• Boxscore
After grabbing a first set win, the University of Evansville volleyball team let the momentum slip away, as the Aces (13-14, 6-9 MVC) were overpowered by Wichita State (20-4, 11-3 MVC) by a score of 3-1 (25-21, 13-25, 17-25, 19-25).
“I thought that tonight was a match of spurts for us,” said Evansville head coach
Mike Swan. “We played great in game one and sustained well the entire set. Then we let everything fall apart in game two. Overall, defensively I though we did a nice job against a great offensive team. We were just outmanned at the net.”
Senior
Ginta Gabruseva notched a double-double for the Aces with 16 digs and 11 kills. Sophomore
Ellen Sawin collected 39 assists and 11 digs. Junior
Julie Sylvester also posted 16 digs while sophomore
April Lubrecht tabbed 15 digs. Junior
Emily Wandersee put down 10 kills in the loss.
WSU got up 4-1 to start the first set with three-straight kills from Emily Stockman. The Aces climbed back to tie the score at 7 with two kills from Wandersee. UE then grabbed its first substantial lead at 13-11 before the score tied again at 15, 16 and 17. A 5-0 run put UE up 21-17 with a Sawin aces and kills from
Jessica Knackmuhs and Gabruseva. After hitting .255 compared to the Shockers’ .157, the Aces held on to win 25-21.
Starting the second, the teams traded points and leads until UE grabbed a 6-4 lead with kills from Wandersee. A 6-0 run by the Shockers put the visitors up 12-9. WSU continued the set with spurts of three, four or five-straight points before taking the set 25-13.
After the break, the Shockers came out to a 4-2 lead opening the third. The Aces were able to get within one at 7-6 after kills from Knackmuhs and Wandersee until WSU opened the lead to five at 15-10. The Shocks continued to hold the lead, getting as high as nine points, and took the set 25-17.
The teams exchanged points to start off the final contest before the Aces got out to 10-7 with a kill from Sawin. Blocks from Wandersee and Gabruseva added to the 14-10 lead. With UE’s lead at 16-14, WSU put together a 6-0 rally to climb ahead 19-16. The Aces couldn’t put anything together in the final plays, and the Shockers take the win at 25-19.
The Aces return to the court next weekend, as they travel to Drake and Creighton and continue to fight for a spot at the Missouri Valley Conference Tournament.
