VINCENNES, Ind. – Vincennes University freshman outside hitter Jagoda Szybinska (Poznan, Poland) got a once in a lifetime opportunity to play collegiate volleyball with her twin sister Natalia and jumped at the chance, signing to play at NCAA Division II Northern State University in Aberdeen, S.D. next season.

Szybinska’s sister Natalie suffered a torn ACL at the end of last season and will likely have to sit out all of the upcoming 2022 season.

“I chose Northern State University because it is a new challenge for me as a volleyball player and student,” Szybinska said. “I hope that my sister will be back after next season and we could share the court together one more time and sharing the same passion on the court with her as always is an amazing experience.”

“This was definitely unexpected,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said of Jagoda’s signing. “She was planning on coming back for her second year. But she got the opportunity to play at Northern State and it’s a great opportunity for her because her twin sister is there. Those two had never played apart from each other until this past year, so I can’t imagine how challenging it was for both of them to not be on the court together.”

“I just can’t think of a better situation for anyone to go into,” Sien added. “Whether our players leave after two years, one year or even one semester, as long as they get the opportunity to continue with their studies and play volleyball, for me that’s all good. “

Szybinska made a big splash for the Trailblazers this past season, being the team’s second leading scorer with 315 points in her only season with the Blue and Gold.

Szybinska ended the season with a team-leading 275 kills, 109 digs, 35 blocks, 20 aces and a .250 hitting percentage to help guide the Blazers to a 22-4 record and the 2021 Region 24 Championship.

Szybinska recorded double-digit kills in 14 matches last season, including an 18-kill, 11-dig double-double against John A. Logan in October.

Szybinska’s career-high in kills came against Wabash Valley, where she recorded 20 kills in the five-set thriller.

“One thing I am going to miss at VU is all the friends I’ve met this past year,” Szybinska added. “I think my biggest take away from my time at VU was how much fun we had during the games and practices and the good locker room atmosphere we had as a team.”

“Our goal from the beginning of the season was to win the Region 24 Championship,” Szybinska said. “I am very happy to have been a part of that.”

“We’re obviously going to miss her because she is such an exceptional player, but I’m very excited for her to get this opportunity,” Sien said. “She’s going to be playing against some very high-level competition in a very tough conference.”

“If you just look at the numbers, she led us in kills last year and was our second leading scorer, so anybody who puts up those types of numbers is definitely going to be missed,” Sien added. “Jagoda was definitely one of our go to hitters on a number of occasions throughout the year. Her hitting percentage of .250 was exceptional for an outside hitter. We were also so balanced at the net with plenty of hitters that we were also able to use her as a decoy at times. So she had a pretty major part in the success of our team last year.”

Szybinska will be joining a Wolves squad that finished last season with an 18-11 record under Head Coach Brent Aldridge, against a very tough schedule that included matches against 11 NCAA Division II Top-25 teams.

Northern State plays in the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) with perennial top programs like Concordia-St Paul, who has won nine NCAA Division II National Championships since 2007, St. Cloud State and Winona State University, who all made the NCAA Division II National Tournament last season and were all ranked in the Top 25.

Szybinska is a General Studies major and plans to choose a major after the upcoming Fall semester.

“Jagoda was a wonderful addition to the Vincennes University community,” Szybinska’s advisor and VU English as an Additional Language Program Chair and Assistant Professor of English Emily Yetka said. “Jagoda was great to have in class, especially in discussions because she is very knowledgeable about many topics. Also, she has had so many different life experiences from sailing with her father to navigating coffee shops in Greece with only her native Polish and her English to communicate.”

“Just as Jagoda’s classmates learned much from her, so did I,” Yetka added. “It is such a treat to learn from my students. I am sad to see her leave but so happy for her because she is going to play Division II volleyball with her twin sister. Natalia and Jagoda have played volleyball together since they were in elementary school and make a great team. I can’t wait to see what the Szybinska twins will accomplish when they are reunited, on and off the court.”

The Vincennes University Athletic Department wishes Jagoda Szybinska good luck as she continues her academic and playing careers at Northern State University next season.

LAS VEGAS, Nev. – The 2021 Region 24 Champion Vincennes University Trailblazer volleyball team picked up a big signing over the weekend in the highly recruited, two-time All-State honoree Paige Parlanti.

Parlanti is a six-foot tall outside hitter from Desert Oasis High School in Las Vegas, who helped guide her team to a record of 23-14 and 7-1 in league play this past season.

Parlanti closed out her high school career with 400 kills, 199 digs, 70 service aces and 24 blocks this past season and holds school records for single match kills (28), single season kills (400) and most career kills (1,039) in just three seasons after her junior season in 2020 was cancelled due to COVID.

Parlanti was named First-Team All-Conference all three years and was a Nevada 4A All-State Honorable Mention as a freshman.

Parlanti would go on to earn Second-Team honors her sophomore year before earning a First-Team honor this past season.

Parlanti was also named to the “PrepVolleyball Frosh 59” list and received their highest honorable mention.

Parlanti helped guide her teams to several tournament championships during her high school career, including being named to the All-Boulder City Invitational Tournament team as a freshman and All-Chatsworth Invitational team as a senior.

“Paige is one of the most athletic and dominant players to come through the DOHS volleyball program,” Desert Oasis HS Volleyball Coach Nick Porter said. “Her court awareness, competitiveness and aggressive gameplay are unmatched. She played an integral role in the success and advancement of the program throughout her four years on the varsity team.”

“The DOHS coaching staff would like to wish her the very best in her college career,” Porter added. “We know she will do great and will rise to the challenge of high competition as she has shown throughout her years with us.”

Parlanti also played for the Vegas Aces Volleyball Club while in high school. She led her team to a 12th place finish in the USA Division of the 2022 USA Volleyball National Championships.

Her club team played in the Premier Volleyball League in Los Angeles against some of the top clubs in the Nation. She was also teammates with three 2022 NCAA Division I signees and possibly two or three 2023 DI signees.

Paige is the daughter of Anna Parlanti and plans to major in Fire Science at Vincennes University.

“Paige is one of the top players in her class coming out of the state of Nevada,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “She is just a really high-level player. A couple of weeks ago, her club team made the National Tournament in Phoenix, Ariz., which is really quite an accomplishment, because her club team played with only seven players for most of the year.”

“Paige was another person that approached us about playing here, because she plans to major in Fire Science,” Sien added. “It’s hard to find that combination anywhere in the country of places that have that major and play high-level volleyball.”

“She is a type of player that could really play about any position on the floor,” Sien said. “She can hit and block at all three front row positions, she can serve receive and play defense and she can also serve. More than likely, for us, she is going to be playing on one of the pins, however she can also play in the middle because she’s so explosive and quick off her feet.”