Dias guides Trailblazers to road Region 24 sweep over SIC

HARRISBURG, Ill. – The Vincennes University volleyball team opened the final week of the 2024 regular season Tuesday night with a strong three set sweep over Region 24 opponent Southeastern Illinois College.

The Blazers were led by sophomore Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) who's 16 kills and seven digs guided VU to a 25-12, 25-12, 25-17 victory over the Falcons.

Vincennes got off to an excellent start to the match, quickly building a 10-4 advantage after a 5-0 scoring run.

VU continued to add to their lead throughout the set before slamming the door with six straight points to close the opening set 25-12 and give the Trailblazers a 1-0 match lead.

VU was again able to break away early in set two, with a 4-0 run giving the Trailblazers an early 9-3 lead over the Falcons.

Vincennes would use several small scoring runs to expand their lead before again taking over late with four straight points to close the second set 25-12 and gain a 2-0 match lead.

Looking to complete the sweep, VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien changed the lineup for set three, getting the entire traveling roster involved in the match.

Set three opened as a more back-and-forth battle with the two teams locked at 14-14 before VU scored five straight to take a 19-14 lead.

Vincennes would ride this momentum down the stretch, outscoring Southeastern Illinois 4-1 to close out set three 25-17 and take home the three set sweep over the Falcons.

"We were a bit more prepared to play them tonight after seeing them on Saturday," VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said after the game. "We focused on running our offense at every opportunity and staying scrappy on defense on hitter coverage. We let a lot of balls drop against them on Saturday, which we minimized tonight. And we focused on covering shots they made for kills the last time we played."

The Trailblazers were led offensively by sophomore Isadora Dias who finished with 16 kills, seven digs, two set assists and one block.

Sophomore Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) finished her night with seven kills, one block and two digs, while fellow sophomore Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) recorded five kills.

Sophomore Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) and freshman Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) each finished their night with four kills, with Czyzewski adding one block and one dig, while Sadowska added two digs and two set assists.

Freshmen Karen Kodi (West Carrollton, Ohio) and Paulina Fister (Tuszyn, Poland) rounded out the VU offense with Kodi getting a pair of kills and Fister recording one kill to go along with seven digs and one set assist.

Sophomore setter Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) controlled the VU offense for most of the night, filling up the stats sheet with 13 set assists, four digs, four kills, one block and one ace.

Freshman setters Rylee Edwards (Fairfield, Ill.) and Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) each finished with 10 set assists and three digs, with Edwards also adding an ace to her totals.

The VU back row defense was again led by sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) who led the Blazers with eight digs, four set assists and one ace.

Freshmen Julianna Rettig (Antioch, Ill.) and Ashley Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) round out the VU box score Tuesday night with the pair each recording two digs in the match.

"There's not much opportunity to get everyone into a game with the schedule we play, so we get that in when we can," Sien added. "Let me also say that we have had our typical tough schedule, like we do every year. Playing against ranked teams, traveling hundreds, if not thousands of miles. There's even more travel now during the week due to the expansion of D1 teams in Region 24 since we are so far away from many other Region schools."

"Despite the time demand, the team earned outstanding grades at Midterm," Sien said. "You will find many of them doing homework on the bus. They are a credit to the University for not only their accomplishments on the court, but in the classroom as well."

The Trailblazers will look to close out the 2024 regular season strong this weekend as they head to Robinson, Ill. Friday, Oct. 25 to face off against Lincoln Trail College at 7 p.m. eastern before returning home Saturday, Oct. 26 to face Kaskaskia College at 12 p.m. eastern on Sophomore Recognition Day.

"We were consistently on task in practice this week and it continued on the road tonight," Sien said. "We need to maintain this level of play for these last two Region matches and into the Region Tournament. There is no more time left and no more excuses remaining. We have to play at the highest level possible from beginning to end."

BOX SCORE

Southeastern Illinois – 12   12   17   x   x

VUVB (25-12, 13-3) – 25   25   25   x   x

VINCENNES STATS

Grace Flexter – 1 point, 1 ace, 8 digs, 4 set assists

Paulina Fister – 1 point, 1 kill, 7 digs, 1 set assist

Rylee Edwards – 1 point, 1 ace, 3 digs, 10 set assists

Dylan DeCoursey – 3 digs, 10 set assists

Julianna Rettig – 2 digs

Laura Tavares – 5 points, 5 kills

Isadora Dias – 16.5 points, 16 kills, 1 block assist, 7 digs, 2 set assists

Allison Czyzewski – 4.5 points, 4 kills, 1 block assist, 1 dig

Ashley Earp – 2 digs

Martyna Sadowska – 4 points, 4 kills, 2 digs, 2 set assists

Elisa Dalla Pozza – 7.5 points, 7 kills, 1 block assist, 2 digs

Karen Kodi – 2 points, 2 kills

Libby Mehringer – 5.5 points, 1 ace, 4 kills, 1 block assist, 4 digs, 13 set assists