but it was Alondra Vazquez who took control down the stretch, registering three late kills to tie the match up with a 25-21 decision.
 
Game 3
Evansville took another early lead, reeling off eight of the first 11 to go up by a score of 8-3.  Chloe Bontrager had two kills in the early stretch.  MSU rallied back to tie it up at 11-11, but another UE run saw them go up 18-13 in a run that saw Feliciano post four kills.  Once again, Missouri State stormed back.  Trailing 22-18, Missouri State scored six in a row and looked to be in control, but Evansville had other ideas.  Kills by Vazquez and Watkins saw the Aces jump back in front, 25-24, before Feliciano broke a 26-26 tie by adding two more kills to her total to give the Aces a 28-26 win and a 2-1 lead.
 
Game 4
Up 8-7 to begin the fourth frame, the Bears six of the next seven points to take a 14-8 lead.  From there, they took control, tying the match with a 25-16 win.
 
Game 5
With the momentum back on their side, the Bears picked up a 4-2 lead to start the fifth game.  Feliciano and Bontrager registered kills that saw the Aces claw back within one at 6-5, but Missouri State put forth another big run, scoring five in a row before winning the match with a 15-7 victory in the fifth set.
 
Evansville remains on the road next weekend, traveling to Drake for a 2-game series.

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