VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University volleyball team closed out the weekend strong Saturday afternoon as the Blazers defeated Edison State Community College 20-25, 25-10, 25-21, 25-17 in the final match of the Showdown on the Wabash at the Physical Education Complex.
VU got off to a slow start in set one of the day, falling behind early to the Chargers 10-5 before rallying back to even the score at 12-12.
Edison State would again build a five-point lead at 21-16 and were able to hold on to it this time as the Blazers were unable to put together another scoring run as Edison State claimed set one over the Blazers 25-20 to take an early 1-0 match lead.
Looking for a spark on the home floor the Trailblazers got one in a big way in set two, using a massive 12-1 scoring run to help build an 18-6 lead over Edison State.
Vincennes kept putting the pressure on the Chargers throughout the second set, scoring four unanswered late to help seal a 25-10 set two victory for VU and evening this match at 1-1 heading into the third set.
The Trailblazers continued to ride the momentum of the home crowd into set three, jumping out to an early 13-4 lead, which would hold until 19-10 before Edison State started climbing back.
The Chargers would outscore Vincennes 10-3 to cut the deficit down to two but were unable to completely erase the VU lead as the Blazers took set three over Edison State 25-21 and gained a 2-1 match lead.
Looking to end the match in the fourth, VU again jumped out to a big early lead, with VU holding a 19-8 advantage midway through the set.
Edison State could get back within five of the Blazers, but again were unable to completely erase the big Vincennes as VU closed out the match by taking set four 25-17 and earning the 3-1 match victory over the Chargers.
"I scouted the Wallace State game against Edison and saw that Edison can really give you problems," VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. "They are certainly a smaller team overall but they are pretty athletic and they are very aggressive. They go for big swings and they are really good defensively."
"I've said before, it's hard to put a ball away against them or anybody when you are getting sets from 20 feet off the net," Sien added. "We were able to get after them when we got in system and run our offense. But they did a nice job all match of digging us. It's hard enough to put away a ball when the pass is that far off the net, but there was just nothing there for us. So, it was doubly frustrating, when we don't pass and then there's no place to put a shot when you get it."
"But we just kept on swinging," Sien said. "Eventually we were able to get our passing and get in system and that's when we really started to take it to them. That just makes it even more obvious how important passing really is, no matter who you are facing."
"Edison State really made us earn this win today," Sien added. "But that's okay. It was our only match of the day, so we kind of needed a harder match."
The VU offense was led by sophomore Paige Parlanti (Las Vegas, Nev.) who recorded her 11th double-double of the season with 15 kills and a team-high 19 digs. Parlanti also added a pair of blocks and two aces.
Freshman Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) also reached double digit kills, ending with 13 kills, four digs and two blocks.
Freshman Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) had another big game at the net, finishing with nine kills, a team-high five blocks, one dig and one set assist.
Sophomore Audrey Buis (Franklin, Ind.) ended her weekend with eight kills, five digs and one block, while fellow sophomore Kennedy Sowell (Effingham, Ill.) recorded six kills and four blocks.
Sophomore setter Maecy Johnson (Chrisman, Ill.) ran the VU offense for a majority of the match, finishing with 40 set assists, three digs, two blocks and an ace.
Freshman setter Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) ended her weekend with five set assists and one ace.
Sophomore libero Morgan Netcott (Montague, Mich.) ran the VU back row defense, ending with 17 digs and one set assist.
Freshman Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) also helped out defensively, finishing the match with four digs.
Freshmen Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) and Ellie Reed (Washington, Ind.) both checked in late in the fourth set and each came away with one dig on the day.
"I saw a lot of things out there that I talked about last night from our team," Sien said. "I didn't get around to mentioning Elisa yesterday, but she also had some big numbers out there today. She's got to be in or around the top-five in the country in blocking this year. She puts up a really nice block and she knows technique-wise and she really knows what to look for when blocking."
"That's a big part of it for her," Sien added. "It's more than just being big, physical and being able to jump high. She adjusts very well to what the hitters are doing. When you tell her how to do something, it's like you never have to tell her about it again because she already has it down. She's got great footwork. Obviously, she's had some great training over the years. She had a slow start to the year because she was out for a while at the start of the season. But I think she has definitely caught up with where everybody else is at. She really swings it well. She rarely makes a mistake out there hitting."
The Trailblazers will hit the road next weekend for the final weekend classic of the 2023 season, when VU heads to Park Hills, Mo. to take part in the Mineral Area College Cardinal Classic Friday, Oct. 13 and Saturday, Oct. 14.
VU will begin the weekend against NJCAA Division I No. 14 Indian Hills Community College Friday Oct. 13 at 2 p.m. eastern.
The Blazers will then close out the weekend Saturday, Oct. 14 against Hutchinson Community College at 10 a.m. eastern and against host Mineral Area College at 12 p.m. eastern.
Other results Saturday from the Showdown on the Wabash at Vincennes University include Wallace State C.C. winning over Edison State C.C. 20-25, 25-21, 25-23, 25-23. St Louis C.C. winning over Wabash Valley College 25-20, 22-25, 25-19, 15-25, 15-7. Wallace State C.C. winning over John A. Logan College 17-25, 25-18, 22-25, 25-14, 15-11 and John A. Logan College winning over St. Louis C.C. 25-8, 25-12, 25-18.
"The good thing about this upcoming week is that we have several days in a row of practice," Sien said. "That on top of what I mentioned last night about getting some much needed rest, I think both of those things are really going to help us going into next weekend's games."
"We'll be able to have more time to talk about and scout each opponent," Sien added. "There are some of these tournaments where we are going into four matches in two days and there's only so much that I can do as a coach to scout. You need about one person per opponent to watch film, look at stats and look at tendencies. But because we don't have any matches during the week, we might be able to look at one opponent per day in practice."
"This team is pretty good with that," Sien said. "They really take the scouting report to heart and they really remember everything we talk about. They also have the ability to remember some of the things from an opponent if we've already played them this year. Which definitely helps contribute to the entire scouting report."
"But it is definitely a hard schedule next weekend," Sien added. "Last year we lost Indian Hills in four. I don't believe I've ever played Hutchinson since I've been an NJCAA coach, so that will be something new for me. Then we get to face Mineral Area and we are very familiar with them by now after playing them at least once, maybe even twice a season."
BOX SCORE
Edison State – 25 10 21 17 x
VUVB (25-4, 9-0) – 20 25 25 25 x
VINCENNES STATS
Audrey Buis – 8.5 points, 8 kills, 1 block assist, 5 digs
Dylan DeCoursey – 1 dig
Morgan Netcott – 17 digs, 1 set assist
Paige Parlanti – 18 points, 2 aces, 15 kills, 2 block assists, 19 digs
Isadora Dias – 4 digs
Maecy Johnson – 1 point, 2 block assists, 3 digs, 40 set assists
Kennedy Sowell – 8 points, 6 kills, 4 block assists
Elisa Dalla Pozza – 11.5 points, 9 kills, 5 block assists, 1 dig, 1 set assist
Laura Tavares – 14 points, 13 kills, 2 block assists, 4 digs
Libby Mehringer – 1 point, 1 ace, 5 set assists
Ellie Reed – 1 dig
