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HOT JOBS
Trailblazers win over Region rival ahead of regular season finale
ROBINSON, Ill. – The Vincennes University volleyball hit the road for the final time in the 2024 regular season Friday night as the Blazers made the short trip up to Robinson to face off against Region 24 rival Lincoln Trail College.
VU needed four sets but were able to come out on top of the host Statesmen 25-22, 25-12, 23-25, 25-17.
The Blazers got off to a quick start Friday night, building an early 10-5 advantage in set one.
Lincoln Trail would battle back to cut the VU lead down to one at 12-11 before VU opened a 15-11 lead over the Statesmen.
Lincoln Trail would again rally back in front of the home crowd, evening the score at 19-19 but were unable to capture the lead as VU grabbed the opening set of the night 25-22 to take an early 1-0 lead.
Vincennes rode this momentum into set two, using a big 6-0 scoring run to jump ahead 11-4 and later growing their lead to 18-8.
Lincoln Trail continued to battle but were unable to make a dent in the Vincennes lead as VU grabbed set two 25-12 and held a strong 2-0 match lead.
Set three was a very tightly contested set, with the largest lead for either team being just two points throughout the entire set.
Lincoln Trail was able to break away late with three straight points, which VU was unable to answer as the Statesmen avoid the sweep and take set three 25-23 and cut the Blazers match lead to 2-1.
Vincennes looked to bounce back strong in set four and got off to an excellent start by scoring the first four points of the set.
VU opened a commanding 18-10 advantage with the aid of two 3-0 scoring runs before trading points down the stretch with Lincoln Trail to take set four and the match 25-17 in four sets.
“This is always a tough place to play,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “We did execute pretty well in the first and second sets. Didn’t really execute well at all in the third set. We had a lot of hitting errors and we missed a ton of digs. We missed serves in critical situations. Unofficially we had something like 14 kills in the first set, 17 kills in the second set and I don’t even know if we got to 10 kills in the third set. It was more us not executing than them making plays against us.”
“But it was a good rebound coming back in the fourth set and really getting back to how we were playing in the first two sets,” Sien added. “We got back to executing on all part, defense, serving and offensively.”
The VU offense was led by sophomores Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) and Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy).
Dias led the Blazers Friday night with 16 kills, three blocks and four digs, with Dalla Pozza adding 14 kills, seven blocks and five digs.
Sophomore Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) had a good night at the net as well with seven kills, five blocks and two digs.
Sophomore Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) added five kills, three blocks and one set assist, while freshman Paulina Fister (Tuszyn, Poland) came away with three kills, one ace and a team-high 18 digs.
Freshman Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) rounded out the VU offensive numbers with one kill and a pair of blocks.
Sophomore setter Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) spread the ball out well all night with a team-high 24 set assists, five digs, two kills and one ace, while freshman setter Rylee Edwards (Fairfield, Ill.) added 19 set assists, six digs and one ace.
The VU back row defense was led by sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) who added nine digs, three set assists and one ace and freshman Julianna Rettig (Antioch, Ill.) had a big night with 13 digs and one ace.
“Isadora was very efficient out there offensively,” Sien said. “Offensively we were definitely led by Isadora and Elisa. I thought we played some pretty good defense too. Paulina had an excellent back row game, leading us in digs and as a hitter had a number of very good swings as well. I thought Paulina, Julianna and Isadora played great in the back row. We had over 30 digs from the middle back position as they were in great position to receive the ball. I thought our setters ran the middle attack overall pretty well.”
“Serving wise, Rylee had some good serving runs, Paulina as well,” Sien added. “Libby had some good scoring runs, which is pretty typical. We win when we are able to get those scoring runs and it could really be any one of our players that does it. Any of our players can go out there and serve it extremely well. I’ve said before that when you miss a serve, you are only stopping yourself.”
“Blocking at times took over tonight and it really helped us win the fourth set,” Sien said. “Elisa was in on a number of blocks. Laura had several blocks tonight.”
The Trailblazers will return home to the Physical Education Complex tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 26 for the regular season finale of the 2024 fall season when VU hosts Kaskaskia College at 12 p.m. eastern.
This match will be ‘Sophomore Recognition Day’ as the Trailblazers will honor the careers of VU’s seven sophomores. The ‘Sophomore Recognition Day’ festivities will take place before tomorrow’s match begins.
“We’re playing another good team tomorrow and no momentum from tonight is going to carry over into tomorrow,” Sien said. “We are going to have to restart all over again and play as well as we did tonight overall. When we were on our execution on offense was very consistent and very good.”
Aces men’s soccer blanks Bowling Green on Senior Day
The Purple Aces picked up their fourth shutout of the season
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – On a night celebrating their 11 senior players the University of Evansville men’s soccer team earned a crucial three points in a 1-0 victory over the Bowling Green State Falcons.
It only took one goal for the Purple Aces to earn a win over Bowling Green on Friday night. Graduate forward Sami Owusu (Denver/ Dayton) capitalized on the Falcons goalkeeper coming out of the box in the 60th minute for UE’s lone goal of the night. Freshman goalkeeper Michal Mroz (Elk Grove, Ill. / Elk Grove HS) was a brick wall in the net with six saves for his fourth clean sheet of 2024.
“That’s a college soccer game right there,” said Head Coach Robbe Tarver following the victory. “Crazy swings from both sides and posts for both teams. PK’s called, PK’s rescinded. We’re really happy to win at home on Senior Night for the 12 seniors.
“The grittiness and guys playing who haven’t played for a minute all year stepping up and ready to defend a one-goal lead and come out victorious. I think that speaks volumes to the guys that we have in this program. And like I’ve told them we’re setting a new standard. This is just another step along the way. And we’re pumped to have 12 points in MVC play.”
It was a defensive first half at Arad McCutchan Stadium as both teams fought for possession in the mid-third. The Aces had the first shot of the match in the third minute as senior midfielder Jose Vivas (Teruel, Spain) took a chance from outside the 18. Bowling Green had the next shot in the 15th minute as neither team put together an offensive run in the half. UE’s best chance in the first 45 came in the 32nd minute as Vivas had the ball by himself right in front of the goal box. But the shot sailed over the net keeping it a scoreless draw heading into halftime.
Evansville came out of the half-break firing on all cylinders as senior forward Nacho Diaz Barragan (Almeria, Spain) put a shot on goal in the first 30 seconds. The Falcons found their way back to the Aces defensive zone, but UE quickly moved back to the attack.
In the 59th minute, Bowling Green tried to play the ball back to their defense but missed its target. Redshirt freshman midfielder Jacopo Fedrizzi (Giulia, Italy) picked up the ball on the mistake, sending it to fifth-year forward Kai Phillip (Diego Martin, Trinidad and Tobago). Phillip quickly found Owusu alone on the right side of the 12, where he buried the ball into the bottom left corner of the net for Evansville’s lone goal.
The Aces defense stood strong the final 30 minutes of the match as the Falcons took eight shots. The match began to get chippy around the 66th minute as both teams picked up two yellow cards in 12 minutes including a penalty opportunity for Bowling Green. In the 80th minute, a UE yellow in the box gave the Falcons a PK. Mroz made the diving save to the bottom left corner of the net to keep Evansville in the lead.
Bowling Green was able to take three more shots in the final five minutes of the match. But the Aces’ defense blocked all three to pick up their eighth win of the season and fourth win of Valley play. Vivas and Phillip led the offense with two shots each while three other players had an opportunity at the net.
UE hits the road for a Top 25 matchup on Friday, November 1st. Evansville will visit Betty & Bobby Allison South Stadium for the final time in MVC play to take on the no. 13 Missouri State Bears. Kick-off from Springfield is set for 7 p.m.
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BARNABY MAKES IMMEDIATE IMPACT DESPITE BOLTS LOSS TO BULLS
Evansville, In.: It took only 2:17 of play for Matthew Barnaby to score in his return to the Thunderbolts, however it would be all the Thunderbolts could get in a 4-1 loss at Pelham on Friday night. The Thunderbolts’ next home game will be on Saturday, October 26th against the Huntsville Havoc at 7:00pm CT.
Down 1-0 1:33 into the game on a goal for Birmingham’s Carson Rose, Barnaby’s goal tied the game less than a minute later at 2:17, assisted by new addition Carson Gallagher. However, the Bulls broke the tie at 10:15 of the second period with a goal for Michael Gillespie. Nikita Kozyrev added a goal in the third period before Rose scored again to put the game away late in the third period, 4-1 Bulls the final score. The game also featured a pair of fights, as Bronson Adams went toe-to-tie with Kyler Matthews late in the second period, before Matthew Hobbs took on Matthew early in the third period. Also of note was the Thunderbolts’ penalty kill, which went a perfect 5-for-5, and remains perfect on 8 power plays faced.
Barnaby scored Evansville’s goal, while Cole Ceci finished with 44 saves on 48 shots. The Thunderbolts and Bulls meet once again on Saturday, December 6th at Pelham Civic Complex.
Aces fall in weekend opener
Road trip continues on Saturday
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Big starts in the first two sets catapulted Northern Iowa to a 3-0 win over the University of Evansville volleyball team on Friday evening at the McLeod Center.
Giulia Cardona led the Purple Aces with six kills while Ainoah Cruz led the way with 14 digs. Kora Ruff added 10 assists. UNI was led by Kira Fallert’s 11 kills.
Set 1 – UNI 25, UE 9
A quick start saw the Panthers score the opening four points of the night before Giulia Cardona got the Aces on the board with a kill. Despite the point, UNI kept the pressure on, opening a 9-1 lead before cruising to a 25-9 win to take the early match lead.
Set 2 – UNI 25, UE 7
Another quick start saw the Panthers post the first six points of the set. Following a time out, the Aces forced a pair of UNI errors to get on the board. Holland Morris picked up a kill as UE closed the gap to 9-4. From that point, Northern Iowa outscored the Aces by a 16-3 margin to take a 2-0 lead
Set 3 – UNI 25, UE 18
Josdarilee Caraballo had an ace to give Evansville its first lead of the night at 3-1. Cardona recorded a kill that continued to keep UE in front at 5-3. With the Aces up 8-6, UNI scored three in a row to jump in front before extending the lead to 14-10.
Evansville continued to battle to the final point before the Panthers clinched the match with a 25-18 decision. UE completes the road trip on Saturday with a 4 p.m. match at Drake.
Men’s basketball faces Tiffin in exhibition game on Saturday
Tip set for 1 p.m.
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In the first and only exhibition game of the preseason, the University of Evansville men’s basketball team welcomes Tiffin University to the Ford Center on Saturday for a 1 p.m. game.
It will be the first opportunity for fans to see the 2024-25 Purple Aces squad. A solid nucleus or returning players join six newcomers to the team. Leading the way for the returners from last year are Tanner Cuff, Joshua Hughes, and Cam Haffner. Cuff contributed in all facets of the game in his first season at UE. He completed the year averaging 7.4 points and 4.2 rebounds per game.
As a freshman, Hughes led the team with 38 blocked shots while registering 6.6 PPG. Haffner made the start in 16 games while finishing third on the team with 33 3-point makes.
Evansville’s newcomers include Gabriel Pozzato, Kaia Berridge, Tayshawn Comer, Connor Turnbull, Ramondo Battle II, and Trent Hundley.
UE looks to build on a breakout 2023-24 season that saw the program make its first postseason appearance since 2015. Earning 17 victories, the Aces posted their highest win total since 2017-18 and picked up their first Arch Madness win since 2017, defeating Illinois State in St. Louis. The team won its first six games, the first Evansville team to do so since the 1964-65 NCAA National Championship squad.
Tiffin is led by first-year head coach Desmond Balentine, brother of current UE assistant coach D.J. Balentine. He spent two seasons on the coaching staff with the Dragons before his elevation to the head coaching position. The Dragons were 18-12 last season.
UE Swimming hosts McKendree on Saturday
Meet to take place at Deaconess Aquatic Center
EVANSVILLE, Ind. – For the first time in 2024-25, the University of Evansville swimming teams will be in town as the Purple Aces welcome McKendree to Deaconess Aquatic Center on Saturday for a 12 p.m. meet.
Both Purple Aces squads were in action on Oct. 4 at Centre College with the men picking up a victory while the women took a close loss. Patrik Vilbergsson, Carlos Souto Vilas, Daniel Santos Lopez, and Sammy McCall were victorious in the 200-medley relay while Joseph Capo took a win in the 200-free.
Vilbergsson recorded a victory in the 100-backstroke. Posting a time of 52.04, he defeated fellow Ace Boris Tavrovsky. He added a win in the 200-yard backstroke, besting Logan Tenison and Tavrovsky. Souto Vilas was victorious in the 100 and 200-yard breaststroke. His winning time in the 100 was a 58.50 with the runner-up finishing in 59.93. In the 200, a 2:12.75 defeated teammate Joao Guiherme.
Picking up a win in the 200-fly was Adam Pawlak while Michael Pruett led an Evansville sweep of the top four in the 100-yard free. Pruett’s 47.86 led Ben Morse, Jakob Grundbacher, and Mohammed Rashed. Santos Lopez edged Brendan Ulewicz in the 100-fly. He posted a 51.39. In the 200-yard IM, it was Grady Whitson completing the race in 2:00.70 with Titus Jabedo coming in second with his time of 2:03.63. Pruett, McCall, Tenison, and Santos Lopez finished in 1:25.38 to take the top spot in the 200-medley relay.
On the women’s side, Ane Garate, Rafaela Markarewicz, Sveva Brugnoli, and Rebecca Lago took the top spot in the 200-medley relay with a 1:50.46. Garate went on to win the 100 and 200-backstroke races. Markarewicz continued a strong performance with a win in the 100-breaststroke. Her race finished in 1:08.52, topping the competition by just over a second. In the 200-yard breaststroke, Markarewicz came in second with Mari Mueller picking up the win in 2:28.75.
Brugnoli and Mueller led the way in the 200-IM. Completing the race in 2:10.23, Brugnoli came in just ahead of Mueller. In the 200-fly, Brugnoli added another win, posting a 2:09.81.
Evansville City Council Agenda for Monday 10/28
The City Council meeting will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Monday, October 28, 2024.
The agenda, draft memo and meeting documents can be viewed via this Granicus link:
https://evansville.granicus.com/GeneratedAgendaViewer.php?view_id=1&event_id=8605
James Redwine Gavel Gamut: FEARLESS CHARLIE GASTON
GAVEL GAMUT
By Jim Redwine
www.jamesmredwine.com
(Week of 28 October 2024)
FEARLESS CHARLIE GASTON
On the morning of October 12 as Peg and I waited for the classy and lovely wedding celebration of Laura Campbell and Aravind Ayala at the Roofless Church in New Harmony, Indiana, I received a cellphone call from my always excited friend, Charles Gaston. “Judge! Judge! It’s your friend Charlie Gaston, I wrote a better book than you! Come to 325 Tavern Street and get your copy, Now!”
Three two five Tavern Street is the address of the 1860’s era brick home Charlie has personally renovated into a marvelous homage to all that is the small community of Rappite/Owen living history with Charlie as one of its extremely special residents. Charlie has only one gear, constant enthusiasm for life, and he was, as always, generously sharing it with the rest of us. After 88 years of giving and positive shining Charlie knows no negative thoughts. It is impossible to be with Charlie and be negative yourself. You might as well give up on gloom and get with Charlie’s program; you will just feel better.
Peg and I walked the three blocks from our lodging at the 1840 Harmonist House to Charlie’s unique and mesmerizing home. Charlie met us at the open front door with multiple handshakes and a stream of information from the final sale of his farm to the personally refinished wooden desk he had saved from extinction and placed with his and our friends, Rod and Lynn Clark’s, Lowry Hollow store on Main Street.
Charlie had my JUDGE LYNCH! book title tacked up on his wall and told me it was what had inspired him to finally write his autobiography. Of course, knowing Charlie’s generous spirit I assumed this was a beau geste, but it was still good to hear. That’s what time spent with Charlie does for you. You just feel better.
After the wedding celebration I started reading Charlie’s book and its companion piece by Charlie’s friend, Susan Wunder, titled Their Land, Too, Charles Gaston’s Back to the Land Story, that exposits Charlie’s love of nature and his organic farming with horses and sweat. It is a paean to Charlie’s dedication to the environment and healthy living.
And Charlie’s commitment to helping others and preserving the environment is not of the armchair variety. Not only did he operate his farm without modern machinery, he rode his bicycle thousands of miles from 1971 up through his winter ride from his home in New Harmony, Indiana to his farm and log cabin in Bloomington, Indiana (132 miles) to celebrate his 80th birthday.
Peg and I proudly claim Charlie as our friend, but such status is hardly unique. Charlie is everybody’s friend and the Earth’s too. And, I have to ungrudgingly admit, not only is Charlie a light in each of the lives he has touched, he is once again correct, he has written a better book than I have; get it for yourself!
A Path Apart
Stories from my beautiful life
By
Charles Gaston
Charlie’s address is Post Office Box 793, New Harmony, Indiana 47631. Since Charlie would not take any money from Peg and me, I do not know the price, but I am confident it won’t be expensive and maybe not much more than shipping and handling.
What I do know is that it will be worth whatever you pay; you will just feel better!
For more Gavel Gamut articles go to www.jamesmredwine.com