MOREHEAD, Ky. – University of Evansville junior Melanie Feliciano was named the Most Valuable Player of the Eagle Challenge, which saw the Purple Aces complete the weekend with a perfect 3-0 mark following Saturday's 3-0 win over Cleveland State.

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Box Score (PDF)

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Feliciano was one of three UE players to be recognized with Alondra Vazquez and Cecilia Thon earning a spot on the All-Tournament Team.  With the win over the Vikings, UE moved to 6-0 for the first time since 1981.
 
"Great job by our team to stay focused this weekend, especially down two players from last weekend," Aces head volleyball coach Fernando Morales said.  "Everybody accepted the challenge and stepped up.  It was a total team effort."
 
Feliciano and Vazquez recorded 11 kills apiece with Giulia Cardona adding 10.  Vazquez led the way with 12 digs for her third double-double in as many matches this weekend.  Stepping up in the setter role this weekend was Thon, who recorded 32 assists and 10 digs against Cleveland State. 

In the opening set, the action was back-and-forth.  Evansville led by two points on multiple occasions before Cleveland State muscled their way in front by a 16-14 tally.  Following a time out, UE regrouped, tying it up on a Vazquez ace before going on front on a Feliciano kill.  CSU continued to give the Aces a strong challenge, knotting the score at 21-21, but Evansville had the final answer, taking advantage of late Viking errors to begin the day with a 25-21 win.
 
Blakeley Freeman broke a 3-3 tie with a service ace early in the second frame and the Aces would cruise from that point.  Her ace was part of a 4-0 stretch that gave UE a 6-3 lead.  Cleveland State remained within striking distance, but a 10-4 rally by Evansville put the game out of reach.  With Evansville holding on to a lead of 11-8, kills by Kate Tsironis and Vazquez began the stretch that resulted in a 21-12 UE advantage.  CSU closed in the late moments before Evansville took the set by a 25-19 final.
 
Everything went Evansville's way in the third set as they scored the opening four points before going up by a score of 8-1 on a Cardona kill.  The Vikings did not give up, getting as close as five points (19-14), but the Aces proved to be too much.  Emilee Scheumann recorded consecutive kills that paced UE to their fifth match sweep of the season with a 25-16 triumph in the third set.
 
Non-conference action continues next weekend with a trip to the Miami Ohio Invitational where the Aces square off against Northern Kentucky, Middle Tennessee State and the host RedHawks.
 

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