Evansville volleyball peaking as it prepares to host Missouri Valley Conference tournament

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Tuesday marked a historic evening for the University of Evansville volleyball program.

The Purple Aces beat Indiana State 3-1 (24-26, 25-8, 25-23, 25-23) to close the regular season and clinch their best Missouri Valley Conference record ever at 11-7, besting the 10-win mark set in 2000. Giulia Cardona, who won MVC Freshman of the Year last season, broke the single-season program kills record with 508. Early in the season, Alondra Vazquez broke the program's all-time kill record.

Tuesday's win was UE's sixth in its past seven matches, its best run of the season. Peaking just in time for the MVC Tournament, which is exactly what coach Fernando Morales wanted as the Aces prepare to host the league tournament at Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

UE fall sports: University of Evansville fall sports strive to keep competing for MVC championships

"From the first day of practice, I told the girls we're not going to be 100% for the first match or the first conference match. We need to be 100% in November when the tournament comes," Morales said. "I think we are our best right now. Hopefully we can still get a little better."

This is the seventh time UE has made the MVC Tournament since joining the league in 1994. In that span, the Aces' only tournament win came in 2000.

However, three of UE's appearances have come since 2019, showing quick growth since Morales joined the program. In his three years as coach, the Aces have won 31 conference matches. In the previous seven season, they won 27 combined.

All that culminated in an invitation to the National Invitational Volleyball Championship, UE's first postseason berth since the 1980s. The Aces made it to the third round before losing to Valparaiso.

"Getting that postseason experience helped us a lot for this season," Morales said. "It will help us a lot for the tournament because we know how it feels to play a game that, if you lose, you're out and the pressure that feels. We've been there, we have the experience."

UE is the fifth seed as it hosts the Valley championship for the first time and faces eighth-seeded Bradley in the first round. While the Aces finished with a 14-18 overall record, Morales and the team are confident they can compete at Meeks this week because of the lessons from the regular season and the growth they showed.

Morales on depth: "Whenever we sub them in, they're doing their jobs"

Coming into the season, UE was picked to finish second in the MVC and scheduled difficult matches in its non-conference slate. The Aces faced nationally-ranked opponents to prepare for conference play, a difficult stretch made harder by injuries to Vazquez and outside-hitter Melanie Feliciano, who redshirted after her injury.

Despite the losses, Morales and the team feel they grew from that experience. The injuries meant players deeper in the rotation got to play meaningful points against the likes of Baylor, Arizona State and Michigan State. That, the Aces feel, has put them in a good spot heading into tournament play.

"Having the players that normally don't play out there playing helped us for whenever we needed them. Whenever we sub them in, they're doing their jobs," Morales said. "We didn't want them to get injured, we wanted to get more wins with the whole team, but I think it prepared us and it showed with our conference record."

Vazquez and Feliciano were major losses for the Aces early in the season, with the latter's points still being a big miss. UE relied on Feliciano for 15-20 points most nights, which has led to more Aces needing to replace her production. Madisyn Steele, Hannah Watkins, Emilee Scheumann and others have produced in her absence. Kora Ruff, a top-100 recruit in the country heading into her freshman year, averaged over 10 assists per set.

UE has spread its production around, though Vazquez and Cardona are the most consistent offensive threats.

"We've got good players that can do the job for her or for every position," Vazquez said. "We fixed a couple of things and now it's working."

Morales, Vazquez on international experience and how that helps UE

For a large portion of the season, Morales was away coaching the Puerto Rico national team.

"It was always my dream to represent Puerto Rico when I was a player," he said. "When I started coaching, of course it was my dream and I've never said no when they call me for the national team. It's something I felt I needed to do."

Even while he was away in international competition, he kept up with Aces. While he was in the Netherlands, he woke up at 2 a.m. to watch his team's games. He spoke to the players and coaching staff every day and after games.

"I wasn't here, but it's almost like I was here, and I think the girls felt that," he said. "We are in the right place, right time."

Prior to the season starting, Vazquez was with the national team and brought that experience to UE. She said playing with players of that quality helped in both volleyball and with life, and that experience helped with the Aces this season.

"I learned some new systems and everything. Watching other teams, like professional girls, inspired me a lot," she said. "It was my first time there with the national team. I was nervous, I was a little bit stressed. ... I know (Morales) trusts me, it was really helpful."

Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Tournament bracket

The Aces face Bradley at 3 p.m. Sunday in the first game of the opening round. The winner faces four-seeded Southern Illinois.

Here's the full schedule:

Sunday, opening round

• No. 5 Evansville vs. No. 8 Bradley, 3 p.m.

• No. 6 Valparaiso vs. No. 7 Murray State

Monday, quarterfinals

• No. 4 Southern Illinois vs. winner of Evansville/Bradley, 3 p.m.

• No. 3 Illinois-Chicago vs. winner of Valparaiso/Murray State

Tuesday, semifinals

• No. 1 Northern Iowa vs. winner of quarterfinal No. 1, 3 p.m.

• No. 2 Drake vs. winner of quarterfinal No. 2, 6 p.m.

Wednesday, final

• Winners of the two semifinals, 4 p.m.

This article originally appeared on Evansville Courier & Press: Evansville volleyball to host Missouri Valley Conference tournament