EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Riding a 2-match win streak, the University of Evansville volleyball team makes its way to Cookeville, Tennessee for the Golden Eagle Invitational. Opening on Friday, the Purple Aces open with a 1PM match versus Western Carolina before completing the day with a 5PM contest against Northwestern...Saturday's finale pits UE against Tennessee Tech at 2PM. Each match is slated to be televised by ESPN+.
Home Opener
- Tuesday's home opener saw UE take on the University of Southern Indiana for the first time as Division I opponents with the Aces earning the 3-0 sweep
- UE hit .409 as a team while holding the Screaming Eagles to .236
- For the fourth time in as many contests in 2022, Alondra Vazquez accumulated the top kill tally, finishing with 13
- Giulia Cardona had 12 while Melanie Feliciano recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 10 digs
- Kora Ruff picked up 38 assists and 9 digs in the victory
Opening Weekend
- Last Friday, the 2022 season opened at the Marshall Invitational
- Despite winning the first set in both contests on Friday, UE came out on the losing end in a 3-1 setback to Wright State and a 5-set defeat at Marshall
- The Aces came back strong on Saturday, earning a 3-0 road sweep over the Thundering Herd
- Alondra Vazquez led all players in kills in each of the first three matches
Finding her Offense
- Evansville's block leader in 2022 has started to amp it up offensively as Madisyn Steele ranks fourth on the team with 1.53 kills per set
- Steele has at least six kills in three of the four matches, including a season-high of seven against USI...her efficiency in the last two matches has seen her hit .556 with 11 kills in 18 attempts while posting just one error
- Her average of 0.60 blocks per set is the top total on the team and she has finished with at least one in each match
Excelling in her Role
- Earning a spot on the All-MVC First Team in 2021, Melanie Feliciano continues to put up some of the MVC's top all-around numbers in 2022
- Offensively, Feliciano is third for UE with 2.73 kills per set and has recorded at least 9 in each match while hitting a solid .273
- On the defensive side, Feliciano paces Evansville with 2.53 digs per set while recording double figure digs on two occasions
NCAA Top Five
- Through the opening stages of the 2022 season, Alondra Vazquez is already setting some of the top numbers in the NCAA
- Vazquez is ranked in the top five nationally in three categories including total kills (3rd-76), total points (4th-81.5) and total attacks (5th-174)
- For the fourth time in her career, Vazquez was named the MVC Player of the Week on August 29
- Her 5.07 kills per set paces the MVC and she set an early season mark of 26 kills in Friday's 5-set contest at Marshall before hitting .367 with 16 more kills to lead UE to a 3-0 sweep on Saturday
