LOUISVILLE, Ill. – The two-time defending Region 24 Champion Vincennes University Trailblazer volleyball program picked up another big signing Monday afternoon in six-foot middle blocker Allison Czyzewski out of North Clay High School.

Czyzewski comes to VU after a tremendous two-sport career on the Cardinals’ volleyball and basketball teams and the Integrity Volleyball Elite club team.

“Allison’s club coach approached us a couple of months ago, just to introduce her to us,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “Allison was going back-and-forth between playing basketball or volleyball and I think that’s why this all got done so late. Her club coach had said that she was beginning to draw more interest this past year in volleyball, which is why she was playing club volleyball instead of travel basketball.”

“She is definitely someone that we see a lot of potential in,” Sien added. “We look at a number of students and we try to predict what they can possibly do in two years and we liked that she is a really nice athlete. She is long and can jump, which also helped her playing basketball. We are definitely looking forward to working with her and seeing if we can help get closer to her full potential.”

Czyzewski closed out her volleyball career with a big senior season where she led the Cardinals to a 27-11 record with 222 kills, 96 digs, 49 blocks and 10 aces and winning the 2022 Flora Volleyball Tournament.

Czyzewski ended her run at North Clay with two All-National Trail Conference (NTC) Team selections and was named to the Effingham Daily News All-Area First team and All-Energy teams, while also winning the Teammate of the Year Award and Most Blocks and Kills Award for the Cardinal volleyball team.

Czyzewski was also a very accomplished basketball player at North Clay High School, closing out her three-year career with 841 points and 846 rebounds, while being named an All-State Honorable Mention this past season.

Czyzewski also earned the Team Leadership Award, was twice named to the Dieterich Holiday All-Tournament Team and was named to the NTC All-Tournament team as a freshman.

“The nice thing about next season is that we will have some returning middles coming back,” Sien said. “So, there’s no set timetable or rush for Allison to step right in, which will give her some time to see and learn exactly what we do here and we will look at her on the right side too. Probably just like any other hitters that we get in here, no matter how much experience they have, she is going to have to learn how to hit the different tempo of sets and be able to learn different shots to different areas of the court.”

“Percentage wise, the middle 10 to 12 feet at the net, if you run anything in that part of the court, you will have so much open,” Sien added. “That’s why we not only like to run our middles, but we also like to run our other hitters in that middle area. She will also learn about different tip shots at the net. So, there are a lot of things involved in that middle attacker position that we like our middles to do. We also look at Allison as someone that we can really train to block really well. So, we are looking forward to teaching and working with someone who has the athletic potential that Allison brings.”

Allison is the daughter of Joey and Adrienne Czyzewski and plans to major in Business Management at Vincennes University.

Czyzewski also comes to VU with a long list of Academic accomplishments, including receiving the David Klitzing Memorial Scholarship and WTCI Scholarship, The American Legion School Award, Son of American Revolution Award and was nominated for the NTC Honor Award and the All-State Academic Team Award. Czyzewski will graduate from North Clay High School Summa Cum Laude.

“North Clay High School Volleyball has been very fortunate to have Allison over the course of the last four years,” North Clay Volleyball Coach Megan Welty said. “She has been a pleasure to coach, as she is extremely dedicated to her team and the sport. Allison is a hard worker and never shies away from lending a helping hand to those who need it.”

“I have been able to count on her to give her all at everything, especially being a great teammate” Welty added. “This is evident by her receiving the Teammate of the Year Award during her senior season. North Clay and I are extremely proud of Allison and wish her the best of luck with her college and athletic endeavors at Vincennes University.”

Czyzewski joins Grace Flexter from Oblong, Ill., Libby Mehringer from Jasper, Ind. and Dylan DeCoursey from Barr-Reeve in the Trailblazers 2023 VUVB Recruiting Class.

“We’ve got another athlete signed that will be coming out soon, as well as several other offers out there right now,” Sien said. “The theme of these last six months of recruiting is just waiting for the right ones we feel can fit in to our team culture. Potentially this group we are bringing in this summer could be just as good, if not better, than the group we brought in last summer.”

The Vincennes University Athletic Department would like to welcome Allison Czyzewski to the 2023 recruiting class and wish her well as she finishes her senior year of high school.

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – The University of Evansville baseball team will begin its final homestand of the 2023 season on Tuesday night, as the Purple Aces will try to complete a season-series sweep of the Bellarmine Knights at German American Bank Field at Charles H. Braun Stadium.  First-pitch is set for 6 p.m. and Tuesday’s game can be seen live on ESPN+.

The Purple Aces (28-19 overall) won the first meeting of the season against Bellarmine, 14-2, on March 15 in Louisville, Kentucky on the strength of home runs from senior infielder Brent Widder, sophomore outfielder Ty Rumsey, graduate utility player Eric Roberts and fifth-year first baseman Chase Hug.  The home run has been a big part of UE’s attack this year, as Evansville has launched 62 home runs on the season.  The Purple Aces have gone back-to-back games without a home run for just the fourth time this year entering Tuesday’s contest, and UE has not gone three game without a home run so far this season.

Leading Evansville’s home run parade this year is Roberts, who still leads the Missouri Valley Conference with 17 home runs.  Roberts’ 17 home runs rank fifth-best all-time at UE in a single-season, and he has closed to within three home runs of Ed Kothera’s 1987 school record of 20 home runs.

Overall, Hug leads UE in hitting with a .332 average, with junior second baseman Kip Fougerousse second on the squad with a .298 average.  Fougerousse has been UE’s hottest hitter over the last month, hitting .404 (23-for-57) with three doubles, four home runs, and 17 RBI over the last 16 contests.  He has hit safely in five-straight games and in 15 of the last 16 games overall entering Tuesday night’s contest.

Bellarmine will enter Tuesday’s game at 11-37 overall.  The Knights are trying to snap a 10-game losing streak, as Bellarmine’s last win was a 5-4 win at Lipscomb on April 21.  Senior infielder Dylan Byerly is the Knights’ top hitter on the year with a .341 average this season.  Two-way player Casey Sorg is second on the team with a .288 average, five home runs and 18 RBI, while also posting a 1.50 ERA on the mound.

Evansville will send graduate RHP John MacCauley (1-1, 7.58 ERA) to the mound on Tuesday night in his second start of the year.  MacCauley has not allowed a run in his last 6.2 innings of work over his last two appearances.  He tossed three perfect innings last Wednesday in UE’s 4-1 win over Butler to open the month of May.

Tuesday’s game will open up the final homestand of the year for UE, as the Purple Aces will also host Bradley this weekend in a three-game Valley series to wrap up the 2023 home schedule.

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