Volleyball puts up a tough fight on senior night

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Josdarilee Caraballo recorded a career-high 12 kills while Angelica Gonzalez posted her second straight 20-kill performance Friday as the University of Evansville volleyball team suffered a 3-1 loss to Murray State at Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

Box score

With 12 kills, Caraballo surpassed her previous mark of four, which she achieved last week in Bradley. Gonzalez remained just one shy of her career mark of 21 kills, which she set Thursday night against Belmont. Ainoah Cruz received 22 digs while Kora Ruff had 13 digs and 54 assists. Leading the Racers was Ella Vogel with 13 kills.

Set 1 – UE 25, MSU 21
Evansville took a 3-1 lead, and after Murray State tied it at 3-3, the Aces scored five straight goals when A Noah Cruz opened the scoring with an Ace. Chloe Cline’s first kill of the match solidified a 10-4 lead. The Racers cut the deficit to three at 10-7 when Cline’s second kill brought UE back to within five points.

Things got tight midway through the set as the Racers got within two points at 17-15 before a kill from Madisyn Steele and another ace from Cruz extended the lead back to 22-17. MSU made another surge, cutting the deficit to a pair (23-21), but after a timeout, Angelica Gonzalez recorded back-to-back kills to take the set.

Set 2 – MSU 25, UE 18
A pair of aces from Blakeley Freeman gave the Aces a 4-1 lead, while Carlotta Pascual scored four early kills to take a 6-3 lead. The Racers slowly fought their way back and tied the set at 11-11 before taking their first lead at 14-13. MSU went up by a couple before another kill from Pascual pushed the score to 18-18. After a timeout, Murray State made a big play, scoring seven straight goals to end the set and tie the game.

Set 3 – MSU 25, UE 16
Murray State scored the first two points as the Aces fought back after a kill from Gonzalez to tie the game at 6-6. MSU regained the lead and extended it to four points at 13-9 and then to 19-10. They would win the set with a final score of 25-16 while also gaining a 2-1 lead.

Set 4 – MSU 25, UE 22
Josdarilee Caraballo scored a kill and Cruz followed with an ace that gave UE a 6-4 lead. The Aces continued to hold the lead until the Racers fought back to take a 14-13 lead. Gonzalez had a kill that made the score 18-18, but the Racers built a 20-18 lead before taking a 24-20 lead.

Down to the final point, UE rallied with two Caraballo kills to force the Racers to use their final timeout. MSU scored the winning goal out of the break. Next weekend, UE travels to Valparaiso and UIC.