VINCENNES, Ind. – 2023 NJCAA All-American and two-time Region 24 Player of the Year Paige Parlanti (Las Vegas, Nev.) signed her letter of intent this week to continue her athletic and academic careers at NCAA Division I Bowling Green State University this fall in Bowling Green, Ohio.

"I chose Bowling Green State University for many reasons," Parlanti said. "As soon as I stepped on campus, I saw the culture that the school has created and I just knew that I wanted to be a part of it. I know that I will become the very best version of myself by attending BGSU. I have received much help from all the coaches and I know that they will push me to become not only a better athlete, but a better person. I am very grateful to become a Falcon."

Parlanti earned NJCAA Division I Second Team All-American honors this past season, becoming the first VU volleyball player to receive Division I All-American honors and the first VUVB player to be named an All-American since Audrey Curry in 2006.

Parlanti helped guide the Trailblazers to their best two-year run since moving to Division I in 2016 finishing out her VU career with a combined record of 61-16 and a 26-0 record against Region 24 opponents.

Parlanti led the Blazers to their best season overall since moving to Division I this past season as well, finishing the 2023 campaign with a 32-7 record, the most wins by a VUVB team at the D-I level and guided the Blazers to their third straight undefeated Region 24 Championship.

The Trailblazers advanced to the NJCAA Division I Midwest District A Championship game for the first time in program history and earned the highest National ranking in Division I program history, being ranked No. 18 this past season.

"I am very grateful for all of the awards that I have received while playing on the Vincennes volleyball team," Parlanti added. "But the accomplishment that I am most proud of was when I received an All-American award. It proved that all the hard work and dedication paid off and I also learned that it is not impossible to achieve such things."

"We've really spent much of the last two seasons discussing Paige's abilities on the court, but when you look at all of the things that she brings off the court, it's invaluable," VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. "From her leadership and she was one who did not hesitate to contribute to lead as a freshman and stepped into a leadership role right from the beginning of her freshman year. She as a personality that is going to attract a lot of people. She's very open, very talkative, very interested in each person on the team. So, when you have that genuine interest and love to work with people, people are just going to flock to you."

"Those are things that are rare to have, especially with an athlete at that high level," Sien added. "We are very grateful for her contribution to that end. Also, when it comes to intangibles off the court, her willingness to serve. The team has responsibilities every day, whether it's setting up the net, laundry, being responsible for things on road trips, Paige was definitely willing to jump in any time we needed something to be done. She's got a lot of initiative, she would just go and do things that she knew needed to be done without anyone saying it."

"We didn't have an assistant coach this past season but because of our sophomores Kennedy Sowell (Effingham, Ill.), Audrey Buis (Franklin, Ind.), Morgan Netcott (Montague, Mich.), Maecy Johnson (Chrisman, Ill.) and Paige, they really picked up a lot of things that seem small, but if they are not done, they can become big," Sien said. "They really took over things that I needed to do so I was able to focus on other things. They definitely do, as a group, deserve a lot of credit for their contributions to the team this past season. Not only did we have a full season, but we traveled all over the country, thousands of miles on the road and all of the other things that we do. With all of that stuff going on, it would have been pretty difficult for me to have done all of that if they weren't willing to help out."

"Athletically, I've said it before, when you average a double-double for your career like Paige, with double digit kills and digs, you are a next level player," Sien added. "When you look at just pure numbers, she's the first player that I've ever had to do that. And to be able to take the next step on top of all of that and add the points with aces and blocks and you have someone how finishes Nationally in the top-five in points, that's just next level. But while the volleyball part is what was able to get her name out there, the things that people don't see before and after games is really what sets Paige apart."

"One of the things that probably should have been mentioned first when you talk about Paige is that she found us because she was looking for academics," Sien said. "Because we have an excellent Fire Science program and when she was looking for her next school, she was really looking for somewhere that offers a bachelor's degree in either Fire Science and/or Fire Administration. There are less than two dozen schools in the nation that offer that program and is either D-I or D-II. If she was just looking to play D-I she probably could have gone last year but she probably turned down two dozen offers because they just didn't have her major.  For her to be that faithful in her academics and to pursue the colleges and universities that have her major is a real credit to her."

Parlanti recorded 21 double-doubles this past season, including setting season-highs with 28 kills and 33 digs at Jefferson College in August, which helped Parlanti earn NJCAA Division I Offensive Player of the Week honors.

Parlanti ended the 2023 season with 514 kills, 408 digs, 73 blocks and 46 aces and finished second in the Nation in kills per set, 4.36, and points per set, 5.1, while also finishing fourth in total points with 603.5 and fifth in kills with 514.

Parlanti closed out her VU career with 1,049 kills, 946 digs, 141 blocks and 105 aces, becoming the first VU hitter in the 25-point rally scoring era (2008-present) to reach the 1,000 career kills milestone.

"I have a lot of good memories at Vincennes University but my favorite was when we won the Region 24 Championship back-to-back," Parlanti said. "I was such a surreal feeling and I was very proud of both myself and my teammates. I am also very thankful for all of the girls on the team and the bonds that we have created over the years."

"I talked to Paige after her freshman year and said, 'congrats on receiving the Player of the Year, but you better start getting ready today to kind of fight the world next year'," Sien said. "She would get targeted with serve receives that would try to take her out of her game. Blockers would almost ignore other hitters and just focus on her. But we were so balanced this past season that at times we were able to use Paige as a decoy and our other hitters were able to get a high number of kills and a high hitting percentage because the other team was really leaning on her. So Paige having that sort of target on her back worked really well for us when we were playing well."

"There were a number of games this past year where she had to come through for us," Sien added. "And there were several games where she had a hard time putting a ball down because the whole world knew she was going to get set. But that never stopped her. She never got tentative or timid as a hitter. In fact, I think she actually started to hit harder. If she got blocked, she would come back and hit the next ball even harder."

"One thing about Paige is that she's a very smart hitter too," Sien said. "She rarely got blocked for a point. She hits the ball so high and so hard that when it does get blocked the ball pops up in the air and is playable. Her ability to hit different shots is exceptional. We coach any of our outside hitters to hit four different shots in four different areas of the court. We also worked on short tipping or push tipping. So she had a really big repertoire of shots to use and she's one that can use all of them. So when we would get into those close games and it was hard for her to get a kill, she would just go to another shot. She would mix it up to keep the defense guessing."

Parlanti is joining a Falcons squad coming off of a 19-13 record last season, with an 11-7 record in Mid-American Conference (MAC) play.

The Falcons, under Head Coach Danijela Tomic, went on an incredible run to end the season, winning 12 of their final 14 matches, including reaching the Mid-American Conference Championship game where they took No. 1-seed Western Michigan University to five sets.

"Vincennes University has taught me many things, I am more independent and I now have better study habits academically," Parlanti said. "I have received hands-on training in the Fire Science program and feel more prepared than ever. The courses I have taken have driven a stronger passion in me to become a great firefighter. I have also learned many things athletically, but one thing that stands out to me the most is that I feel more comfortable being a leader. I feel like that is a very important attribute to have while transferring to a four-year college."

"Having a Division I signing with our program is definitely big," Sien said. "I've felt, over my eight years at VU, that we've had several players that I thought could get a Division I offer. I always thought we had Division I talent but to have someone like Paige with a really nice offer with a program like Bowling Green in the MAC. They're not a power four conference school but they do play power four schools and most of their games are going to be on ESPN+, which is huge. And, when their games are broadcasted like that and Paige is in the game, they are going to mention that she is a transfer from Vincennes University in Indiana. The ramifications of her signing can really help get the word out about our program and help get other recruits interested in us."

"Anytime we have a signing we always mention it to recruits, but to now say that we have an All-American sign Division I, what more can you really say," Sien added. "This signing is really significant for our program and is a pretty significant milestone for this program."

The Vincennes University Athletic Department would like to congratulate Paige Parlanti on her signing with Bowling Green State University and wishes her good luck as she continues her volleyball career in the fall.