VUVB sophomore and two-time Region 24 champion Lara Gomes de Castro signs with Union College

VINCENNES, Ind. – Vincennes University volleyball sophomore Lara Gomes de Castro (Sao Paulo, Brazil) officially signed to continue her volleyball career at the next level Wednesday afternoon, signing with NAIA Union College in Barbourville, Ky.

"One of the main reasons for choosing Union College was the high quality of the Psychology department," Gomes said. "But my meeting with Coach Wise also played a big role in my decision. As well as the large amount of International Students in their community. Coach Sien and I also talked a lot about the program since two other VU athletes have gone there and had successful volleyball careers and did well academically."

Gomes really came into her own this past season for the Trailblazers, finishing with 215 digs, 34 aces and six set assists.

Multiple times throughout the season, Gomes came up big in high pressure situations from behind the service line. Not only picking up key aces, but also serving the ball extremely tough and allowing the Blazers to go on big scoring runs.

Lara also earned NJCAA Academic All-American honors last July.

"When you think about two year, it doesn't seem like that long but in a person's life during that period it is," VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. "For Lara, seeing her continue to be a good student here has been really nice to see. As well as her being such a hard worker and being able to pick up the language here, which can be difficult for some international students."

"As a player, Lara is a very popular player," Sien added. "I believe her teammates have really enjoyed having her here. It was great to have her these past two years because she could be a big-time spark plug for us. She could go out there and give us some tough serves and it got to the point where when she went back there, I almost expected her to get an ace. But she would always come into the game with that tough mentality and it showed in her serves."

"She also seemed to have the toughest chances on the defensive end because she would get some of the hardest hit right at her," Sien said. "But more often than not, she would get that ball up and keep the play going. I think she worked very well with Morgan Netcott (Montague Mich.) this past season and I think they had a really nice chemistry on the back row."

Gomes is following in the footsteps of former VUVB athletes Allison Ruddick (Muncie, Ind.) and 2018 Region 24 Player of the Year Alison Smith (Oakland, Ill.) who went on to play at Union College.

Ruddick played for the Bulldogs from 2019 to 2021 and was named to the All-Appalachian Athletic Conference (AAC) first team all three years.

Ruddick was also named AAC Libero of the Year and in 2021 was named AVCA All-Northeast Region Libero of the Year.

Ruddick was joined her last two years by fellow VU standout Alison Smith, who in her first two years with the Bulldogs finished with 10 or more kills in a match 13 times, including ending one match with 20 or more kills.

Smith returned to Union this past season and went on to lead the Bulldogs with 352 kills, while also finishing the season with 98 digs and 41 blocks.

Gomes is joining a Bulldogs squad that finished this past season with a 15-18 record and reached the Quarterfinals of the AAC Conference tournament under head coach Jeremy Wise.

"Union's conference has been more competitive in recent years so she will be going up against some pretty good competition at the next level," Sien said. "The neat thing about Union is that we have had a couple of recent VU volleyball players play there."

"Union does do a little bit of traveling," Sien added. "Their conference is split up over several states. But her playing here should have helped her be ready for that with the traveling that we do."

Gomes was one of five VUVB sophomores who closed out their Trailblazer career's this past November with a combined record of 51-13 overall, including an outstanding 24-0 record against Region 24 opponents.

Gomes along with sophomores Josephine Mulligan (Saint John, Ind.), Kaley Roush (Shoals, Ind.), Hannah Graber (Montgomery, ind.) and Malgorzata Banasiak (Gdynia, Poland) were part of the first Trailblazer volleyball squad to win a Region Championship since making the jump to NJCAA Division I in 2016 and winning VU's first Region Championship since 2006 in 2021.

"Being part of VU's first Division I volleyball Region 24 Championship and then coming back and doing it again is something that I will never forget," Gomes said. "I am beyond grateful for being part of that and extremely blessed for having amazing teammates that wanted to win just as much as I wanted to and we all worked very hard for it."

"All of these girls have a special place in my heart," Gomes added. "Since my first day at VU, they have helped me in many different ways, as well as Coach Sien, who I am extremely thankful for giving me the opportunity to live out my dream."

"This sophomore class has a lot of firsts attached to them and those don't go away," Sien said. "First Region title since 2006 and the first back-to-back Region titles this past season. These past two years have been one of the best two-year runs in program history. There have been a couple of years that could be comparable, but they don't have the titles. So this group has not only had the good record on the court, but they also have the hardware to back it up."

"It took a really special group to do that," Sien added. "Thinking back to when I was recruiting two or three years ago, I knew it would take a special group to be able to do what we wanted to do and these five came in and showed that they are that special group. It's tough to do that on its own. It's even harder to have that undefeated Region record to go along with it."

"Vincennes University has given me a chance to have a smooth transition coming from another country," Gomes said. "Being at a two-year college, the professors and coaches are a lot more involved personally rather than just seeing you as a number. I have had help with international professors, coaches, teammates and more. It was the perfect step before coming to a four-year and has definitely given me the experience and maturity that are necessary to be successful in my next step."

The Vincennes University Athletic Department would like to congratulate Lara Gomes de Castro on her signing with Union College and wishes her good luck as she continues her volleyball career in the fall.