PERRYSBURG, Ohio – The Vincennes University volleyball team had an excellent bounce back day Saturday at the final day of the 2024 Owens Community College Tournament in Ohio.
VU bounced back from yesterday’s games with a pair of sweeps, first winning over Southwestern Michigan College 25-13, 25-13, 25-17, before closing out the tournament against Danville Area Community College 25-12, 25-7, 25-19.
The Blazers got the day start out right with the first game of the day against Southwestern Michigan, after the Roadrunners got the first point of the match, VU answered by going on a big 11-0 scoring run with three aces by sophomore Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.).
Southwestern Michigan responded back with four unanswered points before the two teams traded 5-0 scoring runs.
VU continued to ride this early momentum through the first set as the Blazers closed out set one of the day 25-13 to take an early 1-0 match lead.
Set two looked to be more of a back-and-forth contest early with Southwestern Michigan holding an early 6-5 advantage.
This was before VU again used a big scoring run to shift the momentum of the game, scoring eight unanswered with sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) on the service line to rally back to take a 13-6 lead.
The Roadrunners were able to cut the deficit down to 13-10 but this would be as close as they would get as VU closed out the second set strong, taking set two 25-13 and grab the 2-0 match lead.
Looking to complete the three set sweep, Vincennes again found themselves in a back-and-forth battle early in set three.
Vincennes was able to take advantage of a series of two-for-one scoring runs to build a 16-12 lead over Southwestern Michigan midway through the set.
VU would then pick up a pair of 4-0 scoring runs to help put the game away as the Blazers closed out set three 25-17 to complete the sweep and get back on the winning track.
“We wanted to play very well today, to make up for the tough losses from yesterday,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “That’s like losing twice in overtime. We wanted to take control from the beginning to end with our service and blocking game.”
The VU offense was led in match one of the day by sophomore Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) who finished with 13 kills, one block and one dig.
Sophomores Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) and Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) followed Tavares with Dias adding eight kills, six digs, two blocks and one set assist and Dalla Pozza adding seven kills, three blocks, three digs, one set assist and one ace.
Freshman Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) and sophomore Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) each had big games at the net as well with Sadowska finishing with five kills, three blocks and two digs and Czyzewski adding four kills and two blocks.
The VU offense was rounded out by sophomore setter Libby Mehringer who ran the offense with 30 set assists, eight digs, three aces, two kills and one block.
Mehringer’s team-high eight digs were matched by freshman Brooklyn Summers (Loogootee, Ind.), who finished with eight digs, two aces and one set assist.
Sophomore Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) added three digs, while freshman Rylee Edwards (Fairfield, Ill.) added a pair of set assists.
Sophomore libero Grace Flexter rounded out the VU box score with three set assists, two digs and one ace.
The Blazers then returned to the court for the final match of the two-day tournament, facing off against Danville Area Community College.
Vincennes wasted little time grabbing the momentum against the Jaguars, launching a massive 14-0 scoring run in set one behind an outstanding seven aces by Brooklyn Summers to take a big 15-2 lead.
Danville continued to battle but were unable to overcome this big deficit as Vincennes grabbed set one 25-12 and took the early 1-0 match lead.
Set two began with the two teams trading points before the Blazers again broke the set open with another big 14-0 scoring run, this time with sophomore Dylan DeCoursey at the service line to take an 18-4 lead.
Vincennes used this big scoring run to glide to a big 25-7 set two victory and earn a 2-0 match lead.
Danville looked determined to avoid the sweep early in set three with the Jaguars jumping out to an early 7-5 advantage before the Blazers answered back with a 10-1 scoring run to take a 15-8 lead.
After the two teams traded points, Vincennes continued to add to their lead to 23-14 before Danville looked to make a late run but were unable to complete the comeback as VU took set three 25-19 and completed the daily sweep.
“Same thing, different team,” Sien added. “Danville Area, who restarted their program after a 10 year break, has some good athletes we were targeting.”
