VINCENNES, Ind. – The three-time defending Region 24 Champion Vincennes University volleyball team opened their 2024 recruiting class with a new addition with a pretty familiar name.
The Trailblazers begin their 2024 recruiting class with five-foot-six defensive specialist / libero Ashley Earp from Mattoon, Ill.
Earp is the stepsister of 2021 NJCAA Division I Region 24 Player of the Year Grace (Earp) Bartimus.
VINCENNES, Ind. – 2023 NJCAA All-American and two-time Region 24 Player of the Year Paige Parlanti (Las Vegas, Nev.) signed her letter of intent this week to continue her athletic and academic careers at NCAA Division I Bowling Green State University this fall in Bowling Green, Ohio.
“I chose Bowling Green State University for many reasons,” Parlanti said. “As soon as I stepped on campus, I saw the culture that the school has created and I just knew that I wanted to be a part of it. I know that I will become the very best version of myself by attending BGSU. I have received much help from all the coaches and I know that they will push me to become not only a better athlete, but a better person. I am very grateful to become a Falcon.”
Parlanti earned NJCAA Division I Second Team All-American honors this past season, becoming the first VU volleyball player to receive Division I All-American honors and the first VUVB player to be named an All-American since Audrey Curry in 2006.
VINCENNES, Ind. – Two-time All-Region 24 honoree and VUVB libero Morgan Netcott (Montague, Mich.) signed her letter of intent to continue her volleyball career this spring at NCAA Division II University of Montevallo in Alabama this week.
“After I had a really great phone call with Coach Haven, I went down to visit and the school and program just checked all of my boxes,” Netcott said. “I loved the girls and the coaches and with a great Psychology and volleyball program, there was no way I could turn it down.”
Netcott leaves Vincennes University with a trail of many athletic and academic accomplishments over her two years with the Blue and Gold.
VINCENNES, Ind. – The list of accomplishments and honors continues to pour in for the reigning two-time Region 24 Player of the Year Paige Parlanti (Las Vegas, Nev.).
The Trailblazer sophomore earned 2023 NJCAA Division I Second Team All-American honors Tuesday afternoon.
“It is a huge honor to be named a Second Team All-American among so many talented athletes,” Parlanti said. “It was a goal of mine this year and I am excited to achieve this goal. It shows that my competitive nature, drive and passion for the sport has not gone unnoticed. I want to thank all of the coaches that have challenged me, pushed me past my limits, believed in me and taught me that every ball is playable. I know I still have more growth in me as a player and I look forward to playing at the next level.”
VINCENNES, Ind. – Four Vincennes University Trailblazer volleyball players earned Division I First Team-All Region 24 honors this week.
Sophomore Paige Parlanti (Las Vegas, Nev.) successfully defended her crown as Division I Region 24 Player of the Year becoming the first ever two-time Division I Region 24 Player of the Year.
Parlanti earns the fourth Division I Region 24 Player of the Year honors since moving to Division I in 2016, including Allison Smith (Oakland, Ill.) in 2018, Grace Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) in 2021 and Parlanti last season.
OTTUMWA, Iowa – The 2023 Vincennes University volleyball team added to their list of accomplishments Saturday at the 2023 NJCAA Division I Midwest District A Championships at Indian Hills Community College.
The Trailblazers advanced to the District Championship game for the first time in program history at the Division I level after defeating Missouri State-West Plains in four sets, 25-21, 14-25, 25-22, 25-20, before ultimately falling to host and No. 18-ranked Indian Hills Community College 25-23, 10-25, 24-26, 12-25.
Vincennes got their day started with a showdown against Region 16 runner-up Missouri State-West Plains in the semi-finals.
CENTRALIA, Ill. – The Vincennes University volleyball team completed one of their main early season goals Saturday afternoon after successfully defending their NJCAA Division I Region 24 crown for the second year in a row with a four-set victory over John A. Logan College.
The Trailblazers defeated the Lady Volunteers 18-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-17 Saturday at the NJCAA Division I Region 24 Championship tournament hosted by Kaskaskia College, giving Vincennes their third straight Region 24 championship.
The day did not get off to a great start for the top-seeded Blazers, falling behind early in set one 10-6.
CENTRALIA, Ill. – The No. 1-seeded Vincennes University volleyball team began their postseason run Friday afternoon at the NJCAA Division I Region 24 Tournament hosted by Kaskaskia College.
The Blazers earned the No. 1 seed in this weekend’s tournament after finishing the regular season with an undefeated 12-0 record in Region 24 play.
Vincennes took the court Friday afternoon for their first postseason match in a semi-final match against No. 4 seed Lincoln Trail College.
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University volleyball program celebrated the career’s of VU’s five sophomore volleyball players Saturday afternoon in the Physical Education Complex with a big Region 24 sweep over Kaskaskia College 25-17, 25-15, 25-15.
VU got the match started with a bang, grabbing the early momentum to take a quick 12-7 lead over the Blue Angels.
Kaskaskia would fire back and cut the VU lead down to one before the Blazers outscored the Blue Angels 8-1 to take a commanding 24-16 lead and take set one 25-17 and grab the early 1-0 match lead.
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University volleyball team faced another tough Region 24 match Thursday night in the Physical Education Complex, their second of three Region matches this week.
The Blazers came away with a hard-fought four-set victory over John A. Logan College 25-12, 25-21, 18-25, 27-25 to increase their winning streak over Region 24 opponents to 35 matches.
Vincennes got off to an excellent start on their home floor Thursday night, jumping out to an early five point lead in set one and later using a massive 13-1 scoring run to take a commanding 24-9 advantage over the Volunteers.
MATTOON, Ill. – The Vincennes University volleyball team has entered the final week of the 2023 regular season and began with the first of three Region 24 matches in five days.
The Trailblazers traveled to Mattoon, Ill. to face-off against Lake Land College in VU’s final road game of the regular season Tuesday night and came away with a very solid three-set sweep over the host Lakers.
Vincennes got off to a bit of a slow start in set one, quickly falling behind to Lake Land 6-3 before battling back to take their first lead of the match at 9-8.
PARK HILLS, Mo. – The Vincennes University volleyball team closed out their final weekend classic of the 2023 regular season Saturday afternoon, taking a split against Hutchinson Community College and host Mineral Area College.
The Blazers defeated Hutchinson in the morning game in comeback fashion in five sets 17-25, 11-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-9 and falling to host Mineral Area College 19-25, 21-25, 21-25.
VU got off to a slow start against Hutchinson, falling behind by seven after the Blue Dragons outscored Vincennes 9-1 to take a 17-10 lead.
PARK HILLS, Mo. – The Vincennes University volleyball team climbed back into the NJCAA Division I National rankings this week receiving votes for the Top-20 poll after riding a five-game winning streak.
The Blazers got their first opportunity to defend this National recognition Friday afternoon against No. 16-ranked Indian Hills Community College on day one of the Mineral Area College Cardinal Classic.
VU got off to a fast start against IHCC, jumping out to an early 9-6 lead, before Indian Hills rallied back to take the lead back at 11-10.
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University volleyball team closed out the weekend strong Saturday afternoon as the Blazers defeated Edison State Community College 20-25, 25-10, 25-21, 25-17 in the final match of the Showdown on the Wabash at the Physical Education Complex.
VU got off to a slow start in set one of the day, falling behind early to the Chargers 10-5 before rallying back to even the score at 12-12.
Edison State would again build a five-point lead at 21-16 and were able to hold on to it this time as the Blazers were unable to put together another scoring run as Edison State claimed set one over the Blazers 25-20 to take an early 1-0 match lead.
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University volleyball team got off to a very strong start Friday afternoon inside the Physical Education Complex, picking up two wins to start the weekend as VU hosts the Showdown on the Wabash.
The Blazers began the day with a big three-set sweep over St. Louis Community College 25-14, 25-8, 25-9, before closing out the first day of the weekend set with a big comeback victory over NJCAA Division II No. 19 Wallace State Community College 31-29, 24-26, 24-26, 25-20, 15-13.
VU began the two-day weekend classic by facing off against the Archers from St. Louis Community College.
VINCENNES, Ind. – There was plenty to celebrate Wednesday night at the Physical Education Complex as the Blazers returned home to play in front of the home crowd for the first time since mid-September and came away with a big Region 24 sweep over Wabash Valley College 25-16, 25-12, 25-15.
The sweep also increases VU’s winning streak against Region 24 opponents, which now sits at 33 matches dating back to the 2021 season.
Vincennes sophomore libero Morgan Netcott (Montague, Mich.) was recognized after the match after she surpassed the 1,000 career digs milestone in September at the Wallace State Fall Bash.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Vincennes University volleyball team faced another tough test Saturday afternoon on the final day of the Parkland College Fall Challenge against NJCAA Division II No. 4-ranked Heartland Community College and No. 10-ranked Lincoln Land Community College.
The Blazers split the day, falling to Heartland C.C. 21-25, 23-25, 23-25 before picking up another big five-set comeback victory to end the weekend against Lincoln Land 22-25, 13-25, 25-10, 25-16, 15-10.
Vincennes got off to a slow start Saturday against Heartland Community College, putting up a great fight by forcing two sets to go the distance, before ultimately falling in three sets to the Hawks 21-25, 23-25, 23-25.
CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Vincennes University volleyball team notched their 20th win of the season Friday night on the first day of the Parkland College Fall Challenge in Champaign, Ill.
The Blazers got off to a rough start to the weekend, falling to NJCAA Division II No. 17-ranked Illinois Central College 22-25, 23-25, 18-25 in the first match of the day, before battling back with a big comeback win over Southeastern (Iowa) Community College 23-25, 23-25, 25-12, 25-14, 16-14.
Vincennes got off to a slow start Friday afternoon against Illinois Central, quickly falling behind by four points in the opening set, before coming back to even the score at 10-10.
ULLIN, Ill. – The Vincennes University volleyball team fell out of the NJCAA Division I Top-20 rankings this week after Saturday’s five-set loss at Wallace State, but still received votes.
The Blazers responded in a big way Tuesday night by picking up their 32nd straight win over a Region 24 opponent by sweeping Shawnee Community College 25-8, 25-13, 25-13 in Ullin.
“After such a tough weekend, we find ourselves on the road again,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “This time facing an opponent who will play us hard but less competitive than the teams we played. We must stay focused and play hard no matter who is on the other side of the net. We must respect them as fellow student-athletes who are not much different from ourselves. I feel we did that tonight, where we played aggressive from beginning to end.”
HANCEVILLE, Ala. – The No. 18-ranked Vincennes University volleyball team came away with a two-game split on the final day of the Wallace State C.C. Fall Bash, defeating Calhoun C.C. 20-25, 25-14, 25-23, 25-13 and falling to host Wallace State 25-23, 17-25, 21-25, 25-22, 13-15.
The Blazers entered today’s matches playing without two sophomore hitters Paige Parlanti (Las Vegas, Nev.) and Audrey Buis (Franklin, Ind.) forcing some of VU’s freshmen to step up and play in different roles and different rotations.
VU got off to a slow start with this new lineup on the floor, quickly falling behind to the Warhawks 6-1 before battling back to even the game at 10-10.
HANCEVILLE, Ala. – The No. 18-ranked Vincennes University Volleyball team hit the road this weekend to take part in the Wallace State C.C. Fall Bash and were immediately met with back-to-back matches against NJCAA Division II Receiving Votes teams, Roane State and Enterprise State.
The Blazers came away with two three-set sweeps, winning over Roane State 25-17, 25-20, 25-18 and Enterprise State 25-19, 25-22, 25-22.
VU faced a tough challenge early against NJCAA Division II RV Roane State Community College from Harriman, Tenn., near Knoxville, who entered the day unbeaten.
CENTRALIA, Ill. – The No. 18-ranked Vincennes University volleyball team extended their winning streaks Tuesday night with a big four-set Region 24 road win at Kaskaskia College, 25-22, 25-11, 22-25, 25-17.
The Trailblazers extended their winning streak to 11 matches and continued their winning streak against Region 24 opponents to 31 after the win.
The match started out as a back-and-forth battle, with Vincennes being the first team to separate themselves with a 5-0 scoring run to take a 9-5 lead.
VINCENNES, Ind. – The No. 19-ranked Vincennes University Trailblazer volleyball team picked up another big Region 24 sweep Thursday night at the Student Recreation Center at VU, sweeping Lincoln Trail College 25-20, 25-21, 25-10.
The Blazers have now extended their winning streak to 10 matches and continue to build on an already impressive winning streak against Region 24 opponents, which now sits at 30.
Vincennes got off to a slow start Thursday night, with the two teams trading a series of 3-0 scoring runs before VU would grab their first lead of the night with a 6-0 scoring run to take a 12-8 lead.
CARTERVILLE, Ill. – The Vincennes University volleyball team earned a spot in this week’s NJCAA Division I rankings for the first time in nearly six years this week, checking in this week at No. 19, VUVB’s highest ranking since making the jump to Division I in 2016.
The Trailblazers got their first opportunity to defend this National ranking Tuesday night at John A. Logan College and defeated the previously unbeaten Volunteers in four sets 21-25, 25-19, 25-20, 25-15.
Vincennes got off to a slow start in this road showdown, dropping set one to the host Vols 25-21.
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University volleyball team extended their winning streak to eight games Saturday afternoon after sweeping Spoon River College 25-13, 25-11, 25-16 and defeating Jefferson College 19-25, 25-17, 22-25, 25-23, 15-9 on the final day of the Blazer Classic.
The Blazers got the morning started at the Student Recreation Center by taking on Spoon River College from Canton, Ill.
After a back-and-forth start to set one of the day, VU used a 12-1 scoring run to take firm command of the set after building a 23-10 lead.
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Trailblazer volleyball team picked up a massive statement win Friday night at the Student Recreation Center at VU, sweeping Mineral Area College, who received votes to be in the top-20 National Rankings this week, 26-24, 25-23, 25-22.
The Blazers got the early advantage in set one after trading three-point scoring runs with the Cardinals. VU built a four-point lead at 16-12, which would hold throughout the middle stages of the match.
Mineral Area would battle back while facing set point however, using a 5-0 scoring run to even the score at 24-24 and force overtime in the opening set.
VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Athletic Department has announced several updates and changes to this weekend’s VU Volleyball Blazer Classic event.
First, all matches will be played at the Vincennes University Recreation Center, located at 1600 Short Street.
Fans looking to attend the matches are encouraged to park in the parking lots on the corner of Chestnut Street and Red Skelton Boulevard.
MT. CARMEL, Ill. – The Vincennes University volleyball team extended a number of streaks Wednesday night after defeating Wabash Valley College 25-11, 25-12, 25-12 in Mt. Carmel.
The Trailblazers have now won their last five matches, have won 15 sets in a row and extended their winning streak against Region 24 opponents to 28 matches with Wednesday night’s sweep.
VU set the tone early in Mt. Carmel, jumping out to a big lead early in set one, opening up a 20-5 advantage in the first set.
VINCENNES, Ind. – Vincennes University volleyball sophomore Paige Parlanti (Las Vegas, Nev.) added another line to the already impressive list of accomplishments Wednesday afternoon by earning the NJCAA Division I Offensive Player of the Week.
Parlanti is the first Trailblazer volleyball player to be named Offensive Player of the Week since the program moved to Division I in 2016.
Parlanti closed out last week with a staggering 85 kills in just 17 sets played, giving her an average of five kills per set.
PERRYSBURG, Ohio – The Vincennes University volleyball team continued their hot start to the 2023 season Saturday morning by finishing out the final day of the Owens C.C. Tournament with two more three-set sweeps, giving them four wins and four sweeps in two days.
The Blazers began the morning with another tough showdown against a nationally ranked opponent, this time facing off against Division II No. 14 St Johns River State College from Lakeside, Fla.
Vincennes defeated the Vikings 25-20, 25-20, 25-11.