VUVB splits pair of hard fought matches to open 2024 Blazer Classic

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University volleyball team opened the 2024 Blazer Classic Friday afternoon in the Physical Education Complex.

The Blazers opened the two day tournament with a split of their first two matches, winning over Pratt Community College from Kansas 23-25, 25-8, 25-15, 25-20 and later falling to Mineral Area College from Missouri 24-26, 33-35, 14-25.

Vincennes got the weekend tournament started Friday afternoon against the Beavers of Pratt Community College from Pratt, Kan.

VU got the upper hand on the Beavers in set one, building a 16-11 advantage before Pratt answered back with a 6-0 scoring run to take a 21-19 lead late.

The Blazers would continue to battle and even the set at 23-23 before Pratt closed it out with the final two points to take set one 25-23.

Vincennes looked to bounce back in set two and even the match and did so in a big way with the help of a pair of big scoring runs.

VU used a 6-0 scoring run and later an 11-0 scoring run to take set two over Pratt C.C. 25-8 and even the match at 1-1.

Set three began as another back-and-forth affair with VU able to grab a narrow 12-9 lead midway through the set before using a late 8-1 scoring run to pull away and take the set 25-15 to gain the 2-1 match lead.

Pratt came back in the fourth, looking to force a fifth set and had the match even at 17-17 before the Blazers closed out strong by finishing out the match on an 8-3 scoring run to take set four 25-20 and pick up the match victory over the Beavers.

The Trailblazers were led by an all-around performance by sophomore Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) who filled up the box score with 13 kills, four digs, three blocks and two aces.

Sophomore Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) came away with her first double-double of the season, ending the game with 12 kills and 11 digs.

Freshman Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) ended the first match with nine kills and a pair of digs, while sophomore Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) added four kills.

Freshman Karen Kodi (West Carrollton, Ohio) stepped up with three kills, one block and one digs, while freshman Paulina Fister (Tuszyn, Poland ended with one kill, one dig and one set assist.

The VU offense was controlled by sophomore setter Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) who finished with her third double-double of the season, filling up the stats sheet with 34 set assists, 10 digs, five kills, four aces and one block.

Sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) and freshman Brooklyn Summers (Loogootee, Ind.) helped control the VU back row defense with Flexter ending with a team-high 14 digs, two set assists and one ace, while Summers finished with 11 digs and one set assist.

Sophomore Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) and freshman Ashley Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) each recorded five digs in the match, with DeCoursey adding a pair of set assists and one ace.

"Last week and this week we went into both weekend tournaments without having a game during the week," VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. "It's been six days since we played and I think everybody we played last weekend and today played during the week. We are not going to have that happen after this week, but I do think that's a disadvantage and can explain our slow start today against Pratt."

"In the next two sets, sets two and three, we really found our next gear and really executed in just about all areas from then on," Sien added.

Vincennes then returned to the P.E. Complex floor for the final game of day one of the 2024 Blazer Classic which saw the Blazers square off against the Cardinals of Mineral Area College from Park Hills, Mo.

This was another very even contest with the lead trading hands several times in set one.

VU rallied to even the score at 24-24 before Mineral Area closed out the set with the final two points to take set one in overtime 26-24.

Set two was another back-and-forth battle with VU grabbing the early lead before the Cardinals came storming back with a 7-0 scoring run to take a 16-13 advantage.

VU would battle back and take the lead at 22-21before serving set point at 24-23.

This began a long string of side outs by both teams to extend well into overtime.

Mineral Area would flip the momentum and begin serving set point at 30-29 before trading even more side outs and ultimately taking set two 35-33, giving the Cardinals the 2-0 match lead.

The Blazers came out of the gates a little slow in set three with Mineral Area quickly building a 14-4 lead and later growing their lead to 18-6 before the Blazers battled back with four unanswered.

This would be as close as VU would get however as Mineral Area closed out set three 25-14 to take the match in three sets.

Vincennes was led by another big double-double by Laura Tavares, who finished with 14 kill, 10 digs, a pair of aces and one set assist.

Elisa Dalla Pozza continued to be a force at the net with 11 kills and five blocks to go along with a .416 hitting percentage.

Karen Kodi ended her night with three kills, four digs and one block, while Martyna Sadowska finished with two kills, one block and one dig.

Allison Czyzewski rounded out the VU offensive numbers with one kill and one dig.

Libby Mehringer again continued to share the ball well, finishing with 25 set assists, seven digs, five blocks, five kills and a pair of aces.

Grace Flexter again led the Trailblazers defense with 12 digs to go along with four set assists and one ace.

Brooklyn Summers ended with eight digs and three set assists, while Dylan DeCoursey came away with seven digs and Ashley Earp finished with one dig.

"I thought we would be able to get everybody back for this weekend but we didn't," Sien said. "That's, of course, been very frustrating for us. We played hard last weekend and tonight against Mineral Area. We are just disappointed that we played that hard and ended up being down 2-0. All you can do is just go out there and play hard. I hope after this weekend we can get back to being at full strength again. We just have to take it to heart that we played the best that we could and there's no shame in this at all. When we get back to full strength, it's all going to come together."

"Individually, Elisa had probably two of the better matches by a middle here in quite a while," Sien added. "She hit, combined today close to .380 with only two errors in 57 attempts. She just knows where to put the ball and there were times when she wasn't able to get a swing on it but she was able to keep the ball in play. Very nice two matches today from her. Her blocking was right there, her serving and defense."

"Laura did a nice job today as well," Sien said. "We played her all the way around and we haven't really done that with her before. She did a pretty nice job with that today. Libby ran the offense really well. When we are in system, she made some really nice choices and with her being a left-handed setter, she's got the green light to fire away if she gets a good pass to hit on two."

"Our back row did well today too, recovering and serve receiving," Sien added. "In the second set against Mineral Area, it was next level. We traded side outs because both teams were passing really well and getting in system. That's probably the first time this season that we've played at that level."

The Trailblazers will look to close out the weekend strong when VU returns to the P.E. Complex floor Saturday, Sept. 7 when Vincennes will host No. 20 Eastern Florida State College at 10 a.m. eastern before closing out the weekend tournament against Ellsworth Community College at 2 p.m. eastern.

Other results from day one of the 2024 Blazer Classic include, No. 20 Eastern Florida State winning over Mineral Area College 25-11, 24-26, 25-15, 17-25, 15-11. Ellsworth C.C. winning over Wabash Valley College 25-18, 20-25, 25-17, 25-19. Wabash Valley College winning over Pratt C.C. 25-19, 25-23, 25-23 and No. 20 Eastern Florida State winning over Ellsworth C.C. 25-21, 25-14, 25-22.

"We'll see what we've learned from today when we play tomorrow right off the bat," Sien said. "When you look at it on paper, our first match tomorrow against Eastern Florida State is supposed to be our toughest match of the weekend. We'll definitely be able to use this match as a measuring stick to see where we are at. Are we going to continue to play hard or are going to say that this is too much."

"Our team is very competitive, they fight and they play hard," Sien added. "Against anybody, no matter how good they are, if you play hard, you've definitely got a chance."

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

Pratt C.C. – 25   8   15   20   x

VUVB (6-2, 3-0) – 23   25   25   25   x

VINCENNES STATS

Grace Flexter – 1 point, 1 ace, 14 digs, 2 set assists

Paulina Fister – 1 point, 1 kill, 1 dig, 1 set assist

Dylan DeCoursey – 1 point, 1 ace, 5 digs, 2 set assists

Brooklyn Summers – 11 digs, 1 set assist

Laura Tavares – 12 points, 12 kills, 11 digs

Allison Czyzewski – 4 points, 4 kills

Ashley Earp – 5 digs

Martyna Sadowska – 9 points, 9 kills, 2 digs

Elisa Dalla Pozza – 17 points, 2 aces, 13 kills, 1 solo block, 2 block assists, 4 digs

Karen Kodi – 3.5 points, 3 kills, 1 block assist, 1 dig

Libby Mehringer – 9.5 points, 4 aces, 5 kills, 1 block assist, 10 digs, 34 set assists

GAME TWO

Mineral Area – 26   35   25   x   x

VUVB (6-3, 3-0) – 24   33   14   x   x

VINCENNES STATS

Grace Flexter – 1 point, 1 ace, 12 digs, 4 set assists

Dylan DeCoursey – 7 digs

Brooklyn Summers – 8 digs, 3 set assists

Laura Tavares – 16 points, 2 aces, 14 kills, 10 digs, 1 set assist

Allison Czyzewski – 1 point, 1 kill, 1 dig

Ashley Earp – 1 dig

Martyna Sadowska – 2.5 points, 2 kills, 1 block assist, 1 dig

Elisa Dalla Pozza – 13.5 points, 11 kills, 5 block assists

Karen Kodi – 3.5 points, 3 kills, 1 block assist, 4 digs

Libby Mehringer – 9.5 points, 2 aces, 5 kills, 5 block assists, 7 digs, 25 set assists