Trailblazer volleyball makes program history at Midwest District A Championships

OTTUMWA, Iowa – The 2023 Vincennes University volleyball team added to their list of accomplishments Saturday at the 2023 NJCAA Division I Midwest District A Championships at Indian Hills Community College.

The Trailblazers advanced to the District Championship game for the first time in program history at the Division I level after defeating Missouri State-West Plains in four sets, 25-21, 14-25, 25-22, 25-20, before ultimately falling to host and No. 18-ranked Indian Hills Community College 25-23, 10-25, 24-26, 12-25.

Vincennes got their day started with a showdown against Region 16 runner-up Missouri State-West Plains in the semi-finals.

VU was slow out of the gates as the Grizzlies quickly built a 6-3 lead before the Trailblazers completely shifted momentum with a massive 9-0 scoring run led by freshman Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) at the service line.

VU continued to add to their lead, getting to 19-10 before West Plains answered back and cut the Trailblazer lead back down to two at 23-21.

Vincennes would hold on though, scoring the final two points to close out the opening set 25-21 and taking a 1-0 match lead.

Set two looked to continue the trend in set one, with West Plains scoring the first four points of the set, before VU answered back to take the lead at 6-5 and build a 12-9 advantage.

West Plains would answer back in a big way however, outscoring the Trailblazers 16-2 to put the second set away in convincing fashion, 25-14 and even the match at 1-1 heading to a pivotal third set.

Not wanting to fall behind 2-1, the Blazers got back on track to start set three, scoring the first five points and building an early 12-6 lead.

West Plains would use an 8-1 scoring run to grab the lead back at 18-16, before VU answered back to take a 21-20 lead.

The lead again shifted to West Plains at 22-21 before Vincennes slammed the door shut with four unanswered to close out the third set 25-22 and take a 2-1 match lead.

Set four began as another back-and-forth battle, with VU leading by five before the Grizzlies evened the score at 9-9.

VU looked to be firmly in the driver's seat after a 6-0 scoring run gave the Blazers a 20-12 lead.

Vincennes would grow their lead to 10 at 24-14 before West Plains launched a last second comeback attempt and cut the deficit back down to four at 24-20.

This would be as close as the Grizzlies would get however as the Trailblazers closed out the fourth set 25-20 to pick up the 3-1 match victory and advance to the Midwest District A Championship match for the first time since moving to Division I in 2016.

"Serving and blocking," VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. "When we are next level in those two parts of the game, we are hard to beat. But that's easy to say unless it is done correctly and mindfully by the players. We executed very well overall against a very good program. It was a hard fought match where outstanding plays were made on both sides of the net. This was a historic win for us."

"I thought Audrey, Elisa, Laura and Isadora put up some good numbers in their blocking and hitting," Sien added. "Maecy distributed the ball well and made some good choices."

VU was led offensively by another outstanding double-double by sophomore Paige Parlanti (Las Vegas, Nev.) who finished with 13 kills, 16 digs and three blocks.

Sophomore Audrey Buis (Franklin, Ind.) finished the first match of the day with eight kills, five digs, a pair of aces and one block.

Freshmen Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) and Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) each had big games at the net, with the pair recording seven kills and eight blocks each.

Freshman Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) rounded out the VU offense with four kills but made her biggest impact of the day defensively at the net, coming away with a team-high nine blocks, including four solo blocks, while also adding two digs and two aces.

Sophomore setter Maecy Johnson (Chrisman, Ill.) ran the VU offense efficiently as always, ending with 33 set assists, five digs, three blocks and two aces.

Sophomore libero Morgan Netcott (Montague, Mich.) added some big back row defense, coming away with a team-high 21 digs and two set assists.

Freshman Dylan DeCoursey finished the first match with four digs and one ace, while fellow freshman Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) played against West Plains, but did not record a stat.

VU as a team really controlled the net defensively and showed up on the biggest stage of the season, setting a new team season-high with 32 blocks against West Plains.

Vincennes then had to turn around and return to the floor just under two hours after the semi-final match ended to face off against host and No. 18-ranked Indian Hills Community College, with the berth in the 2023 NJCAA Division I National Championship tournament on the line.

The Trailblazers came out firing against the host Warriors, going the distance to grab set one 25-23 and take the early 1-0 match lead.

Indian Hills then answered back in a big way on their home floor, taking set two 25-10 to even the match at 1-1.

Facing another pivotal third set, the Trailblazers again fought hard throughout, going down to the wire and even extending into overtime before Indian Hills ultimately came away with the set victory 26-24 to take a 2-1 match lead over the Blazers.

Indian Hills rode this momentum into set four and completely took over the match in front of the home crowd, closing out set four 25-12 and winning the 2023 NJCAA Division I Midwest District A Championship and advancing to the National Tournament.

"It was a very difficult and tough situation for us but we fought and fought for the entire match," Sien added. "Part of it is the physical and emotional fatigue from our first match but we will not use that as an excuse. Indian Hills is another traditional power who we will have to face to get to the next level."

"I thought Morgan was excellent in both matches with her constant hustle and communication," Sien said. "She had several hustle plays that sparked us on several runs."

"Paige took the toughest swings with multiple blockers on her but she kept on swinging," Sien added. "She led us with total kills and blocks and had to deal on both ends with a tall blocker and a tall hitter."

Vincennes was led offensively by another big game by Paige Parlanti, who finished her night with 17 kills, six digs, four blocks and a pair of aces.

Laura Tavares came away with six kills, two blocks, two digs and one set assist, while Audrey Buis finished with five kills, three digs and two aces.

Elisa Dalla Pozza finished her night with three kills, five digs, two blocks and one ace, while Isadora Dias rounds out the Vincennes offense with one kill and four blocks.

Maecy Johnson ran the VU offense to the tune of 26 set assists, five digs and one solo block.

Morgan Netcott again led the Trailblazer back row defense with a team-high 10 digs and three set assists, while Dylan DeCoursey came away with three digs on the match.

While the VU volleyball season is not officially over, with only 16 teams advancing to the NJCAA National Tournament and Vincennes looking to claim one of only four at-large bids when the National tournament seedings are announced Thursday, Nov. 9 at 1 p.m. eastern, it is very likely that the Trailblazers volleyball season ends with a final record of 32-7.

The 32 wins this year by the VU volleyball team are the most by any Vincennes team since moving to the Division I level in 2016.

This team was also the first team in program history to play in a District Championship match at the Division I level, highest National ranking at the Division I level in program history and VU also claimed their third straight undefeated Region 24 Championship last weekend.

With this list of team accomplishments, as well as a long list of individual milestones, the 2023 Vincennes University volleyball team has a very strong case for being one of the best teams in program history.

"Well, we always talk about chasing history and if you define that as doing something greater than it was done before, we had succeeded," Sien said. "The three-peat, the District Championship appearance, the overall record and having several players set statistical records, that would cover it well. This team is in the Top 10 or better in kills, kills per set, assists, blocks per set, total blocks, points per set and total points in the Nation."

"The team is in the record books in all of these achievements," Sien added. "It is anchored by an excellent sophomore class of Kennedy, Maecy, Morgan, Paige and Audrey. They have left a high standard for next year's team to follow. They would want them to do even better than what was accomplished this year."

"The 2023 team has left an indelible mark in the history of the program," Sien said. "They are great ambassadors for Vincennes University and for the athletic department."

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

 Missouri State-West Plains – 21   25   22   20   x

VUVB (32-6, 14-0) – 25   14   25   25   x

VINCENNES STATS

Audrey Buis – 10.5 points, 2 aces, 8 kills, 1 block assist, 5 digs

Dylan DeCoursey – 1 point, 1 ace, 4 digs

Morgan Netcott – 21 digs, 2 set assists

Paige Parlanti – 15 points, 13 kills, 1 solo block, 2 block assists, 16 digs

Isadora Dias – 11.5 points, 7 kills, 1 solo block, 7 block assists, 1 set assist

Maecy Johnson – 3.5 points, 2 aces, 3 block assists, 5 digs, 33 set assists

Elisa Dalla Pozza – 12.5 points, 2 aces, 4 kills, 4 solo blocks, 5 block assists, 2 digs

Laura Tavares – 11 points, 7 kills, 8 block assists

GAME TWO

Indian Hills – 23   25   26   25   x

VUVB (32-7, 14-0) – 25   10    24   12   x

VINCENNES STATS

Audrey Buis – 7 points, 2 aces, 5 kills, 3 digs

Dylan DeCoursey – 3 digs

Morgan Netcott – 10 digs, 3 set assists

Paige Parlanti – 21 points, 2 aces, 17 kills, 4 block assists, 6 digs

Isadora Dias – 3 points, 1 kill, 4 block assists

Maecy Johnson – 1 point, 1 solo block, 5 digs, 26 set assists

Elisa Dalla Pozza – 5 points, 1 ace, 3 kills, 2 block assists, 5 digs

Laura Tavares – 7 points, 6 kills, 2 block assists, 2 digs, 1 set assist