USI falls to UT Martin, 3-0

MARTIN, Tenn. – University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (1-17, 1-6 OVC) was swept by the University of Tennessee at Martin (12-8, 6-1 OVC) at Skyhawk Fieldhouse Saturday afternoon, 3-0 (21-25, 25-27, 10-25). The Screaming Eagles have now lost three-straight matches and are still searching for their first road win of the season.

USI dropped the opening set to UT Martin, 25-21. Down 4-1, junior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) and sophomore outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) tallied one kill each to cut the deficit to one. The Skyhawks would pull away and end up taking a 17-12 advantage. The Eagles, however, returned the favor with a 4-0 run that included three kills to make it 17-16. UT Martin turned around with a 4-1 stint before USI tacked on three straight to close the gap to just one again. The Skyhawks closed out the set by scoring four of the final five points to win the opening frame.

A much more competitive set from USI ends in UT Martin’s favor, as the Skyhawks take the second set, 27-25. The Eagles went down 4-1 to start the frame before kills from Bednar and Anderson helped USI tie it at four apiece. UT Martin went on a 4-0 surge to double up USI, 8-4. Later in the set, the Skyhawks held a five-point lead before the Eagles stormed back to cut the deficit to just 18-17. UT Martin would record six of the next eight points to add to their lead and make it a set-point opportunity. However, USI went down fighting, scoring five straight points with two kills and the help of three UT Martin attacking errors to tie it at 24. Despite a strong finish, the Eagles watched the Skyhawks tack on the final two points off two kills to give them a two-set lead. Anderson led USI with five kills while sophomore outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) recorded four kills. The Eagles nabbed 13 kills with a .294 attacking percentage compared to the Skyhawks’ immaculate 20 kills and .233 hitting percentage.

It was a tough third frame for USI, dropping the final set, 25-10. The Eagles showed effort early in the set after earning four kills to tie it at five apiece. The Skyhawks turned on the jets and racked up a crucial 16-2 run that cost USI the set and match. The stint included eight kills and four aces for UT Martin. Down 21-7, freshman middle hitter Bianca Anderson (Chicago Heights, Illinois) threw down a kill to stop the run and nab her second kill of the match. The Skyhawks would tack on four more points to win the set and their sixth Ohio Valley Conference match of the campaign.

Anderson’s 10 kills led the Eagles’ offense while Bednar recorded nine kills. Sophomore setter Carly Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Indiana) handled the passing game for USI with 25 assists while Weber earned a team-high 12 digs. Bednar and sophomore middle blocker Lauren O’Neill (Covington, Indiana) put up three blocks each to lead the Eagles at the net.

USI produced 31 kills and 28 aces while finishing with 42 digs and five blocks. This was the first time this season the Eagles did not earn at least one ace in a match.

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Trailblazer volleyball team extended their winning streak to eight games Friday after defeating Edison State Community College 25-23, 25-19, 25-13 and Snead State Community College 22-25, 25-23, 25-19, 25-9 to begin the Showdown on the Wabash at the P.E. Complex.

The Trailblazers opened the two-day tournament against Edison State Community College from Piqua, Ohio.

The first set against the Chargers began slowly for VU until sophomore Lara Gomes de Castro (Sao Paulo, Brazil) gave the Blazers the momentum with a 7-0 scoring run.

Edison State fought back and cut the deficit to a single point but were unable to take the lead as Vincennes closed out the first set going the distance 25-23.

Vincennes grabbed the early momentum in set two as well, holding a 16-9 lead midway through the set.

Edison State could only manage to cut the VU lead down to four as Vincennes took set two 25-19.

The Trailblazers looked to close out the opening match of the Showdown on the Wabash in the third set and quickly built a 12-4 lead over Edison State.

The Chargers would rally back to within four, but Vincennes regained the momentum and closed out the third set scoring nine of the final 10 points to win set three 25-13 and complete the sweep.

“We struggled in the first set against Edison State,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “I thought we had some decent leads in the set but we just kept letting them catch up. If we had just been a little more consistent in one or two areas, we would have won the set a lot sooner. We just get into these ruts at the beginning of matches all year and it seems like it takes us a set or a set and a half to warm up.”

“At least we got better as the match went on and got a bit more consistent,” Sien added. “It all starts with our serve receive and it seems like it just takes a while for us to get our serve receive going and that’s why we have such slow starts. Once we got into our game, Edison State really had a hard time keeping up with us and our offense was pretty much spot on.”

“I thought we had a very nice serving runs too,” Sien said. “Anytime we are doing well, it’s because we are able to have some nice serving runs. Hannah had a couple. Lara had a couple. Josephine had one. Whenever we are able to have three or more servers get on nice runs, we are hard to stop. Strong serves and being almost surgical about hitting at certain players, plays into our hands.”

“Pretty much since I’ve been back, we haven’t been at 100 percent as a team,” Sien added. “And tonight, we again had to make adjustments. We moved Alexis to the outside and moved Maecy to the right side as a hitter and both of them really played well all day for us.”

The Trailblazers were led in the first match of the day with another double-double performance by freshman Paige Parlanti (Las Vegas, Nev.) who finished with 17 kills, 15 digs, two aces and two blocks.

Sophomore Malgorzata Banasiak (Gdynia, Poland) had a very nice offensive game, finishing with nine kills on a .571 hitting percentage, with a pair of digs and a block.

Freshman Maecy Johnson (Chrisman, Ill.) and sophomore Hannah Graber (Montgomery, Ind.) were next with Johnson ending with four kills, two blocks and two digs and Graber finishing with three kills, three aces, 10 digs and a team-high 19 set assists to finish off a double-double of her own.

Freshmen Alexis Chrappa (Effingham, Ill.), Nisa Salis (Ankara, Turkey) and Tuana Turhan (Ankara, Turkey) each finished with two kills.

Chrappa added five digs and a block, while Salis finished with three blocks, two digs and an ace and Turhan ended with four digs, two blocks and a set assist.

Freshman Audrey Buis (Franklin, Ind.) entered the match in the third set and recorded one kill and one dig.

Sophomore setter Josephine Mulligan (Saint John, Ind.) ended the match with 11 set assists, eight digs and an ace.

Freshman libero Morgan Netcott (Montague, Mich.) and Lara Gomes de Castro controlled the back row defense with Netcott leading the Blazers with 20 digs and a set assist and Gomes de Castro adding six digs.

Vincennes took the floor again later Friday night to finish out the first day of the weekend tournament against Snead State Community College from Boaz, Alabama.

Set one was a back-and-forth battle with Snead State gaining the upper hand with a late 3-0 scoring run to put the Parsons ahead by four.

Vincennes was unable to complete the late comeback as Snead State took set one 25-22.

Vincennes looked to bounce back in set two, trading points and the lead with Snead State throughout most of the set.

Vincennes would take the lead back late at 23-21 and held on through four straight side outs to take set two 25-23 and even the match at 1-1.

The Trailblazers again battled through the early stages of the third set before using a 7-1 scoring run to take a three-point lead.

VU would hold on to this lead as Snead State was unable to put together a scoring run of their own with the Trailblazers taking set three 25-19 and taking a 2-1 match lead.

Looking to close out the first day of the Showdown on the Wabash on a high note the Trailblazers took their play to another level in the fourth set.

VU grabbed a big lead with an 8-1 scoring run and put the match away with a late 10-1 scoring run as the Trailblazers took set four 25-9 and earned the 3-1 match victory.

USI falls to UT Martin, 3-1

MARTIN, Tenn. – Junior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois), sophomore outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana), and sophomore setter Carly Sobieralski (Indianapolis, Indiana) each earned double-doubles despite University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (1-16, 1-5 OVC) falling 3-1 (15-25, 22-25, 26-24, 18-25) to the University of Tennessee at Martin (11-8, 5-1 OVC) at Skyhawk Fieldhouse Friday night. Anderson led the group with 13 kills and 16 digs while Weber nabbed 12 kills and 13 digs as Sobieralski tallied 29 assists and 15 digs.
 
The Screaming Eagles kept it close until a late Skyhawks’ surge ended the opening frame with a 25-15 loss for USI. The Eagles were able to take an early 7-6 lead after some crucial UT Martin errors and a kill from junior outside/right side hitter/setter Katherine Koch (Belleville, Illinois). The Skyhawks turned around with a 4-0 run to take the lead and not give it back. UT Martin would tally nine of the next 13 points to extend its lead to 19-12 before sophomore middle hitter Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana) struck down a kill and Anderson served an ace to stop the bleeding. However, the damage was already done as the Skyhawks take set one away from the Eagles. USI completed the frame with four kills and nine errors to tally a negative .161 hitting percentage, the lowest of the match.
 
The Eagles played from behind the entire set and ended with a 25-22 loss. Despite earning the first point of the frame, USI watched UT Martin jump to a 4-2 lead before extending to a 13-8 advantage. The Eagles were able to stay within a few points but could not catch traction on offense, leading to a 2-0 match lead for the Skyhawks. USI played a solid second set, earning 12 kills with just four errors and a .216 hitting percentage.
 
Set three proved to be the Eagles’ best of the match, earning an impressive 26-24 victory. USI led 6-3 after nabbing four kills by four different players right before the Eagles tacked on three more to make it 9-4. A short comeback from the Skyhawks made it 12-11 before USI tallied four straight points to extend the lead back to five. However, UT Martin nabbed eight of the next 10 points to take a 19-18 lead before Weber and sophomore outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) each recorded kills to regain the lead. Weber and Anderson led the Eagles to victory after striking down two kills each to lift USI to a third-set win. The Eagles produced big numbers in the third with a match-high 18 kills and an impressive .231 hitting percentage.
 
An early lead was taken away from the Eagles as the Skyhawks stole a 25-18 victory. It looked to be a dominant fourth set for USI after doubling UT Martin 8-4. Back-to-back aces from Anderson highlighted the early lead for the Eagles while Weber, Bednar, and sophomore middle block Lauren O’Neill (Covington, Indiana) provided a combined five kills. Despite holding a five-point lead, USI watched UT Martin turn its deficit into a lead after surging back to tie it at 15 apiece. The Skyhawks would score 10 of the final 13 points to win the match and earn their fifth conference victory.
 
Anderson’s 13 kills and three aces highlighted the Eagles’ offense in company with Weber’s 12 kills and one ace. Bednar threw down four blocks while Anderson tallied a team-high 16 digs. Sobieralski earned 29 assists along with 15 kills to help USI’s offense.
 
USI produced 47 kills, 44 assists, and four aces with 69 digs and five blocks. UT Martin earned 60 kills, 60 assists, and two aces with 70 digs and six blocks. The Eagles’ 26 attacking errors and three ball-handling errors were each tied for most this season.
 

UE looks to split weekend against Missouri State

 

EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Sophomore Giulia Cardona led the University of Evansville volleyball team with 11 kills in a 3-0 loss to Southern Illinois inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse on Friday evening.

Cardona added six digs.  Alondra Vazquez and Madisyn Steele finished with nine kills apiece.  Vazquez tied for the match-high with 10 digs.  Kora Ruff recorded 27 assists and eight digs for the Purple Aces.

Set 1 – SIU 25, UE 22

Southern Illinois hit the ground running, scoring the first six points of the night before going up 8-1.  UE got within five tallies on multiple occasions before the Salukis pushed the lead to 16-8 – the biggest lead to that point.  Trailing 21-15, the Purple Aces stormed back.

Alondra Vazquez picked up consecutive service aces to help her team make it a 22-20 game.  Despite the comeback, SIU fended off the challenge to take the 25-22 win.

Set 2 – SIU 25, UE 19

Another big start for Southern Illinois gave them a 4-1 edge to begin game two.  Evansville took advantage of a handful of Saluki errors to tie the game at 5-5 before SIU responded to retake the advantage at 10-6.  A kill from Emilee Scheumann was followed by a Laura Ruiz service ace that cut the SIU lead to 16-14.

Madisyn Steele recorded a kill that got her team even closer (18-17) before a game-ending run saw Southern Illinois win by a 25-19 score and go up 2-0.

Set 3 – SIU 25, UE 18

After opening on a 3-1 run, the Salukis added to their lead going up 10-5 forcing an Aces time out.  Brooke Springer ended the SIU run with a kill, but the Salukis came right back to clinch the match with the 25-18 decision.

UE welcomes Missouri State on Saturday at 5 p.m.