Trio of Trailblazer hitters lead VU to split at Parkland College Classic

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Vincennes University Trailblazers, led by hitters Amee Beedle (Wheaton, Ill.), Addison Ainscough (Cannelburg, Ind.) and Jagoda Szybinska (Poznan, Poland) helped guide the Blazers to a split on the final day of the Parkland College Classic Saturday.

VUVB came away with a four-set win over D-II No. 6-ranked McHenry County 25-15, 19-25, 25-23, 26-24, before falling in four sets to Lincoln Land College 23-25, 18-25, 25-15, 22-25.

The Blazers seemed to carry some of their late momentum from yesterday's win over Des Moines Area into their opening match of the day against McHenry County.

Vincennes started the match off strong, winning the first set 25-15.

The Scots answered back in set two, winning the set to even that match 25-19.

To further show how evenly matched these two teams were Saturday morning, set three went the distance as Vincennes game away with the win 25-23 to take a 2-1 match lead.

McHenry County put up a fight to the very end however, forcing set four to go into overtime, with Vincennes still coming away with the win 26-24.

"We had some major serve receive issues throughout the match, which in uncharacteristic of this team," VUVB head coach Gary Sien said. "11 passing errors is way too high for us but we did enough to win."

Jagoda Szybinska led the Blazers offense in their first match of the day, coming away with 14 kills, while adding five digs and three blocks defensively.

Amee Beedle and Addison Ainscough also reached double-digit kills, with the pair registering double-doubles for the match.

Beedle finished with 12 kills and 14 digs, with Ainscough ending the match with 10 kills and 13 digs, as well as a team-high three aces.

Ainscough's high school teammate Hannah Graber (Montgomery, Ind.) also finished with a double-double, leading the Blazers with 24 set assists and 10 digs.

The net was controlled by sophomores Jamie Russell (East St. Louis, Ill.) and Emilie Cornelson (Saskatoon, Canada), with Russell finishing with five blocks and six kills and Cornelson ending with a pair of blocks and two kills.

Grace Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) led the backrow defensively for Vincennes, finishing with a team-high 21 digs.

"Jagoda hit very efficiently with a .481 hitting percentage, while the back row of Grace, Amee and Addison kept the ball from hitting the floor," Sien added.

The classic concluded with the Blazers taking on Lincoln Land College in the second half of a back-to-back.

VU held tough in the first set but couldn't quite come away with the win as the Loggers took set one 25-23.

Lincoln Land continued to roll in set two, winning the set 25-18 to hold the 2-0 match lead.

Having faced this same deficit yesterday against Des Moines Area, the Blazers knew what they had to do to come away with the win and would respond to take set three 25-15.

Vincennes nearly forced a fifth set, but Lincoln Land managed to stop the comeback attempt by taking set four 25-22 and handing the Blazers their third loss of the season.

"We struggled in putting up a consistent block against the attack from Lincoln Land," Sien said. "This weekend showed the level we need to be at in order for us to reach our potential."

Vincennes was again led by Szybinska, Ainscough and Beedle, who all finished with double-digit kills.

Szybinska and Ainscough ended with 12 kills, with Beedle finishing with 10.

Beedle and Ainscough did manage to get their second double-double of the day, with Ainscough adding 11 digs and three blocks and Beedle ending with a team-high 13 digs.

Jamie Russell helped the Blazer offense, with eight kills and an ace.

Freshman Josephine Mulligan (Saint John, Ind.) had an amazing showing from the service line, finishing with an outstanding five aces on the match.

Mulligan also helped run the VU offense with fellow setter Hannah Graber. Mulligan would finish with 17 set assists and Graber ending with 22 and a pair of aces.

Emilie Cornelson controlled the net again as a blocker, finishing the match with a team-high six blocks.

Grace Earp run the Trailblazers' defense from the back row, coming away with 13 digs and two aces on the match.

Freshman Malgorzata Banasiak (Gdynia, Poland) also got into the action against Lincoln Land, finishing with four kills and one block.

VU's busy schedule continues as the Blazers get set for four Region 24 matches this coming week.

Vincennes will travel to Shawnee Monday, Sept. 27 at 6:30 p.m. eastern, before returning home to face Lake Land Wednesday, Sept. 29 at 7 p.m. eastern.

The week will conclude with the Blazers traveling to face Wabash Valley Friday, Oct. 1 at 7 p.m. and Lake Land Saturday, Oct. 2 at 2 p.m. eastern.

MATCH ONE

McHenry County – 15  25  23  24  x

VUVB (10-2) – 25  19  25  26  x

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Josephine Mulligan – 1 point, 1 ace, 8 digs, 10 set assists

Amee Beedle – 12 points, 12 kills, 14 digs

Addison Ainscough – 13.5 points, 3 aces, 10 kills, 1 block assist, 13 digs

Emilie Cornelson – 3.5 points, 2 kills, 1 solo block, 1 block assist

Jagoda Szybinska – 15.5 points, 14 kills, 3 block assists, 5 digs, 1 set assist

Jamie Russell – 10.5 points, 1 ace, 6 kills, 2 solo blocks, 3 block assists, 8 digs, 2 set assists

Grace Earp – 21 digs, 1 set assist

Hannah Graber – 1 point, 1 kill, 10 digs, 24 set assists

Malgorzata Banasiak – 1 point, 1 kill

MATCH TWO

Lincoln Land – 25  25  15  25  x

VUVB (10-3) – 23  18  25  22  x

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Josephine Mulligan – 5 points, 5 aces, 4 digs, 17 set assists

Amee Beedle – 10 points, 10 kills, 13 digs

Addison Ainscough – 13.5 points, 12 kills, 3 block assists, 11 digs

Emilie Cornelson – 3 points, 6 block assists

Jagoda Szybinska – 13 points 12 kills, 2 block assists, 1 set assist

Jamie Russell – 9 points, 1 ace, 8 kills, 3 digs

Grace Earp – 2 points, 2 aces, 13 digs, 1 set assist

Hannah Graber – 3.5 points, 2 aces, 1 kill, 1 block assist, 6 digs, 22 set assists

Malgorzata Banasiak – 4.5 points, 4 kills, 1 block assist