Trailblazers split tough matches on first day of Parkland Tournament

CHAMPAIGN, Ill. – The Vincennes University Trailblazer volleyball team kicked off their two-day weekend tournament at Parkland College Friday afternoon with a two-game split.

VU began the day with a five-set thriller win over Lincoln Land College 17-25, 25-15, 18-25, 25-23, 15-12 before coming back to close out the day against Kirkwood Community College, falling 17-25, 14-25, 25-17, 19-25.

The Trailblazers got off to a slow start at Parkland Friday, falling behind early against the Loggers 12-4.

VU would answer with a pair of scoring runs in the set but could only manage to cut the deficit to five at Lincoln Land pulled away and took set one 25-17.

Vincennes turned the tables on Lincoln Land in the second set, with VU using a 7-0 scoring run, aided by four aces by freshman Tuana Turhan (Ankara, Turkey), the Blazers jumped out to a 13-4 lead.

Lincoln Land battled back to cut the lead down to just two, before Vincennes rallied back to take the second set 25-15 and evening the match at 1-1.

Set three was Lincoln Land's turn to grab an early lead, jumping out to a 12-5 advantage. Vincennes attempted to battle back into the game, but the Loggers held strong to take set three 25-18.

Set four was more of a back-and-forth battle with VU holding a 19-11 lead, before Lincoln Land closed the margin to 22-17.

Vincennes held set point at 24-18, before Lincoln Land went on a 5-0 scoring run. The Trailblazers were able to close out the set on the next point however, as set four went the distance with VU winning 25-23 and forcing a fifth set.

Lincoln Land took the early lead in the fifth set, with a 4-0 scoring run, before VU answered to tie the game with a 4-0 run of their own.

Lincoln Land held a narrow one-point lead before VU closed out the set and the match on a 4-0 scoring run to take set five 15-12 and the match 3-2.

"Against Lincoln Land, the game was a battle between the serving team and the serve receive," VU Assistant Coach Mike Misner said. "The sets where we served and passed well, I feel like we won pretty easily. Our scores in the sets we lost make it look better than I think it was because Lincoln Land pretty much took us out of our game with their serving."

"When we got to the fifth set, I knew it was going to come down to who played better and I think we played better than them," Misner added. "I think both teams played much better in set five than the first four sets. It was a pretty fun match to be involved with. It was a roller coaster, for those who like roller coasters."

VU was led offensively by a very impressive 20-20 game out of freshman Paige Parlanti (Las Vegas, Nev.). Parlanti led the Blazers with 20 kills, while also adding 22 digs to record her ninth double-double of the season, a pair of block assists and an ace.

Freshman Audrey Buis (Franklin, Ind.) was the second VU player to finish with a double-double, finishing with 12 kills, 16 digs and a block assist.

Sophomore Hannah Graber (Montgomery, Ind.) also recorded a double-double with a team-high 27 set assists and 14 digs, while also adding an ace.

Freshman Alexis Chrappa (Effingham, Ill.) and sophomore Malgorzata Banasiak (Gdynia, Poland) each finished with seven kills, with Chrappa adding four block assists and four digs, with Banasiak also adding four block assists and one dig.

Freshman Tuana Turhan rounds out the VU offense with a pair of kills to go along with a solo block, a team-high six block assists, two digs and four aces.

Freshman setter Maecy Johnson (Chrisman, Ill.) helped run the VU offense on her way to 16 set assists to go along with three aces and one dig.

Freshman libero Morgan Netcott (Montague, Mich.) set a new career-high with 31 digs against Lincoln Land, while also adding three set assists and a pair of aces.

Freshman Nisa Salis (Ankara, Turkey) added some help at the net defensively on her way to four block assists and a set assist.

Vincennes would return to the floor to close out the first day of the Parkland Tournament by facing off against Kirkwood Community College.

The Trailblazers again got off to a slow start, with the Eagles building a 21-12 lead before VU rallied back with a 4-0 scoring run, but it was not enough as Kirkwood took set one over VU 25-17.

Kirkwood CC took full control over set two after a 5-0 scoring run gave the Eagles a 17-7 lead.

Vincennes battled late in the second set but could not put together a scoring run as VU fell in set two 25-14 and fell behind 2-0 in the match.

Looking to avoid the sweep the Trailblazers came out in the third set firing with sophomore Hannah Graber beginning the third set with an ace, as the Blazers grabbed the early 11-6 lead.

Kirkwood would respond however to come all the way back and take the lead on a 7-0 scoring run of their own.

Graber would take to the service line again later in the set and record a pair of aces as VU took the lead back and pulled away to take set three 25-17.

Set four saw the lead change hands several times as Vincennes looked to force another fifth set.

VU only trailed by one late in the fourth set before Kirkwood closed out the set and the match on a 6-1 scoring run to take set four 25-19 and the match 3-1.

"In our second match, we didn't hardly show up until the third set," Misner said. "I don't want to take anything away from Kirkwood, they were blocking us, serving us, they were doing everything right. I feel like Kirkwood was one of the more complete teams that we have played so far this year."

"They did have one rotation that I thought we could attack though," Misner added. "And that really helped us in the third set when we were making our comeback. Winning set three had a lot to do with our passing and we were getting kills. We were being aggressive. If you can put the other team on the defense, you've always got a chance to win and you have to do that by passing and hitting."

Paige Parlanti led the charge again for the Blazers against Kirkwood, narrowly missing another double-double, finishing with 11 kills, nine digs, four block assists and an ace.

Audrey Buis finished the second match of the day with five kills, along with seven digs, a solo block and a block assist.

Tuana Turhan ended with four kills, while leading the Blazers with a solo block and five block assists at the net.

Alexis Chrappa and Malgorzata Banasiak each finished with two kills, with Banasiak adding three block assists and two digs and Chrappa finishing with two block assists and a dig.

Hannah Graber and Maecy Johnson ran the VU offense from the setter position, with Graber ending the day with 13 set assists, eight digs and five aces and Johnson finishing with eight set assists, four digs and two aces.

Morgan Netcott and sophomore Lara Gomes de Castro (Sao Paulo, Brazil) patrolled the VU backrow defense with Netcott leading the Blazers with 12 digs and three set assists and Gomes de Castro adding three digs.

Freshman Kennedy Sowell (Effingham, Ill.) and Nisa Salis helped out at the net defensively, with Sowell ending with four block assists and Salis recording one.

The Trailblazers look to have another tough day when they return to the Parkland College floor tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 17 when VU closes out the Parkland Tournament against McHenry County College at 2 p.m. eastern and finishes the weekend against host Parkland College at 6 p.m. eastern.

"We've definitely got to get off to a quick start tomorrow," Misner said. "With a young team, like we have, where we've got at most two sophomores on the floor and have rotations with five or six freshmen on the floor, when we are playing in matches like this, they have to grow up fast. This weekend really gets tougher the longer we play."

"McHenry County is down to their third setter," Misner added. "If they had their starting setter going, they are probably as good or better than Kirkwood. They will still be tough to beat. They played tough in their games today. I think McHenry will be ready for us tomorrow."

"Then when we get to Parkland, they are giving up points when we've watched them so far this year," Misner said. "They have a lot of freshmen, but by the end of the year, I'm sure all of that will be lined out. They still have a good record this year and they are probably going to be one of the toughest teams we will play all season. I think tomorrow is going to be a challenge and I think our players will be ready."

VINCENNES BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

Lincoln Land – 25  15  25  23  12

VUVB (11-2, 4-0) – 17  25  18  25  15

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Audrey Buis – 12.5 points, 12 kills, 1 block assist, 16 digs

Morgan Netcott – 2 points, 2 aces, 31 digs, 3 set assists

Paige Parlanti – 22 points, 1 ace, 20 kills, 2 block assists, 22 digs

Alexis Chrappa – 9 points, 7 kills, 4 block assists, 4 digs

Nisa Salis – 2 points, 4 block assists, 1 set assist

Maecy Johnson – 3 points, 3 aces, 1 dig, 16 set assists

Tuana Turhan – 10 points, 4 aces, 2 kills, 1 solo block, 6 block assists, 2 digs

Hannah Graber – 1 point, 1 ace, 14 digs, 27 set assists

Malgorzata Banasiak – 9 points, 7 kills, 4 block assists, 1 dig

GAME TWO

Kirkwood – 25   25   17   25   x

VUVB (11-3, 4-0) – 17   14   25   19   x

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Audrey Buis – 6.5 points, 5 kills, 1 solo block, 1 block assist, 7 digs

Lara Gomes de Castro – 3 digs

Morgan Netcott – 12 digs, 3 set assists

Paige Parlanti – 14 points, 1 ace, 11 kills, 4 block assists, 9 digs

Alexis Chrappa – 3 points, 2 kills, 2 block assists, 1 dig

Nisa Salis – 0.5 points, 1 block assist

Maecy Johnson – 2 points, 2 aces, 4 digs, 8 set assists

Kennedy Sowell – 2 points, 4 block assists

Tuana Turhan – 7.5 points, 4 kills, 1 solo block, 5 block assists

Hannah Graber – 5 points, 5 aces, 8 digs, 13 set assists

Malgorzata Banasiak – 3.5 points, 2 kills, 3 block assists, 2 digs