Trailblazers take two match split to open 2024 Showdown on the Wabash

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University volleyball team opened another tough weekend of competition with the first day of the 2024 Showdown on the Wabash tournament at VU.

The Blazers began the weekend slate with a split of their Friday matches, winning a Region 24 clash over Southwestern Illinois College 25-22, 21-25, 25-20, 25-15 and falling to Wallace State C.C. 23-25, 18-25, 25-19, 25-8, 14-16.

Vincennes began the day with a Region 24 contest against Southwestern Illinois College from Belleville.

The Blazers broke away in the opening set to take an early 9-6 lead before the Blue Storm battled back to regain the lead at 17-16.

Vincennes would answer back late in the first set and close the set by outscoring SWIC 7-2 to take set one 25-22.

Set two was another back-and-forth battle, with neither team able to get a solid lead until the Blue Storm used four unanswered points to close out the set and even the match with a 25-21 victory.

Vincennes looked determined to take the pivotal third set but again had an early lead erased.

VU would again look to gain firm control of the match at 22-16 before the Blue Storm rallied back with four straight points.

This would be as close as SWIC would get however as Vincennes picked up three straight points to close out the third set 25-20 and take a 2-1 match lead.

Wanting to avoid a fifth set, Vincennes again got off to a quick start in set four, building an early 7-2 lead, which SWIC again erased to tie the set at 7-7.

Vincennes would get the lead back with three straight points and continue to build on this lead with a 5-0 run later in the set as VU pulled away late to take set four and the match 25-15.

"SWIC was the hottest team in the Region coming into today," VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. "They were on a 10 game winning streak before today and a couple of those wins were against some of the other top teams in the Region. We knew we were going to have a tough game, plus they had two players back that didn't play the first time we played them."

"Having those two back for them will add fire power and blocking to any team," Sien added. "We had a hard time stopping No. 13 early in the match. We had to really adjust our blocking, getting in front of her hitting arm and were able to get more touches from that which helped us get some more digs that we didn't get early in the match."

"There were a couple of SWIC hitters that we were able to help control with our blocking and defense, which was the difference in the match," Sien said. "Looking at our kill numbers, we were able to transition pretty well too."

The VU offense was again led by the sophomore tandem of Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) and Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil), who each finished with 14 kills.

Tavares would add a pair of blocks, one dig and one set assist and Dias would also record three blocks and one dig.

Sophomore Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) also had a big game, finishing with 11 kills, two blocks, two digs and one ace.

Freshman Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) was the fourth VU hitter to reach double-digit kills, coming away with 10 kills, three blocks and a pair of set assists.

Freshman Paulina Fister (Tuszyn, Poland) had a good all-around game with four kills, 12 digs, two blocks and two set assists, while sophomore Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) came away with a monster game at the net with two kills, a team-high seven blocks and one set assist.

The VU offense was run by sophomore setter Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) who finished with a team-high 26 set assists, two digs, one kill and one ace.

Freshman setter Rylee Edwards (Fairfield, Ill.) also helped spread the ball around, picking up a double-double with 21 set assists, 11 digs and two aces.

Sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) and freshman Julianna Rettig (Antioch, Ill.) helped control the back row defense for the Trailblazers, with Flexter finishing the match with 13 digs, one set assist and one ace, while Rettig picked up a team-high 16 digs and one ace.

The Trailblazers then looked to close out the first day strong with another tough test, this time against Wallace State Community College.

The Lions came out of the gates strong in set one, building an early 8-3 lead and later held a 13-7 advantage over the Blazers.

The Wallace State lead would grow to eight before Vincennes began to chip away with a 7-2 scoring run to cut the deficit to 23-21.

Facing set point, Vincennes would continue to battle, getting within a single point of the Lion lead before Wallace State closed out the opening set 25-23 to gain the early 1-0 match lead.

Set two was more of the same from Wallace State, using an early 6-0 run to build a quick lead, which would grow to 18-11 before the Blazers rallied off three straight points.

This time however the Lions were determined to put the set away as the two teams traded points with Wallace State grabbing set two 25-18 to take a 2-0 match lead.

Looking to avoid the sweep, the Trailblazers showed some determination of their own in set three, gaining a lead midway through the set and later using a 7-1 scoring run to build a 24-15 advantage.

Wallace State found themselves trying to climb back and were able to put four straight points together but were unable to overcome the deficit as VU took set three 25-19, with Wallace State now leading the match 2-1.

VU used this late momentum from set three into set four, riding a massive 9-0 scoring run by Libby Mehringer to grab the early advantage.

Wallace State continued to battle but were unable to overcome this early deficit as VU closed out the set the same way they started it, with another big 8-0 scoring run by Mehringer to take set four 25-8 and force a fifth set.

Vincennes now completely had the momentum on their side as they looked to complete the comeback and were able to use it to take a 12-7 lead in set five.

Wallace State again refused to go away quietly, rallying back to even the match at 12-12.

VU would get back-to-back points to serve match point, but Wallace State again came firing back, scoring four straight and ending the match by taking set five and the match over the Trailblazers 16-14.

"The tough thing about this match is that we really started out slow," Sien said. "The first set was close. We were down by quite a bit and we were able to close the gap but I think we just waited too long to get going. In the second set, they just took it to us. They ran their offense and we just didn't have an answer to stop them."

"I put multiple different lineups out there, looking to get a spark and I think with the last one with Libby setting a five-one we were able to get that spark going," Sien added. "Great job at getting those next two sets. We had a lot of great hustle plays and you don't get that unless you really play hard and play from the heart."

"Honestly, we played well enough to win this match," Sien said. "Maybe a couple of plays here or there could have made the difference, but I thought we played hard enough to win this and almost come away with the reverse sweep, which is really hard to do."

VU once again played behind the offensive power of sophomore Laura Tavares, who finished off her night with 16 kills, four blocks and two digs.

Isadora Dias also reached double-figure kills, picking up a double-double with 10 kills, 10 digs, three set assists and two blocks.

Elisa Dalla Pozza had a big game at the net, finishing off the match with eight kills, seven blocks and three digs, while Paulina Fister filled up the stats sheet with seven kills, 13 digs, three blocks, one set assist and one ace.

Allison Czyzewski and Martyna Sadowska rounded out the VU offensive numbers with the pair each recording five kills, with Sadowska also coming away with one block in the match.

Libby Mehringer again helped control the VU offense from the setter position, finishing the match with 37 set assists, eight digs, a massive seven aces and three kills.

Rylee Edwards added seven set assists and three digs, while fellow setter sophomore Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) added two digs and one set assist.

Defensively Grace Flexter again helped set the tone, coming away with 11 digs, three set assists and one ace, while Julianna Rettig and freshman Ashley Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) each recorded one dig.

Vincennes will look to rebound and close out the weekend strong as they prepare to hit the floor tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 5 for the final day of the 2024 Showdown on the Wabash tournament.

VU will open the day by facing off against St. Louis Community College at 10 a.m. eastern, before taking on Calhoun Community College in the final match of the weekend at 2 p.m. eastern.

"We are just going to have to deal with the fact that this Wallace State match was a heartbreaker," Sien said. "It was one where I thought we really played our hearts out. It was obviously very close but it just didn't come out our way. Who knows, we could have another match like that tomorrow. So if or when that happens, how are we going to handle it. What are the things that we learned from tonight's match against Wallace that could help us overcome that situation the next time."

"We obviously played well to be able to get that comeback and it took all of us to do that," Sien added. "I think during this tough stretch over the last couple of weeks we haven't always had that. So one positive I think we can take away from tonight is that, other than the second set, we really played together and that's one of the things that you can't really describe, you have to have it. Everybody was in it and talking and we have to have more of that. We are going to keep that part up and not regress. We all have to be loud and communicate out there."

Other results from Friday at the Showdown on the Wabash include, Wabash Valley wins over Edison State C.C. 25-20, 25-19, 25-23. Wallace State wins over Southwestern Illinois 25-19, 25-19, 25-19. Calhoun C.C. wins over St. Louis C.C. 28-26, 25-11, 25-16. Calhoun C.C. wins over Edison State C.C. 25-21, 25-23, 25-18 and Wabash Valley wins over St. Louis C.C. 17-25, 25-17, 25-18, 25-20.

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

Southwestern Illinois – 22   25   20   15   x

VUVB (17-7, 8-2) – 25   21   25   25   x

VINCENNES STATS

Grace Flexter – 1 point, 1 ace, 13 digs, 1 set assist

Paulina Fister – 5 points, 4 kills, 2 block assists, 12 digs, 2 set assists

Rylee Edwards – 2 points, 2 aces, 11 digs, 21 set assists

Julianna Rettig – 1 point, 1 ace, 16 digs

Laura Tavares – 15 points, 14 kills, 2 block assists, 1 dig, 1 set assist

Isadora Dias – 15.5 points, 14 kills, 3 block assists, 1 dig

Allison Czyzewski – 5.5 points, 2 kills, 7 block assists, 1 set assist

Martyna Sadowska – 11.5 points, 10 kills, 3 block assists, 2 set assists

Elisa Dalla Pozza – 13 points, 1 ace, 11 kills, 2 block assists, 2 digs

Libby Mehringer – 2 points, 1 ace, 1 kill, 2 digs, 26 set assists

GAME TWO

Wallace State – 25   25   19   8   16

VUVB (17-8, 8-2) – 23   18   25   25   14

VINCENNES STATS

Grace Flexter – 1 point, 1 ace, 11 digs, 3 set assists

Paulina Fister – 9.5 points, 1 ace, 7 kills, 3 block assists, 13 digs, 1 set assist

Rylee Edwards – 3 digs, 7 set assists

Dylan DeCoursey – 2 digs, 1 set assist

Julianna Rettig – 1 dig

Laura Tavares – 18 points, 16 kills, 4 block assists, 2 digs

Isadora Dias – 11 points, 10 kills, 2 block assists, 10 digs, 3 set assists

Allison Czyzewski – 5 points, 5 kills

Ashley Earp – 1 dig

Martyna Sadowska – 5.5 points, 5 kills, 1 block assist

Elisa Dalla Pozza – 12.5 points, 8 kills, 2 solo blocks, 5 block assists, 3 digs

Libby Mehringer – 10 points, 7 aces, 3 kills, 8 digs, 37 set assists