Trailblazers close out 2024 Blazer Classic with big sweep

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University volleyball team closed out the 2024 Blazer Classic Saturday afternoon at the Physical Education Complex.

VU split their two games on the day after dropping a hard-fought match against No. 20-ranked Eastern Florida State College 21-25, 19-25, 19-25 before closing out the weekend tournament with a sweep over Ellsworth Community College 25-9, 25-18, 25-20.

The Trailblazers began the morning of the final day of the Blazer Classic with a very tough test against No. 20-ranked Eastern Florida State College.

The Titans got the early advantage in set one before the Blazers rode the momentum of a 13-2 scoring run to take a 17-12 lead.

Eastern Florida State would chip away at this VU lead before grabbing the momentum back with a 7-0 run ultimately leading to the Titans closing out the first set 25-21.

VU looked to bounce back and even the match in set two and found themselves ahead early with an 11-7 lead.

Eastern Florida State again answered back to take a 15-13 lead before the Blazers tied the game at 18-18.

Eastern Florida State then closed out the second set strong by scoring seven of the final eight points to take the set 25-19 and gain a 2-0 match lead.

Set three was another tightly contested back-and-forth battle with VU holding a 15-14 lead midway through the set before the Titans came away on an 11-4 run to close out the set and the match over the Blazers 25-19.

The VU offense was led by sophomore Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) who returned to the lineup in a big way with 14 kills and eight digs against the Titans.

Sophomore Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) continued her big season with seven kills, one dig and one set assist.

Sophomore Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) continues to be a force in the middle with four kills, two blocks and one dig.

Freshmen Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) and Karen Kodi (West Carrollton, Ohio) round out the VU offense with Sadowska ending with two kills and two blocks and Kodi getting one kill and one dig.

Sophomore Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) and freshman Rylee Edwards (Fairfield, Ill.) stepped in at the setter position for sophomore Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) who was out of the lineup Saturday.

DeCoursey led the way in the first match of the day with 13 set assists and two digs, while Edwards finished with 10 set assists, three digs and two aces.

Sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) ran the VU back row defense with five digs, one set assist and two aces, while freshman Brooklyn Summers (Loogootee, Ind.) rounded out the VU box score with four digs in the match.

"Against a team like that you just have to be able to score," VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. "Not having Libby out there was a challenge for us. She ran a one-setter offense Friday and had some pretty good numbers and did a really nice job of running our offense. Anytime you have even one new setter out there, it's going to be challenging."

"I think that playing a team like Eastern Florida State and playing them tough is good for us," Sien added. "Not only because of the level of competition we are going up against, but it validates the fact that we can play with a team like that."

VU looked to bounce back and close out the weekend strong in their second match of the day when the Blazers took on Ellsworth Community College from Iowa.

Vincennes was able to jump on the Panthers early in set one, using a massive 20-3 scoring run to pull away and take the opening set 25-9 over Ellsworth.

Set two was more of a back-and-forth battle with the two teams even at 15-15 before the Blazers closed out the set with a 10-3 run to take set two 25-18 and gain a 2-0 match lead.

Vincennes built an early lead in set three, leading 17-11 before Ellsworth began to chip away at the VU advantage.

The Panthers would continue to battle and cut the deficit down to a single point at 21-20 before the Blazers closed out strong by scoring the final four points of the match to take set three 25-20 and end the weekend with a sweep.

VU was again led by the sophomore hitting duo of Laura Tavares and Isadora Dias. Tavares led the Blazers against Ellsworth with 12 kills and three blocks, while Dias posted a double-double with 10 kills, 11 digs, one ace and one block.

Elisa Dalla Pozza also had another big game at the net with seven kills, five blocks, two aces, one dig and one set assist to really fill out the box score.

Freshman Paulina Fister (Tuszyn, Poland) and Martyna Sadowska each finished the weekend with three kills, with Fister adding three digs and Sadowska getting two blocks.

Karen Kodi rounds out the VU offense with a pair of kills in the match.

Rylee Edwards and Dylan DeCoursey continued to run the VU offense well at the setter position, with Edwards leading the way with 15 set assists, four digs and two aces, while DeCoursey finished with a double-double of 12 set assists, 10 digs and two aces.

The VU defense was again run by libero Grace Flexter who finished with a team-high 15 digs to go along with five set assists, while freshman Ashley Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) added seven digs, one set assist and one ace.

"We blocked the best overall in the first set," Sien said. "Other things were involved like we were able to get on some service runs and were serving tough. The thing that we weren't able to overcome completely was stopping their middle attack. We got the outsides and the right sides off and were up on them. Either we were digging them or they would make some errors but we had a hard time in the second and third sets against the middles. That made it a more competitive match. Against a good middle attack you have to put up a good block and we were just slow to react."

The Trailblazers will be on the road to begin the next week of volleyball action when VU travels to Belleville, Ill. for a Region 24 showdown against Southwestern Illinois College Tuesday, Sept. 10 at 6 p.m. eastern.

Vincennes will then return home for another Region 24 clash on Friday, Sept. 13 when VU hosts Lincoln Trail College at 7 p.m. on Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night.

Other results from Day Two of the 2024 Blazer Classic include, No. 20 Eastern Florida State winning over Wabash Valley College 25-11, 25-14, 25-15. Ellsworth C.C. winning over Pratt C.C. 27-25, 14-25, 23-25, 27-25, 15-8. Mineral Area College winning over Pratt C.C. 25-20, 25-11, 25-14 and Mineral Area College winning over Wabash Valley College 25-11, 25-20, 25-14.

"We got two of our toughest weekend tournaments done for the year," Sien said. "We always schedule that in the beginning of the year and it's good to have it that early so we can tell where we are at as a team. We still haven't had our full roster, not even for a day, this season. But that puts us in a situation where we have to play a little deeper into the roster and that's fine because you don't always know what you have unless they actually play. Practice can only show you so much."

"I thought that Rylee Edwards did a really nice job today," Sien added. "She hasn't really played a lot this year but I think she came in and ran the offense pretty well. She also brought in some good serving, which allowed us to make some runs. I thought she had a couple of pretty good matches today and has shown us that she has the potential to be someone to play right now."

"Having Isadora back was big," Sien said. "Not only for her skills and her skill set on the floor but she brings a lot of leadership and talking on the floor. A positive attitude but also will get on you if you need it."

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

Eastern Florida State – 25   25   25   x   x

VUVB (6-4, 3-0) – 21   19   19   x   x

VINCENNES STATS

Grace Flexter – 2 points, 2 aces, 5 digs, 1 set assist

Rylee Edwards – 2 points, 2 aces, 3 digs, 10 set assists

Dylan DeCoursey – 2 digs, 13 set assists

Brooklyn Summers – 4 digs

Laura Tavares – 7 points, 7 kills, 1 dig, 1 set assist

Isadora Dias – 14 points, 14 kills, 8 digs

Martyna Sadowska – 3 points, 2 kills, 2 block assists

Elisa Dalla Pozza – 5 points, 4 kills, 2 block assists, 1 dig

Karen Kodi – 1 point, 1 kill, 1 dig

GAME TWO

Ellsworth – 9   18   20   x   x

VUVB (7-4, 3-0) – 25   25   25   x   x

VINCENNES STATS

Grace Flexter – 15 digs, 5 set assists

Paulina Fister – 3 points, 3 kills, 3 digs

Rylee Edwards – 2 points, 2 aces, 4 digs, 15 set assists

Dylan DeCoursey – 2 points, 2 aces, 10 digs, 12 set assists

Laura Tavares – 13.5 points, 12 kills, 3 block assists

Isadora Dias – 11.5 points, 1 ace, 10 kills, 1 block assist, 11 digs

Ashley Earp – 1 point, 1 ace, 7 digs, 1 set assist

Martyna Sadowska – 4 points, 3 kills, 2 block assists

Elisa Dalla Pozza – 12 points, 2 aces, 7 kills, 1 solo block, 4 block assists, 1 dig, 1 set assist

Karen Kodi – 2 points, 2 kills