EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Sophomore Angelica Gonzalez recorded a career-high 21 kills on Thursday as the University of Evansville volleyball team fell to Belmont in five sets inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

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Box Score

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Gonzalez hit a strong .400 in the contest while adding five digs and two blocks.  Chloe Cline and Carlotta Pascual finished with nine kills and four blocks apiece.  The kills were the first for Pascual in her collegiate career.  Madisyn Steele added seven kills and five total blocks.  Kora Ruff paced the team with 36 assists and 17 digs.  Belmont was led by Brooke Gilleland's 20-kill performance.
 
Set 1 – UE 25, Belmont 19
Evansville posted the opening two points of the night before Belmont tied the score at 3-3.  Carlotta Pascual opened a 4-0 rally that included an ace by Ainoah Cruz. The Bruins kept the pressure on, eventually tying the set at 14-14.  Chloe Cline's first kill of the night broke the tie and put UE back in front.
 
She added another kill to extend the lead to 17-14.  Once again the Bruins stormed back, tying it up at 17-17.  Madisyn Steele picked up a solo block and kill to give the Aces the lead for good.  Blakeley Freeman clinched the set victory with an ace.
 
Set 2 – UE 25, Belmont 22
Belmont took a 5-2 lead out of the gate while Cruz registered an ace to tie the set at 5-5.  The Bruins continued to retake the lead, going up 12-10.  Another ace from freeman was followed by a Carlotta Pascual kill that gave the Aces their first lead of the set at 13-12.  Freeman added two more aces to her tally to extend the lead to 15-12.
 
After the Bruins made it a 1-point game at 19-18, Madisyn Steele took over.  A kill and solo block helped her team establish set point at 24-20 before winning by a score of 25-22.

Set 3 – Belmont 25, UE 13
After swapping points early on, it was the Bruins turning a 4-4 tie into an 11-6 lead.  They ran away with it from there, taking a 25-13 win to pick up their first set win of the contest.
 
Set 4 – Belmont 25, UE 22
Despite another Gonzalez kill to open the set, Belmont jumped out to an 8-3 edge.  Another Ainoah Cruz temporarily halted the run as the Bruins lifted their advantage to 12-5.  Josdarilee Caraballo picked up an ace to cut the deficit to 13-8, but Belmont was able to go back up by seven.  Steele and Pascual combined on a block to get back within four before another block by Pascual and Cline made it a 24-22 game.  Following a time out, the Bruins picked up the clinching point to force a 5^th set.
 
Set 5 – Belmont 15, UE 12
Gonzalez recorded a pair of early kills to limit Belmont to a 3-2 advantage, but the Bruins slowly extended the lead to 9-4.  Evansville did its best to close in the late portion, but the Bruins clinched the win.  The Aces will look for a weekend split when they host Murray State at 6 p.m. on Friday.