VUVB wins Region 24 Championship in four-set win over John A. Logan

MT. CARMEL, Ill. – The 2021 Vincennes University Trailblazers volleyball team won their first Region 24 Championship in program history Saturday afternoon after defeating John A. Logan 25-12, 20-25, 25-20, 25-19.

The last VU Region Championship came in 2006 before the Trailblazers made the move to NJCAA Division I in 2016 from Division II and later moved from Region 12 to Region 24 in 2018.

"It feels amazing, this is what we've been working for all season," VUVB sophomore team captain and second-year libero Grace Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) said. "This really just shows how we were able to go 12-0 in the Region and hopefully continue this run at District."

"This year we had a lot of good team chemistry and that has really helped," Earp said. "Last year we had the talent, but this year we really had the heart and that's what really helped. We felt good coming into the Region tournament this year, we felt like we were really going to do something."

"I think the freshman class we got this year came in really open to learning and I tried to push aggressiveness and heart through every practice and every game. Even when we were down we could still win if we kept pushing," Earp said.

"This win is huge," VU third-year sophomore Breanna Metzger (Dale, Ind.) said. "The girls that came back from last year, we just can't believe this has happened. We've worked our butts off all year."

"It's been great having two girls come in who were State Champions (freshmen Addison Ainscough and Hannah Graber), they have really showed up and showed out for us this year," Metzger said.

"I've had to take on a lot of responsibility this year and I've had a lot on my shoulders this year, with not just being a sophomore, but a third-year sophomore," Metzger said about her leadership role this season. "I've had to really step up to the plate and I think I've handled it well."

"This upcoming week of practice has to be the most intense practices we've ever done," Metzger said. "We have to have everyone on the court and healthy and just work as hard as we ever have."

"When this team met for the first time in July, we talked about making this run," VUVB head coach Gary Sien said. "We talked about making history and chasing history. They can be the first to do this."

"It goes to show you how difficult it is to win, that you need all of the intangibles and not just talent," Sien added. "Honestly, this is one of the few teams I have ever coached where I always had a good feeling about, no matter how much we were down by."

"This group of sophomores returned with a purpose and this exceptional group of freshmen, all from winning programs, gelled right from the beginning," Sien said. "This Championship is not only for them, but for the many Alumni who have put on the Trailblazer colors. We hope we made all of you proud today."

Vincennes set the tone early in this Championship match, jumping out to a 15-4 lead midway through the opening set.

Logan was unable to rally as the Trailblazers took set one 25-12.

The Volunteers were able to respond however in the second set as they gained a 13-9 lead before VU answered with a 6-1 scoring run to take the lead back.

John A. Logan built another four point lead late in the set and although the Trailblazers were able to cut the deficit to a single point, VU was unable to gain the advantage back as the Volunteers won set two 25-20.

Set three began much like set one as Vincennes completely gained the momentum back from John A. Logan by scoring nine of the first 11 points.

The Volunteers would not go away quietly this time however as the Vols cut the lead to 12-11.

Vincennes never relinquished the lead as the Trailblazers won set three 25-20 to take a 2-1 match lead.

The fourth set was a back-and-forth contest with the two teams traded leads and small scoring runs before VU used a 10-2 scoring run late in the set to jump ahead 22-17.

With the Blazers serving match point, the Volunteers looked to keep the match going before a block at the net by sophomore Emilie Cornelson (Saskatoon, Canada) and freshman Addison Ainscough (Cannelburg, Ind.) gave Vincennes the win and earned VUVB their first Region 24 Championship in program history.

VU was led offensively by Ainscough who finished with a double-double of 11 kills and 16 digs, while also adding a pair of aces and one block.

Freshman Jagoda Szybinska and sophomore Breanna Metzger, Jamie Russell (East St. Louis, Ill.) and Emilie Cornelson controlled the game from both sides of the net.

Szybinska finished with nine kills and two blocks, Metzger and Russell ended with seven kills, with Metzger leading the team with five blocks. Russell and Cornelson each finished with four blocks, with Cornelson also adding five kills offensively.

Freshman Malgorzata Banasiak (Gdynia, Poland) also came through at the net, ending the day with four kills and four blocks.

Freshmen setters Hannah Graber (Montgomery, Ind.) and Josephine Mulligan (Saint John, Ind.) ran the Vincennes offense, with Graber finishing off a double-double with 23 set assists, 11 digs, five kills and a team-high three aces.

Mulligan nearly finished with a double-double as well, ending with 18 set assists, nine digs and an ace.

Sophomores Grace Earp and Amee Beedle (Wheaton, Ill.) patrolled the backrow defense for the Trailblazers. Earp ended the game with a team-high 19 digs and one set assist, while Beedle added 11 digs.

"We probably had a few too many hitting mistakes, but like last night we kept on swinging and put the ball away," Sien said. "Our blocking was on task as we literally took control of all net play. Emilie, who had several big plays in key moments, along with Jamie, Breanna and Gosia all had a big contribution to that."

"Grace and Amee, who we didn't have the first two times we played John A. Logan, Josephine and Hannah refused to let a ball hit the floor," Sien said. "We cannot leave out the fine all-around play of Addison and Jagoda, who both took the toughest swings all day."

Vincennes earned their 12th consecutive win Saturday and must now set their sights on the NJCAA Midwest District Championships next weekend in Missouri. The location and opponents for the District Championships are still to be determined.

John A. Logan – 12  25  20  19  x

VUVB (22-3, 12-0) – 25  20  25  25  x

VINCENNES STATS

Josephine Mulligan – 1 point, 1 ace, 9 digs, 18 set assists

Amee Beedle – 11 digs

Addison Ainscough – 13.5 points, 2 aces, 11 kills, 1 block assist, 16 digs

Emilie Cornelson – 7.5 points, 5 kills, 1 solo block, 3 block assists, 4 digs

Jagoda Szybinska – 11 points, 1 ace, 9 kills, 2 block assists, 2 digs

Breanna Metzger – 10.5 points, 7 kills, 2 solo blocks, 3 block assists, 3 digs

Jamie Russell – 10.5 points, 1 ace, 7 kills, 1 solo block, 3 block assists, 2 digs

Grace Earp – 19 digs, 1 set assist

Hannah Graber- 8 points, 3 aces, 5 kills, 11 digs, 23 set assists

Malgorzata Banasiak – 6.5 points, 4 kills, 1 solo block, 3 block assists, 2 digs