VUVB remains unbeaten in Region 24 play after five-set thriller with John A. Logan

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Trailblazer volleyball team extended their winning streak to eight matches Saturday afternoon and continued their unbeaten run in Region 24 play with a five-set win over John. A Logan on the final day of the Showdown on the Wabash.

The Trailblazers finished off a 25-20, 25-23, 21-25, 24-26, 15-7 win over the visiting Volunteers.

This match was close from the very beginning, with the two teams trading scoring runs of two or three with the Blazers able to take a 22-18 lead late in the opening set.

After trading side outs, Vincennes was able to close out the first set 25-20 to take a 1-0 match lead over John A. Logan.

The Volunteers took the lead early in the second set, holding a 17-12 advantage midway through the set.

Vincennes responded with a 5-0 scoring run to close out a larger 9-3 scoring run to take a 22-20 lead.

John A. Logan would even the score at 23-all before sophomore libero Grace Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) took to the service line and closed out the second set 25-23, giving the Blazers the 2-0 match lead.

The Volunteers looked determined to avoid being swept, again jumping out to a large lead to open the third set, 10-4.

Vincennes would mount a comeback however, scoring nine of the next 10 points to take a 13-11 lead.

After some back-and-forth battling, John A. Logan opened up a 22-19 lead after a 5-0 scoring run and the Blazers were unable to respond as Logan took set three 25-21.

Vincennes began set four as the aggressor, opening a 10-4 lead of their own and continued to hold a six-point advantage at 19-13.

The Volunteers battled back with a 7-0 run to take a 20-19 lead and held on as the set went to overtime to even the match a two-sets a piece, winning set four 26-24.

The Trailblazers found themselves in a winner-take-all fifth set for the fifth time this season and again looked to be the more aggressive team, scoring nine of the first 11 points to open the set.

John A. Logan tried to cut into the VU lead but were unable to put together any lengthy scoring runs, as VU defended their home floor well, winning set five 15-7 to win the match.

"We did a good job of not being our worst enemy today," VUVB head coach Gary Sien said. "Our chemistry after the second set wasn't where it normally is. We were flying around yesterday against Gadsden and today we were just a little hesitant out there."

"We did a good job of refocusing after the fourth set and not letting our frustration continue to build," Sien added. "This is still such a mental and emotional game and the combination of us not playing very well and Logan playing well really elevated the level of frustration for us."

Vincennes was led by freshman setter Hannah Graber (Montgomery, Ind.) who finished just two digs shy of a triple-double, ending with 22 set assists, 10 kills and eight digs to go along with an ace and a block assist.

"Hannah plays with such an edge," Sien said. "I just love the way she plays. She plays with such a fire and passion I just knew that if we could just build around her we could be pretty good."

"For her to step in as a hitter and get that close to a triple-double doesn't surprise me at all," Sien added. "That's something that we saw in her right off the bat when we were recruiting her."

On the receiving end of many of Graber's sets was freshman Jagoda Szybinska (Poznan, Poland) who finished with a career-high 18 kills and a double-double with 11 digs.

Sophomore Breanna Metzger (Dale, Ind.) also had a good hitting day, finishing with 10 kills, four blocks and three digs on the match.

Freshman Addison Ainscough (Cannelburg, Ind.) ended her day with 11 kills and 14 digs, to go along with three blocks, a pair of aces and a set assist.

Sophomore Jamie Russell (East St. Louis, Ill.) finished with five kills, while adding a team-high five blocks.

Sophomore Emilie Cornelson (Saskatoon, Canada) finished the match with four kills for the Blazers, while also adding three blocks and one dig defensively.

Freshman Josephine Mulligan (Saint John, Ind.) helped run the Vincennes offense, ending with a double-double of a team-high 27 set assists and 13 digs, while also adding a pair of aces.

Sophomore libero Grace Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) controlled the back row for the Blazers, on her way to 33 digs, just one off her season-high, while also adding four set assists.

"Grace's serve receive has been really on point lately and a lot of times people don't notice that," Sien said. "She has taken more responsibility on the court and that's an incredible achievement on her part, because this is still only her second year as a libero."

"We've seen lately that she's so confident out there, that she can cover the whole court and that's what we want to see out of our libero."

Freshman Lara Gomes de Castro (Sao Paulo, Brazil) continues to play well defensively in place of an injured Amee Beedle (Wheaton, Ill.) as Gomes de Castro finished with nine digs for the blue and gold.

The Trailblazers will be in action Monday, Oct. 11 as the Blazers will host Lincoln Trail College at the P.E. Complex. This match is set to start at 7 p.m. eastern.

"Lincoln Trail is typically pretty scrappy. They are not typically very big, but they still play us tough," Sien said. "We know that we are always going to get the very best out of any team that we play. It was nice that we got to try a different lineup today because this might be our lineup for a little while, so we can begin to build some chemistry with them."

"I expect us to come out and take it to them, we can't afford to just be there and go through the motions," Sien added.

John A. Logan – 20  23  25  26  7

VUVB (18-3, 8-0) – 25  25  21  24  15

VINCENNES STATS

Josephine Mulligan – 2 points, 2 aces, 13 digs, 27 set assists

Addison Ainscough – 14.5 points, 2 aces, 11 kills, 3 block assists, 14 digs, 1 set assist

Lara Gomes de Castro – 9 digs

Emilie Cornelson – 6 points, 4 kills, 1 solo block, 2 block assists, 1 dig

Jagoda Szybinska – 18 points, 18 kills, 11 digs

Breanna Metzger – 12.5 points, 10 kills, 1 solo block, 3 block assists, 3 digs

Jamie Russell – 7.5 points, 5 kills, 5 block assists

Grace Earp – 33 digs, 4 set assists

Claudia Mendoza – 1 point, 1 kill

Hannah Graber – 11.5 points, 1 ace, 10 kills, 1 block assist, 8 digs, 22 set assists