Grace Earp named Region 24 Player of the Year, Graber and Ainscough earn All-Region Honors

VINCENNES, Ind. – The 2021 Region 24 Volleyball postseason awards came in this week and the 2021 Region 24 Champion Vincennes University Trailblazers were well represented.

The Blazers finished off a perfect 12-0 record in Region 24 play and capped off their run by winning the school's first Region Championship in 15 years.

Vincennes sophomore libero Grace Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) took home the Region 24 Player of the Year honors.

Earp is the second VU volleyball player to be named Region 24 Player of the Year along with Allison Smith (Oakland, Ill.) who received the award in 2018 and is currently finishing her senior season at Union College in Barbourville, Ky.

"Being the Region Player of the Year is such an honor," Earp said. "It means that my hard work through the years has paid off. This is not just an award for me, but for my team as well. I could not play defense without a block and could not serve receive without the help of the pin hitters and back row players. I am so thankful for them."

"It's literally unheard of, at any level for a libero to receive a Player of the Year honor," VUVB head coach Gary Sien said. "Typically, it's a big hitter and it's difficult for liberoes to get there because people mostly remember the last contact but forget about the first contact."

"For Grace, this is only her second year playing this position, she was a hitter her whole life," Sien added. "She already had the hitting part of the game down but here it's all about defense and serve receive but this year as coaches we had very little to say to her because she was able to adjust and read the other team's offense so well on her own."

"Grace is a coach's daughter, she is an extremely hard worker, she does so much extra on her own after practice and even getting extra reps in before getting on the bus on away games, "Sien said. "She's a nursing major, was named First Team Academic All-American last year, so she is definitely somebody who is goal oriented. She is a real true leader and someone who is going to step up in the moment and we depended on her so much this past year."

Earp led the Trailblazers defense from the backrow, leading the team with 391 digs, with an average of just under 4.5 digs per set.

Earp's best game of the season came in a Vincennes win at Wabash Valley, where the sophomore captain set a new career-high of 34 digs.

Earp would come close to breaking that personal best later in the season in VU's five-set win over John A. Logan, in which Earp finished with 33 digs.

The sophomore currently has 750 digs in her career, with 54 set assists and 18 aces in her Vincennes career.

For Earp, this honor goes back to the principles taught to her by her Club Coach, "For every practice, my long-time Club Coach taught me three principles: 1, Be the hardest worker in the gym. 2, Always keep a positive attitude, never say 'I can't'. 3, Always encourage your teammates. For games, being mentally tough and aggressive is the way to be successful," Earp added. "Respecting and listening to your coaches is incredibly important for both practice and games. Most importantly is something my dad taught me, when things get tough, you get tougher."

Joining Earp on the All-Region 24 teams are high school teammates Hannah Graber (Montgomery, Ind.) and Addison Ainscough (Cannelburg, Ind.) who both earned First Team All-Region honors.

Graber earns the distinction of being the only setter to be named to the All-Region 24 teams.

Graber shared time in Vincennes' two-setter offense with fellow freshman Josephine Mulligan (Saint John, Ind.) and Graber still finished the season with a team-high 501 set assists.

"It is an honor to be named First Team All-Region," Graber said. "I am extremely thankful and blessed that I got to continue my volleyball career beyond high school and continue playing here at Vincennes University."

"For Hannah to receive this honor as the only setter selected and playing in a system where she's not our only setter is exceptional," Sien said. "When Hannah is out on the floor our offense runs very efficiently. She makes very good choices, she is able to isolate players and watch the middle blockers and for a setter, that's what we're looking for."

"Then she brings the other parts of her game. Her serving is very precise, I have full confidence in her to serve in all six zones without hesitation," Sien added. "I just love her attitude, I love that she will attack the ball offensively. Having someone like her who can do that and knows what to do helps contribute to what we're trying to do here."

Graber was an all-around player for the Trailblazers, able to play defensively and record 166 digs this season and offensively at the net, finishing with 49 kills and 30 aces as well.

Graber began her collegiate volleyball career with a bang, recording 46 set assists in VU's season opener against Roane State.

Graber would finish the season with nine double-doubles including being just two digs away from a triple-double against John A. Logan.

Graber finished with over 20 set assists 12 times, including three times finishing with over 30 in a match.

"Some advice I would give to future volleyball players who want to reach this goal is to work hard every day and try to be better than you were the day before," Graber added. "Take nothing for granted and remember that you won't be able to be a college athlete forever. Cherish every moment like it's your last because you never know when your last will be."

Graber was joined on the All-Region 24 First Team by high school teammate and cousin Addison Ainscough.

"It is an honor that I have been named a First Team All-Region 24 player," Ainscough said. "We have worked hard all season and I am thankful that I got the opportunity to continue my career here at Vincennes University."

"Addison is a lot like Grace, she's a converted middle hitter who never really played left side, at least not full time, before," Sien said. "She's able to hit in about any set but this is really her first time hitting on the outside full time. But she also plays the back row so well, that's why she has so many double-doubles this year."

"She gives us an extra dimension because she can hit a ball on the outside like a middle, which a lot of outside hitters can't do," Sien added. "That's why I like to recruit middles, because they have that option that other outsides don't."

Ainscough finished her freshman season with 260 kills and 282 digs for the Blazers. Ainscough also helped protect at the net ending with 41 blocks on the year.

Ainscough recorded 10 double-doubles in her first season with the Trailblazers, including a career high 21 kills against Wabash Valley and 22 digs against Roane State in the first game of the season.

"Some advice I would give to future volleyball players is to have confidence in yourself and put in the extra work," Ainscough added. "Don't settle for the level of performance you are at, strive to be better than you were the day before."

Graber and Ainscough were teammates at nearby Barr-Reeve High School and won two State Championships for the Vikings.

For the pair of cousins, being named First Team All-Region is extra special when they do it together.

"It means a lot to me to be named First Team All-Region with Addison," Graber said. "We grew up together in the same class, played every sport together and won a lot of Championships together. I am not one bit surprised that Addison was named All-Region as well. She is a very hard worker and 100-percent deserves this honor."

"It is very special to me that Hannah and I were both selected," Ainscough said. "We have spent countless hours in the gym and have played together since before elementary school. It makes it even more special that we are cousins and have grown up together. Hannah always gives 110-percent and is an amazing player. I am thankful we got the opportunity to play with each other in college."

The trio of Trailblazer honorees all agreed that their favorite memory from this past season was winning the Region 24 Championship with Ainscough also mentioning that she enjoyed the team's themed practice and Graber also enjoyed the first night she met her teammates and their team bonding dinners.

The Trailblazers, guided by these three student-athletes, finished the season with a 22-4 record, including a perfect 12-0 record in Region 24 play, the VU's first Volleyball Regional Championship since 2006 and the VU's first Regional title since moving to Division I in 2016.

ALL-REGION 24 TEAMS

PLAYER OF THE YEAR: GRACE EARP – VINCENNES

First Team

Lexi Hobbs – John A. Logan

Kenadi Barriger – Kaskaskia

Malena Bixby – Wabash Valley

HANNAH GRABER – VINCENNES

Rozlynn Schrader – John A. Logan

ADDISON AINSCOUGH – VINCENNES

Second Team

Myah Helmkamp – Kaskaskia

Adressa Morais Borges – Lake Land

Madison Watret – Lake Land

Danika White – John A. Logan

Mariah Jones – Wabash Valley

Sydney Coker – John A. Logan