University of Evansville Athletics

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In a contest that went down to the final point, the University of Evansville volleyball team fell to Illinois State by a 3-1 final on Friday inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.
 
Wren Jones finished with 13 kills while McKenzie Laubach and Ryan Scheu tallied nine kills apiece. Brooke Herdes led the way with 14 digs while Carsyn Kelley had 40 assists and eight digs. Emilija Arsic totaled 11 kills for ISU.
 
Set 1 – UE 26, Illinois State 24
McKenzie Laubach and Ryan Scheu assisted on a block that gave the Purple Aces an early 4-2 advantage. Savannah Gogel added a solo block that pushed the lead to 10-6. Illinois State came back to make it a 13-12 game but kills by Scheu and Carsyn Kelley got the Aces back on track to put their team on top at 18-13.
 
That is when Illinois State made its move. A 10-3 run turned a 5-point deficit into a 23-21 advantage. Following a time out, the Aces came back to tie the score with Scheu and Laubach adding another block. The comeback was complete when Savannah Gogel's kill sealed the 26-24 victory.
 
Set 2 – Illinois State 25, UE 12
With the score tied at 3-3, the Redbirds went on a rally scoring five in a row to go up 8-3. Consecutive kills by Wren Jones helped the Aces get within two at 8-6. Still up by a pair at 14-12, ISU made a statement scoring the final 11 points to cruise to the 25-12 decision to tie the match at 1-1.
 
Set 3 – Illinois State 25, UE 16
Two more kills from Laubach set the Aces up with a 7-5 lead out of the gate. Brooke Herdes added an ace during the early stretch. After the Redbirds tied the game at 10-10, Jones scored twice to put UE back in front before another ISU rally gave them a 22-13 advantage. It was a 12-1 run for the Redbirds. They would take the set by a final of 25-16.
 
Set 4 – Illinois State 25, UE 23
Illinois State got things going early taking a 9-5 edge before pushing the lead to 11-6. Evansville registered the next two points with Ryan Scheu notching two kills to make it a 3-point game. The Redbirds slowly added to the lead as they went up by a 20-15 tally. The Aces made one final stand scoring four in a row to make it a 20-19 contest. Laubach had an ace before Gogel and Scheu capped off the run with a block. ISU rebounded to score the next two before fending off another challenge to seal the match. Gogel posted two late kills to make it a 24-23 game before the Redbirds scored the clinching point.