PERRYSBURG, Ohio – The Vincennes University Trailblazers volleyball team suffered their first loss of the 2022 season Friday night on the opening day of the two-day Owens Community College tournament.

VU fell in four sets to NJCAA Division II No. 15-ranked Richard Bland College 25-20, 18-25, 22-25, 20-25 before immediately turning around and defeating Muskegon Community College in four sets 17-25, 25-18, 27-25, 25-14.

The Trailblazers took the court to begin their weekend tournament and VU quickly made an impact, jumping out to a 16-11 lead midway through the opening set over the Richard Bland Statesmen.

Vincennes continued to roll with their lead as VU took the early 1-0 match lead taking set one 25-20.

RBC battled back in the second set, grabbing an early lead and expanding to an eight-point advantage before taking set two and evening the match 25-18.

Vincennes fell behind early in the third set as well before rallying back with a 7-1 scoring run to take an 11-10 lead.

The two teams traded points in a back-and-forth battle of a set, with the Statesmen coming out on top and taking the 2-1 match lead 25-22.

Trailing in a match for the first time this season, the Trailblazers looked to avoid their first loss of the season as the fourth set began as another close battle.

Richard Bland College grabbed control of the match late with a 23-17 lead, before VU answered with three straight points, but were unable to close the margin any further as RBC took set four and the match 25-20.

VU was led offensively by freshman Paige Parlanti (Las Vegas, Nev.) who recorded another double-double on the season with a team-high 11 kills and 20 digs, while also adding an ace and a block assist on the night.

Freshmen Audrey Buis (Franklin, Ind.) and Alexis Chrappa (Effingham, Ill.) both hit well at the net with Buis finishing with seven kills and a block assist and Chrappa ending with six kills, seven digs and a block assist.

Freshman Tuana Turhan (Ankara, Turkey) and sophomore Malgorzata Banasiak (Gdynia, Poland) each recorded four kills against Richard Bland, with Turhan filling up the box score with three digs, two block assists and a set assist, with Banasiak finishing with a team-high three block assists.

Setters sophomore Hannah Graber (Montgomery, Ind.) and Maecy Johnson (Chrisman, Ill.) rounded out the VU offense with Graber getting two kills with her double-double of 16 set assists and 11 digs and Johnson getting one kill and just missing a double-double with nine set assists and nine digs.

Freshman Kennedy Sowell (Effingham, Ill.) controlled the net defensively for VU, match Banasiak for a team-high three block assists, while adding one dig.

The backrow defense was anchored by freshman libero Morgan Netcott (Montague, Mich.) and sophomore Lara Gomes de Castro (Sao Paulo, Brazil). Netcott finished with 12 digs and four set assists, while Gomes de Castro ended her match with five digs and an ace.

“Well, starting your day with a three-hour delay certainly doesn’t help,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said as the tournament ran behind schedule on the first day. “It wasn’t the best of circumstances, but we weren’t the only ones affected by that, so we had to go into our match and try to make the best out of it that we could.”

“We had an extremely strong start and had really good control of the game,” Sien added. “We served extremely tough and really took them out of their offense in set one. Then I think we weren’t as aggressive as we were early on and Richard Bland started serving us extremely tough back. We just got into a really long rut where our passing was not consistent where we could run all three of our hitters. Which just made our offense very predictable.”

“Despite that, all three sets that we lost were still pretty close,” Sien said. “So maybe a positive I can take out of this game is that even though we weren’t nearly playing at the top of our game, we were still battling.”

Vincennes had zero time to dwell on this result as VU had to immediately turn around and play Muskegon Community College from Muskegon, Mich. in the second of a back-to-back.

VU was slow out of the gates against the Jayhawks after their four-set battle with Richard Bland, with Muskegon holding on to an early lead to take set one 25-17.

The Trailblazers regrouped before the second set and Coach Sien came up with a new rotation going forward.

This new strategy paid off quickly with VU taking seven of the first nine points of set two.

VU continued to ride this momentum to take set two and even the match 25-18.

In the pivotal set three, the Trailblazers found themselves in another tightly contested battle. Muskegon jumped out to an early lead and looked to secure control of the match with a late 23-19 lead.

Vincennes responded back in a big way, with a 6-1 scoring run to force overtime. VU continued to ride this momentum, along with a key kill from freshman Audrey Buis to take set three 27-25 and take a 2-1 match lead.

With the Trailblazers looking to close out a very long first day of the Owens CC Tournament, VU used four separate scoring runs of three or more points to grab control of set four and go on to take the match 25-14.

Paige Parlanti continued the strong start to her collegiate career with her second double-double of the day against Muskegon, finishing with a team-high 16 kills and 17 digs. Parlanti also added three solo blocks and a block assist defensively and three aces.

Audrey Buis recorded her first career double-double, setting new career-highs with 14 kills and 13 digs, while also recording two aces and one block assist.

Tuana Turhan finished with seven kills, four block assists, two digs and one ace, with Hannah Graber and Alexis Chrappa close behind with six kills, seven digs, 41 set assists and one ace for Graber and five kills, four digs and two block assists for Chrappa.

Graber’s 41 set assists are the second-most in her career, falling five short of a new career-high.

Kennedy Sowell rounds out the VU offense with three kills and two block assists to close out the night.

Malgorzata Banasiak and Maecy Johnson only saw the court in the first set, but Banasiak still managed to come away with one solo block and three block assists and Johnson finished her night with three set assists and two digs.

Freshman Nisa Salis (Ankara, Turkey) entered the game in the opening set as well and came away with a block assist.

Morgan Netcott led the Blazers defensively with 20 digs and Lara Gomes de Castro added eight digs and a very impressive five aces.

“We don’t normally lose four sets in a row,” Sien said. “So when that happens, we have to do something to change things up. This is the first time we’ve done it this year because this was really the first time we’ve faced some tough adversity. But it’s something we’ve done last year, where when we get into those tough ruts, we go with a five-one, one setter offense and tonight Hannah ran that for us.”

“She has great experience running a one setter offense,” Sien added. “And the nice thing about a one-setter system is that the set is always the same. No matter who good your two setters are, there are going to be some differences. At that point in the match, we felt like that needed to be done, just to get that extra level of consistency.”

“We also switched a few other things, we put Audrey on the outside and she had a really nice match,” Sien said. “That is more her spot and to be able to put her and Paige out there, that’s some pretty big firepower for us and we really needed that. We put Alexis on the right-side, so she had to block more which I thought she did a pretty nice job doing. She also swings well offensively too. At that point, we just needed more offense on our left-side.”

“In the third set, we faced set point twice, but we had comeback before after facing set point this season against Lake Land,” Sien added. “Doing it today is even tougher than that, because we did it against Lake Land at home. That was a real gut-check for us. Whoever was going to win that third set was going to win the match. So that was some true grit to persevere through that. Audrey coming through with a left-handed kill really turned things around for us. Her doing that left-handed, I just sat back and said, ‘wow, how did she do that’. Because that’s a tough shot. The set was past the pin and she takes the ball and dumbs it straight down. That was the point of not only the set, but the match.”

“This was also a big match for Morgan Netcott too,” Sien said. “Facing a bunch of kids that she has either played in high school or club with and going against her club coach, this was a tough game for her as well. She led us in digs and had a few moments, but just imagine her emotions going into that match, especially playing in front of so many of her friends and family who made the trip down to see her play. I’m proud that she played extremely well, played under control and demonstrated some really good leadership on the floor. It was her day and I’m really happy for her and I think the team is really happy for her too.”

The Trailblazers will return to the Owens CC floor Saturday, Sept. 3 for the final day of the Owens CC Tournament.

Vincennes will square off against the College of Lake County at 10 a.m. eastern, before closing out the weekend tournament against Glen Oaks Community College at 2:30 p.m. eastern.

“This will be a first for this team this year but our returning players have had similar situations last year,” Sien said about making the quick turnaround between games. “It’s nothing new. Ideally, we would have been done several hours before we were tonight, but we weren’t and there’s nothing we can do about it now.”

“The two teams we are facing tomorrow are a little bit unknown to us right now,” Sien added. “Lake County has a new coach that I know, somewhat, from being in Region 4 and we haven’t played Glen Oaks in a number of years. But through these first eight games of the season, we’ve gone through a lot, so I think we will be fine. Despite the schedule problems and getting out late tonight, I believe we will be fine tomorrow.”

FLORENCE, Ky. – The Evansville Otters clinched their spot in the 2022 Frontier League postseason with an 8-1 win against the Florence Y’alls.

For the third time in the last four games between the two, the Florence Y’alls started the game with a solo home run from Brennan Price.

The 1-0 Florence lead lasted to the third when Evansville struck. J.R. Davis kicked off the Otters scoring with a two-run double. Later in the third, two more runs came home on a two-run single from Miles Gordon.

From the third, the 4-1 Evansville lead held firm well into the game’s later stages.

In the seventh, after back-to-back singles and a walk, Dakota Phillips emptied the bases with a grand slam, his second of the season. The grand slam gave the Otters an 8-1 lead as the bullpen got involved.

Between Jacob Bowles and Kein Davis, the Otters’ relief pitching kept the Evansville lead intact, leading to a series-opening 8-1 win for the Otters.

Austin Gossmann got the win for Evansville, giving up just one run in six complete innings. Jonaiker Villalobos received the loss, giving up six of the Otters’ nine runs.

With the win (and Lake Erie’s loss), the Otters claimed their spot in the 2022 Frontier League postseason. From here, the Otters and Schaumburg Boomers will wait to see who hosts the one-game wild-card round on Tuesday, Sept. 9th.

The series with Florence continues Saturday night with a 5:36 p.m. CT first pitch from Thomas More Stadium.

USI falls to Oakland 3-0, Kent State 3-0

KENT, Ohio – University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (0-5, 0-0 OVC) completed its first day of the Kent State Invitational Friday night, suffering a 3-0 (23-25, 14-25, 20-25) loss to Oakland University (2-2, 0-0 HL) before stumbling against Kent State University (3-1, 0-0 MAC), 3-0 (18-25, 15-25, 22-25).
 
USI vs. Oakland
The opening set saw a lot of positives for the Eagles despite falling 25-23 to the Golden Grizzlies. USI threw down a set-high 14 kills and one ace. Sophomore outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar (Chagrin Falls, Ohio) led the team with five kills and a .250 hitting percentage.
 
Oakland kept the momentum and gained a 2-0 lead after a 25-14 prominent set two victory over USI. The Grizzlies played an error-free set, tallying 13 kills off 20 attempts with no attack errors. However, the Eagles were able to secure eight kills and two aces in the frame. Junior outside hitter Leah Anderson (Bloomington, Illinois) recorded four kills and one ace in the second set.
 
USI drew an early 7-5 lead before watching Oakland take it away, falling 25-20 in the final frame. Sophomore middle hitter Paris Downing (Avon, Indiana) knocked down one of her four kills to give the Eagles a two-point advantage before the Grizzlies stormed back to steal the lead and never look back. USI put up its best numbers in the third frame, nabbing 13 kills with a team-low three attack errors.
 
The Eagles were led offensively by Bednar, who tallied a match-high 10 kills and marked her second double-figure match of the 2022 campaign. Anderson was one kill away from securing her first double-double of the season, finishing with nine kills and 14 digs. Sophomore outside hitter Abby Weber (Fishers, Indiana) also provided significant numbers for USI, recording six kills and 11 digs. Leading the passing game was junior outside/right side hitter/setter Katherine Koch (Belleville, Illinois) who had 23 assists. Downing led the group on the front lines with three blocks.
 
As a team, the Eagles finished the match with 35 kills and a .187 attacking percentage along with 33 assists, three blocks, and 46 digs. USI also tallied a season-high five service aces. The Grizzlies completed the match with 40 kills and a .293 hitting percentage while tallying 40 assists, six blocks, and 53 digs. Oakland also recorded seven service aces, most given up by the Eagles this season.
 
USI vs. Kent State
Three 4-0 runs put together by Kent State leads to a 25-18 opening frame loss for USI. The Eagles started off the set with a 2-1 lead before the Golden Flashes struck, going on three 4-0 runs to hoist itself to victory. USI struggled on the offensive end, collecting just eight kills and a .025 hitting percentage. Sophomore outside hitter Abby Weber finished the set with three kills and four digs.
 
Continued offensive struggles burdened the Eagles in set two, leading to a 25-15 loss. USI took the opening point off a sophomore outside/right side hitter Abby Bednar kill before Kent State went on a 13-3 surge to put itself in control, 13-4. The Eagles managed to get key points from a pair of Flashes’ errors and an ace from junior outside/right side hitter/setter Katherine Koch, but it was not enough as Kent State finished the set on a 5-1 run. USI had a negative .174 attacking percentage in the second set with three kills and seven attacking errors. The Flashes took advantage of the Eagles’ offensive woes, nabbing 13 kills and a .267.
 
The third and final frame began with a 3-0 Kent State stint and ended with a 25-22 Flashes’ victory as the Eagles lose its twelfth straight set this season. Weber was able to get three early kills for USI to tie it at four apiece before Kent State stormed back with another 3-0 run to retake the lead. The Eagles fired back with back-to-back kills from freshman middle hitter Bianca Anderson (Chicago Heights, Illinois) and Weber to pull within a couple. With the help of a trio of Flashes’ errors and a Bednar ace, USI regained the lead, 12-11. After two impactful 5-0 surges, Kent State controlled the lead before the Eagles’ made a final threat, going on a 4-0 run before the Flashes’ sealed it.
 
Weber was two kills shy of a double-double, finishing the match with eight kills and 15 digs to lead USI. Koch, Weber, and junior libero/defensive specialist Audrey Crowder (Avon, Indiana) each served one ace while Downing threw down a team-high five blocks. Koch was the leading passer for the Eagles’, dishing out 15 assists.
 
As a team, USI ended the match with a season-low 21 kills and .030 hitting percentage. The Eagles finished with only 20, but nabbed four aces, 53 digs, and eight blocks.
 

Final round set for Saturday

 

MUNCIE, Ind. – Ranking in 14^th place following the opening round of the Earl Yestingsmeier Invitational, the University of Evansville men’s golf team jumped five positions in the second round to stand in a 9^th place tie at Delaware Country Club.

In the first 18 holes, the Purple Aces scored a 309 before a complete team effort saw the score drop 24 strokes to a 286 in the second round.  Leading the way for UE is Nicholas Gushrowski.  He carded a 75 to open play before shooting an even 70.  His 145 is tied for 17^th.

Two behind him was Carson Parker, who had a consistent 36 holes.  Parker began with a 73 and completed the second round with a 74.  With a 147, Parker is tied for 29^th.  Michael Ikejiani was third on the team.  He made Evansville’s second-largest jump in between rounds.  Ikejiani scored a 79 before his final 18 holes finished with a 71.  With a 150, he is tied for 50^th.

Making his debut at UE, Luke Schneider had one of the most dramatic turnarounds in the field on Friday.  Schneider opened the day with an 85 before lowering his score all the way to a 70 in the second round.  With a 155, he is tied for 66^th.  Caleb Wassmer was next for UE.  He also had a nice drop in his score, going from an 82 to a 75.

Wright State holds the team lead with a 2-round score of 560.  The Raiders are five on top of Ball State and 21 strokes in front of a third-place tie.  The Purple Aces are tied for 9^th in the team standings with a 594.  They are seven behind 8^th-place Marshall.

Dayton’s Jacob Garland paces the individual leaderboard.  Rounds of 71 and 67 put him on top with a 138.  He is one in front of a 2^nd-place tie.

The final 18 holes are set for Saturday morning.

Aces complete tournament on Saturday

 COOKEVILLE, Tenn. – Day one of the Golden Eagle Invitational saw the University of Evansville volleyball team drop contests against Western Carolina and Northwestern.  The Purple Aces look to finish the weekend on a winning note on Saturday when they face Tennessee Tech at 2 p.m.

MATCH 2 – Northwestern 3, UE 1

 Leading the way with 18 kills was Giulia Cardona.  Melanie Feliciano and Emilee Scheumann followed with 10 and 9 kills, respectively.  Kora Ruff topped the team with 11 digs while Blakely Freeman had 10.  Ruff led UE with 35 assists.

 

Set 1 – UE 25, NU 19

Giulia Cardona and Melanie Feliciano recorded 6 and 5 kills, respectively, to push the Purple Aces to a win in the first set.  Northwestern had the momentum early in the set, going up by as many as five points at 13-8.  Three in a row, including an ace by Kora Ruff, cut the deficit to a pair.

Trailing 15-13, UE reeled off seven in a row to take control. Pinpoint serving from Laura Ruiz set the Aces up while Cardona and Feliciano added kills during the run.  Evansville never let the Wildcats back in it, finishing with a 25-19 win with Ruff and Hannah Watkins clinching with a block assist.

Set 2 – NU 25, UE 19

It was Northwestern jumping out to a 7-4 lead in the early going before Feliciano added an ace and Cardona registered two kills in a 4-0 stretch that gave UE its first lead at 8-7.  Scoring 8 of the next 11 points, the Wildcats saw things swing in their favor, going up 16-10.

Evansville refused to give in.  Down 18-12, UE stormed back with six in a row to tie it up.  Two more Feliciano kills highlighted the sequence.  Northwestern regained its composure and finished the frame on a 7-2 run to knot the match with a 25-19 win.

Set 3 – NU 25, UE 14

Early on, it was the Aces who jumped out in front, scoring the first three points.  Still in front by a 5-3 score, the Aces saw the Wildcats post six tallies in a row to jump on top 9-5.  The run continued for Northwestern, who extended their run to take a 14-6 advantage before winning by a 25-14 score.

Set 4 – NU 25, UE 15

Just as they did in the third game, Evansville led early in the fourth.  Maddie Hawkins registered an ace as UE took a 6-2 lead.  Northwestern rallied to tie it up at 7-7 and would clinch the match with a huge finish.  After falling behind, the Wildcats completed the set by outscoring UE, 23-9, to win the match.

 MATCH 1 – Western Carolina 3, UE 0

 Melanie Feliciano had 14 kills and hit .542, but a 13-kill effort by Bailey Hartsough lifted Western Carolina to a 3-0 win in Friday’s Golden Eagle Invitational opener.  Giulia Cardona added 10 kills and two ace.  Feliciano and Blakeley Freeman tied for the team lead with eight digs while Kora Ruff had 33 assists.

 Set 1 – WCU 25, UE 16

Western Carolina jumped out to a 9-3 lead right out of the gate, completing the stretch on a 5-0 run.  Melanie Feliciano ended the rally with a kill before a solo block from Madisyn Steele and a service ace by Giulia Cardona got UE within a pair at 9-7.

Evansville stayed within striking distance over the middle stretch of the set, but a late Catamount run proved to be the dagger.  Up 20-16, WCU scored the final five points to clinch the set by a 25-16 final.

 Set 2 – WCU 25, UE 22

Kills by Emilee Scheumann and Hannah Watkins helped Evansville go up 3-0 before Western Carolina made its first run of the set, scoring five out of six points to go up 5-4.  Four Feliciano kills, coupled with two from Steele, spearheaded a 6-1 run that turned a 5-4 deficit into a 10-6 lead.

After the Catamounts used an ace to cut their deficit to 12-10, UE countered with four in a row to take its largest lead.  Scheumann and Watkins combined on a block to highlight the run.  The Aces looked to be in good shape when another Feliciano kill pushed the lead to 18-12, but the Catamounts stormed back.  Six scores in a row knotted the score at 18-18 and the run set the stage for an exciting finish.  Evansville took four 1-point leads, but WCU had the answer each time and with the score tied at 22-22, the Catamounts posted the final three points to take the set along with a 2-0 match lead.

Set 3 – WCU 25, UE 18

Blakeley Freeman picked up a service ace to lift the Aces to a 2-0 lead before the Catamounts responded to go up 4-3.  A 9-1 Western Carolina stretch saw them overcome a 3-1 deficit to take a 10-4 lead.

Facing an early hole, Evansville chipped away at the lead as a block assist from Kora Ruff and Madisyn Steele got UE back within a pair at 12-10.  Unfortunately, WCU regained control to go back up by five at 16-11 before pulling away to clinch the match with a 25-18 decision.