Short-handed Trailblazers pick up big Region 24 road win at Wabash Valley

MT. CARMEL, Ill. – The Vincennes University volleyball hit the road Tuesday night to take on Region 24 rival Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel, Ill.

The Trailblazers faced a tough test against the host Warriors but came out with the four-set victory 25-22, 25-21, 24-26, 25-23.

VU entered the game short-handed again with sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) being inactive for the game, turning the libero position over to freshmen Ashley Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) and Julianna Rettig (Antioch, Ill.).

Vincennes did a good job getting out to a hot start in set one, quickly building a 15-7 advantage before the Warriors rallied back to cut the deficit to 17-14.

VU would use a 6-1 scoring run to get the lead back to eight before Wabash Valley again answered back cutting the Trailblazer lead down to 24-22 before the Blazers closed out the first set 25-22 to take the 1-0 match lead.

The Trailblazers bounced back from this tough finish to the opening set early in set two, scoring eight of the first nine points of the second set on their way to building a commanding 20-8 lead over the Warriors.

Wabash Valley refused to go away quietly however as the Warriors would use a big 7-0 scoring run to cut the VU lead down to 22-20 late in the set.

Vincennes would get back on track and close out the second set 25-21 to gain the 2-0 match lead.

Looking to avoid being swept in front of the home crowd, Wabash Valley came out firing in the third set, gaining the early advantage and building their largest lead of the night at 19-14.

It was VU's turn to attempt the late comeback as VU chipped away at the deficit with a pair of three point runs and were serving match point before the Warriors grabbed the momentum back to score three straight to close out set three in overtime 26-24.

Set four was a back-and-forth battle with both teams trading small scoring runs before Vincennes broke out with a late 23-17 lead.

Wabash Valley would close the margin with four straight and later cut the lead to a single point before VU would get the final point to take the set and the match 25-23 and earn the 3-1 victory.

"We didn't have Grace out there tonight and we didn't know that until right before the match," VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. "But Ashley and Julianna did a really nice job of filling that position in. Sometimes people think of that as a secondary position, but it's really just as important as a middle, outside or setter. That's a key position for us and they did a nice job of stepping up in her absence tonight."

"It's always difficult to play at Wabash Valley," Sien added. "We got ourselves in trouble tonight when we just couldn't serve receive. When a team gets behind like that, one thing they can do to get back in it is just to serve tough."

"We were able to get the plays that we needed to get the win," Sien said. "Wabash Valley, every year, as the year goes on, they get better. They have won some matches lately and have given a lot of teams in the Region trouble. So it wasn't like it was unexpected that this was going to be a tough match for us."

The VU offense was led by sophomore Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) who had a big night with 13 kills and a team-high seven blocks.

Sophomore Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) finished her night with another double-double with 11 kills, 11 digs, two blocks and two set assists.

Sophomore Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) was the third Trailblazer with double digit kills, ending her night with 10 kills, six blocks, two aces and one dig.

Sophomore Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) also had a big night at the net, with three kills and five blocks in the game.

Freshmen Paulina Fister (Tuszyn, Poland) and Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) each recorded two kills on the night, with Fister adding seven digs, one block and one set assist.

Sophomore setter Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) ran the VU offense well on her way to a team-high 23 set assists, six digs and two kills.

Freshman setter Rylee Edwards (Fairfield, Ill.) also shared time at the setter position, finishing her night with 14 set assists and five digs.

Freshman liberos Julianna Rettig and Ashley Earp each stepped in to run the VU back row defense, with Rettig finishing the night with nine digs and Earp rounding out the VU box score with four digs and two set assists.

"Isadora had a great all-around match," Sien said. "She got some big swings and she played a heck of a game in the back row tonight. She literally covered from corner to corner. Even ones that she didn't get up, she was able to touch. It was rare tonight for a ball to hit the floor without her touching it."

"I thought Elisa had a good match too when we were able to get her the ball," Sien added. "Right now we're able to run the sets a little bit faster for her, especially on the slide set where we are really able to pick up the tempo. If we get that pass on and get a really nice set, she is going to be able to put that away."

"As always, our setters do a really nice job when we are passing of spreading out the offense," Sien said. "I thought Libby did a nice job all-around tonight as well. Especially when we had her play in the front row. Laura had a strong game in the front row in her kills and blocks. It was a tough win tonight, but as the saying goes, we'll go ahead and take it."

The Trailblazers will return home to the Physical Education complex this weekend for a big Region 24 weekend with three Region matches in two days.

VU will open the weekend slate Friday, Oct. 18 against Frontier Community College at 7 p.m. before turning around and taking on Lake Land College Saturday, Oct. 19 at 10 a.m. eastern and Southeastern Illinois College at 2 p.m. eastern Saturday.

"The match to really focus on this weekend is definitely Lake Land," Sien said. "But we can't overlook Frontier. That could be a possible trap game for us if we are not focused and on task. We need to play Frontier just as tough as we would anyone else."

"With Southeastern, it's our first time seeing them this season, but at least we will get to see them a little bit when they play Lake Land in the tri-match Saturday," Sien added. "The nice thing about this weekend is that we are finally back at home and it's almost like having another home tournament. We're right there with Lake Land right now in the Region standings, so we need all of these remaining Region games to get the top seed in the tournament."

BOX SCORE

Wabash Valley – 22   21   26   23   x

VUVB (22-11, 10-2) – 25   25   24   25   x

VINCENNES STATS

Paulina Fister – 2.5 points, 2 kills, 1 block assist, 7 digs, 1 set assist

Rylee Edwards – 5 digs, 14 set assists

Julianna Rettig – 9 digs

Laura Tavares – 17 points, 13 kills, 1 solo block, 6 block assists

Isadora Dias – 12 points, 11 kills, 2 block assists, 11 digs, 2 set assists

Allison Czyzewski – 6 points, 3 kills, 1 solo block, 4 block assists

Ashley Earp – 4 digs, 2 set assists

Martyna Sadowska – 2 points, 2 kills

Elisa Dalla Pozza – 15.5 points, 2 aces, 10 kills, 1 solo block, 5 block assists, 1 dig

Libby Mehringer – 2 points, 2 kills, 6 digs, 23 set assists