Trailblazers sweep Lincoln Trail on Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University volleyball team kept their Region 24 winning streak alive Friday night at the Physical Education Complex, hosting Lincoln Trail College on Faculty and Staff Appreciation Night.

VU secured their 43rd straight win over a Region 24 opponent by defeating the Statesmen 26-24, 25-20, 25-18.

Vincennes got off to a slow start in set one with Lincoln Trail quickly grabbing an 8-5 lead.

VU would battle back to regain the lead at 12-11 before the Statesmen rallied with three unanswered points.

Lincoln Trail would grow their lead to four points at 23-19 and look to have the Blazers on the ropes in the first set before VU rode a wave on encouragement from the home crowd to close out set one on a 7-1 scoring run and take the opening set 26-24 in overtime.

Vincennes continued to ride this momentum into set two, gaining an early 7-4 advantage and later growing their lead to 18-10.

Lincoln Trail would continue to battle however, cutting the deficit down to three at 19-16 but were unable to overcome the deficit as VU took set three 25-20 to earn a 2-0 match lead.

The Trailblazers looked determined early in set three to finish off another Region 24 sweep, scoring the first four points of the set before the Statesmen would rally to even the score at 8-8.

Vincennes would again find themselves holding an 18-10 lead as Coach Sien began to empty his bench.

Lincoln Trail would look to close the margin late in the third set but were unable to complete the comeback as VU picked up set three 25-18 to complete the three set sweep over the Statesmen.

"Every year we always enjoy having Faculty and Staff Night," VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. "When you talk about the student athlete, we obviously talk a lot about the athlete part, but I always feel we need to talk about the student part more. Tonight we got to see that these faculty and staff members really mean a lot to our athletes and it was great to recognize that and the big part that they play in their lives. There are a number of professors that told me that they still keep in touch with our athletes from years back, even going back to my first year in 2016."

"Having the long recognition before the game I think got us off to a slow start tonight," Sien added. "We really were slow the entire first set and it felt like we were playing catch up. We were down 19-23, we got Brooklyn in there and she is just a real spark off the bench. She always comes in and makes a big serve, a big serving run or a couple of big digs. She may be quiet vocally, but she is loud when it comes to her play."

"After that comeback to take set one we definitely used that momentum at the end in the second and third sets," Sien said. "It really just helped get us going. Up to that point we were just making a ton of errors."

The VU offense was led by another outstanding game by sophomore Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) who finished with 11 kills, 11 digs and one block for her fifth double-double of the season.

Sophomore Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) was also in double figures in kills with 10 to go along with three blocks.

Sophomore Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) returned to action to put together a solid all-around game, finishing with eight kills while also leading the team at the setter position with 20 set assists, five digs and three aces.

Freshman Paulina Fister (Tuszyn, Poland) finished her night with seven kills and one block, while fellow freshman Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) filled up the stats sheet with five kills, two blocks, one ace and one dig.

Sophomore Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) rounded out the VU offense with one kill, two blocks, two aces and two digs.

Sophomore Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) helped run the offense at the setter position, finishing with 17 set assists, two digs and two aces.

Freshman Rylee Edwards (Fairfield, Ill.) subbed into the game late as a setter and finished with a pair of set assists.

The VU defense was again led by sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) who matched Dias with a team-high 11 digs, two set assists and one ace.

Freshman Brooklyn Summers (Loogootee, Ind.) rounded out the Trailblazer box score with three digs.

Freshmen Ashley Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) and Karen Kodi (West Carrollton, Ohio) entered the game late in the third set and did not record a stat.

"We definitely had to have our two sophomore hitters, Isadora and Laura, lead," Sien said. "We were again short another hitter on the floor and had to make some adjustments and put Martyna in the middle so we really had to have those two step up. So credit to them for not only getting the statistics that they got, but for leading out there. They just said, 'I'm going to go out there and play hard and just follow me'."

"We just got Libby back in the lineup," Sien added. "She hasn't hit often for us but she had really good numbers tonight. Not only did she have eight kills but it was on 21 swings with no errors. For someone who hasn't hit too often, she hit .381 on the night. But that's another reason why we like her. She gives us that option if we need her to hit. Having those three sophomores leading in the attack category really helped tonight."

"I thought our ball control was pretty good from the middle of the first set on," Sien said. "We were really sketchy with everything at the start. We were missing serves, hitting the ball out, not passing well. But I thought our ball control really got shored up from that comeback on."

"It's true for a lot of team we play, but a lot of teams just don't see the blocking that we give," Sien added. "They burned us early on with some roll shots and hitting to the corners and we had to be ready to make those adjustments because we knew they were going to try to hit around our block."

The Trailblazers will be on the road next week as VU hits the road for a Region 24 match Tuesday, Sept. 17 against Lake Land College in Mattoon, Ill. This match is set to begin at 7 p.m. eastern.

Vincennes will then hit the road over the weekend, heading to Hanceville, Ala. for the 2024 Wallace State C.C. Fall Bash Friday, Sept. 20 and Saturday, Sept. 21.

VU will open the weekend tournament Friday against NJCAA Division II No. 12-ranked Enterprise State C.C. at 6 p.m. eastern and Snead State C.C. at 8 p.m. eastern.

The Trailblazers will then close out the weekend slate against host Wallace State C.C. at 10 a.m. eastern and Lawson State C.C. at 2 p.m. eastern.

"I've been saying it for about three straight weeks, but I hope to have everyone back," Sien said. "Next week will be hard. Right now Lake Land is definitely playing well. Right now we are the last two undefeated teams in the Region and it's going to be at their place. It will definitely be a tough game. For this early in the season, this might be match of the week in our Region. It's a good opportunity to see who is for real at this point in the season."

"I know we are looking forward to it," Sien added. "Our team understands the situation and are very much looking forward to this match on Tuesday."

BOX SCORE

Lincoln Trail – 24   20   18   x   x

VUVB (9-4, 5-0) – 26   25   25   x   x

VINCENNES STATS

Grace Flexter – 1 point, 1 ace, 11 digs, 2 set assists

Paulina Fister – 7.5 points, 7 kills, 1 block assist

Rylee Edwards – 2 set assists

Dylan DeCoursey – 2 points, 2 aces, 2 digs, 17 set assists

Brooklyn Summers – 3 digs

Laura Tavares – 12.5 points, 10 kills, 2 solo blocks, 1 block assist

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

Allison Czyzewski – 4 points, 2 aces, 1 kill, 2 block assists, 2 digs

Martyna Sadowska – 6.5 points, 1 ace, 5 kills, 1 solo block, 1 block assist, 1 dig

Libby Mehringer – 11 points, 3 aces, 8 kills, 5 digs, 20 set assists