EVANSVILLE, Ind. – A new era begins this weekend as Zach Weinberg opens his first season at the helm of the University of Evansville volleyball program when the Purple Aces travel to the Butler Big Dawg Kickoff. UE opens against Butler on Friday at 11 a.m. CST before facing Middle Tennessee State and Purdue Fort Wayne on Saturday.
"We are so excited to get to Indy and compete this weekend. After starting practices July 31st, it feels like this weekend is a long time coming, and we're ready to see someone else on the other side of the net," Weinberg exclaimed. "This team has a ton of depth, and as a coaching staff, we feel like we're as ready as we can be for opening weekend. Go Aces!"
Looking at the Squad
- Evansville returns 11 players from last season and adds seven newcomers to the mix
- Three of Evansville's primary starters from last season return
- Of the seven newcomers, six will be freshmen in 2025
Evansville's Seniors
- Kora Ruff and Maddie Hawkins are set to begin their senior campaigns with the Aces
- Ruff completed her junior campaign with an average of 8.94 assists per set, which put her 4th in the MVC
- She was 10th in the league with 0.31 service aces per set while finishing the year 16th with her mark of 3.07 digs/set
- Hawkins wrapped up the 2024 campaign with an average of 0.22 service aces per set putting her in a tie for 30th in the Valley
- She averaged 0.85 digs and 0.22 points per set as a junior
Offensive Force
- Angelica Gonzalez Maltes was Evansville's top offensive weapon in the final five matches of the 2024 season
- In that time, she averaged 4.63 kills per set while posting a career-high of 21 kills against Belmont and Indiana State
- For the season, she was second on the team with a total of 226 kills while ranking third with her season average of 2.40 kills
- Gonzalez Maltes saw her average rise to 2.62 kills against MVC foes
Finishing Strong
- Ainoah Cruz led the Aces with 4.29 digs per set last season, which put her 7th in the MVC
- Cruz was at her best as the season came to a close as she registered 22 or more digs in three of the final four matches
- In the season finale versus Indiana State, Cruz reset her career mark with 36 digs and averaged an unbelievable 8.71 digs/set over the final two matches
Top Ten
- Evansville's leading hitter in 2024 was Chloe Cline
- Finishing the season hitting .288, Cline put forth the 9th-best single season performance in school history and ranked 10th in the MVC for the season
- Over the course of the season, Cline averaged 1.44 kills and 0.56 blocks per game
- Her career-high of 11 kills came in the win over Illinois State while she added 10 kills versus Southern Illinois and Murray State
Scouting the Opposition
- Friday's season opener will see the Aces match up against host Butler inside Hinkle Fieldhouse
- The Bulldogs are coming off a 7-23 campaign last season that saw them go 5-13 in Big East play
- Saturday's opener will see UE face Middle Tennessee State
- The Blue Raiders were 13-18 last year but improved during the Conference USA portion of the schedule where they went 9-9
- Purdue Fort Wayne will be the final opponent of the weekend
- The Mastodons finished the 2024 campaign with a 17-15 record and posted a 10-8 mark in the Horizon League
