EVANSVILLE, Ind. – University of Southern Indiana Volleyball (5-7) swept the Indiana University Indianapolis Jaguars (5-7) in three sets (25-21, 25-21, 17-25) on Saturday afternoon at Screaming Eagles Arena. The Screaming Eagles win the USI Invitational going 2-0, along with finishing the week 3-0 ahead of Ohio Valley Conference play next weekend.
 
Set 1: USI 25, IU Indy 21
The beginning of the match had the back-and-forth rallies that suggested this game would go four or five sets. Junior Bianca Anderson continued her suffocating attack with a kill to make it 15-13 Eagles. Senior Jasmine Green capped off the 4-1 late run with a kill to earn the set one victory. The Jaguars struggled against the Eagles defense with a set-low .143 attacking percentage. The Eagles snapped a eight-game first set losing streak.
 
Set 2: USI 25, IU Indy 21
Junior Keira Moore fueled a 4-0 run breaking the sets back-and-forth stretches with a service ace and a precise assist to sophomore Ashby Willis. Sophomore Leah Coleman took her turn with consecutive kills making it a 21-15 lead. Green concluded another match with a titanic kill. USI tallied a set-high 15 kills in the second frame improving to 7-5 in second sets on the year.
 
Set 3: USI 25, IU Indy 17
The Eagles completely frustrated the Eagles force multiple service, setting, and attacking errors that became the difference. Senior Paris Downing notched her seventh kill on a .538 attacking percentage and senior Abby Weber placed a perfect service ace to help cap the match. Senior Carly Sobieralski dished her 20^th assist to give her 12 straight 20+ assist games.
 
The statistical differences did not show any glaring differences, despite the three-set finish. However, time and time again USI seemed to grab the clutch points, denying the Jaguars of amounting any significant runs.
 
Coleman solely led the Eagles eight kills for the first time this in her career. Sobieralski reached her 20-assist mark with a limited three sets to work with. Willis played an impressive all-around match with a team-leading nine digs. Willis and Green both lead the Eagles with two blocks.
 
As a team, USI totaled 36 kills, 31 assists, 35 digs, five blocks, five aces, and a .286 hitting percentage. UE finished with 30 kills, 30 assists, 32 digs, four aces, two blocks and a .174 attacking percentage.
 

HANCEVILLE, Ala. – The Vincennes University volleyball team improved their winning streak to eight matches Saturday afternoon after closing out the final day of the 2024 Wallace State C.C. Fall Bash in Alabama.

Vincennes opened the day against host Wallace State, winning over the Lions 25-21, 25-21, 25-19 before closing out the weekend with a big sweep over Lawson State Community College 25-4, 25-14, 25-15 to finish with a 4-0 record over the weekend.

The Trailblazers began the day with a tough challenge against host Wallace State Community College, taking the court around 12 hours after their last match Friday night ended.

VU got off to a slow start in the opening set Saturday morning but were able to rebound and grab a 16-12 lead midway through the set.

The Trailblazers would increase the lead to 21-15 before the Lions came climbing back to narrow the margin to 21-20.

Vincennes again answered back, closing out the set strong and taking set one of the day 25-21 to take an early 1-0 match lead.

Set two was another back-and-forth battle, with VU holding a narrow 17-15 lead after a 4-0 scoring run.

The two teams traded points down the stretch of set two, with Vincennes ultimately coming out on top 25-21 to take a 2-0 lead in the match.

Set three continued the trend of close sets in this match, with the two teams even at 16-16, before VU used a 6-1 scoring run to break away late and close out the match 25-19 to complete the sweep.

The Trailblazers were again led offensively by the sophomore duo of Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) and Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil), with Tavares leading the way with 16 kills and one dig, while Dias added 13 kills, six digs and three aces.

Sophomore Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) and Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) each finished with four kills, with Dalla Pozza recording two blocks, three digs and one ace, while Sadowska added three blocks and one dig.

Sophomores Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) and Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) each finished the first match of the day with three kills, with Czyzewski adding a pair of blocks and one dig, while DeCoursey finished with four digs and 10 set assists.

DeCoursey helped run the Trailblazer offense along with fellow sophomore setter Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) who recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 22 set assists, 10 digs, one kill and one ace.

Sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) controlled the back row defense for Vincennes, finishing the match with a team-high 13 digs and seven set assists.

Freshman Paulina Fister (Tuszyn, Poland) rounds out the VU box score with 10 digs, one set assist and one block for the match.

MUNCIE, Ind. – The Vincennes University Golf team faced a tough, early season test Friday at the 2024 IU East Invitational hosted at the Delaware Country Club in Muncie.

The Trailblazers found themselves as the only two-year program in the tournament for the first time this season, going up against some big four-year teams, including an NCAA Division I team from Chicago State University.

The Vincennes team was more than able to hold their own in this tough tournament, finishing fifth overall as a team and were just four shots back of the third place teams.

The Trailblazers were led by freshman Brock Naile (Trico, Ill.) who posted an opening round score of 74 before closing out the 36-hole, one day tournament with a second round 77, placing him in a tie for 12th place on the leaderboard of 62 golfers.

Freshman Landon Gardner (Danville, Ind.) was close behind him, having the biggest round-to-round improvement on the team, bouncing back from an opening round 81 to shoot a one over par 71 in the second round, climbing the leaderboard to finish in a tie for 14th overall.

Freshman Kadin Gibson (Franklin, Ind.) was the next Vincennes finisher, posting a 77 in the opening round, before ending his day with a second round 79 to place 21st overall.

Sophomore Alex Nealis (Olney, Ill.) came away with a very consistent tournament, shooting 80 in both rounds to finish in a tie for 31st overall.

Freshman Parker Steininger (Vincennes, Ind.) rounded out the Trailblazers day on the course by shooting a pair of 81’s to finish 36th on the leaderboard.

The Trailblazers as a team combined to shoot an opening round score of 312 and a 307 second round, giving them a tournament team score of 619 to finish fifth overall out of 11 teams.

“We were disappointed in our overall finish of fifth at Delaware Country Club,” VU Hall of Fame Golf Coach Dennis Chattin said. “It’s a tough course and the greens were very firm and fast but as they say, we were all playing the same course.”

“I think our freshmen just didn’t adapt as quickly as we should have to the conditions of the golf course,” Chattin added. “We just kept attacking the pins and you simply cannot do that with the condition of those greens. The greens were good but just firm and fast.”

“Landon did the best job of adjusting with a 10 shot improvement in the second round, shooting a 71, which was the third lowest score in the second round,” Chattin said. “We had some big numbers in what could have been decent rounds by Kadin Gibson and Brock Naile.”

“Four of these guys are freshmen and I think the experience of walking and playing 36 holes in a day was new for most of them,” Chattin added. “You really have to be physically and mentally focused to play on a different golf course than your home course under tournament conditions. It was a good learning experience for us.”

The VU golf team will look to learn from these early season tournaments and improve in their next tournament when the Blazers head to Swan Lake Resort in Plymouth, Ind. for the 2024 Swan Lake Preview Tuesday, Oct. 1.

This will be another big tournament for the VU Golf team as they will get their first look at the course that will be hosting the 2025 NJCAA Division II Men’s Golf Championships in

TERRE HAUTE, Ind. – The Vincennes University Cross Country teams were eager to get back on the course Saturday morning, competing for the first time in over three weeks at the 2024 John McNichols Invitational at the LaVern Gibson Championship Course in Terre Haute.

The Trailblazers were part of a very large field of four-year schools, being one of only two two-year programs to compete in the event.

“The team was looking forward to getting back to racing after three weeks off of competition,” VU Head Cross Country Coach Tyler Steigenga said. “This was the first 8k for a lot of the men and 6k for the women.”

“It was an extremely foggy and humid morning with huge field sizes,” Steigenga added. “A lot of NCAA Division III teams were there to preview the course before their National meet. There were about twice the amount of teams from last year, with over 30 teams for each gender and 466 finishers for the men and 378 for the women.”

The morning began under foggy conditions for the Men’s 8k race, giving many of the VU runners their first look competing in an 8k race.

The VU Men’s team was led by freshman Anis Abdaoui (Kairouan, Tunisia) who finished in 49th place overall with a very good time of 25:29.

Freshman Ibrahim Sakka (Kairouan, Tunisia) was the next VU runner across the line, finishing with a time of 25:55 to take 88th place overall.

Sophomore Cody Noel (Hebron, Ind.) and freshman Kelvin Kipsang (Kapsabet, Kenya) were the next Vincennes finishers, with Noel crossing the line at 26:34 and Kipsang finishing with a time of 26:59.

Sophomore Caden Hostetler (LaGrange, Ind.) rounded out the top five Vincennes finishers, ending with a time of 27:23.

Sophomore Tanner Spence (Carmi, Ill.) led a big group of Trailblazer runners down the stretch, finishing with a time of 28:02.

Freshman Lane Connaway (Carmi, Ill.) and sophomore Nathan Whitehead (Vincennes, Ind.) finished neck and neck with Connaway besting his VU teammate by two seconds with a time of 28:49 to Whitehead’s time of 28:51.

Freshman Rylan Mullins (Greenwood, Ind.), sophomore Bryaun Manuel (East St. Louis, Ill.) and freshman Stephen Hershberger (Fowler, Ind.) were in the next group of VU finishers, with Mullins posting a time of 29:10, with Manuel ending at 29:24 and Hershberger crossing at 29:53.

Freshmen Dakoda Greci (Danville, Ind.), Hayden Kler (Hillsboro, Ind.) and Tucker Henson (Louisville, Ky.) rounded out the Trailblazer Men’s team finishers, with Greci ending with a time of 30:02, while Kler finished at 30:58 and Henson setting a time of 31:26.

The VU Men’s Team finished with a total of 496 points in the event and placed 18th in the non-Division I race.

“Anis and Brahym did great leading the way with new 8k PRs, both under 26,” Steigenga said. “Cody picked up right where he left off last season, just off his PR. Kelvin finished his first race and just snuck under the 27 minute mark for the 8k. He and Caden both ran very even races, with Caden running a 13 second PR of 27:23.”

“Tanner ran 28:02, just off his time from the course last year and Lane and Nathan finished together about 50 seconds behind Tanner,” Steigenga added. “It was awesome to see the guys race so well and put together a solid team finish. We have one of the deepest teams we’ve ever had, so we still have a lot of guys that could come through for us in the next few weeks that might not have had their best day today.”

The VU women’s team then looked to pick up where the men left off as Vincennes was led by freshman Sarra Belgacem (Tunis, Tunisia) who posted a time of 24:55 in the 6k race.

Sophomore Adi Fuller (Evansville, Ind.) was the second Trailblazer finisher, coming in just ahead of teammate freshman Allie Black (Lynn, Ind.) with Fuller ending with a time of 26:00 and Black crossing the line at 26:01.

Sophomore Jasmyn Self (Casey, Ill.) closed out the morning for the Trailblazers in Terre Haute, crossing the line with a time of 29:51.

“On the women’s side, we were planning on racing a full team to be able to score but one of the girls got sick a few days before the meet,” Steigenga said. “Sarra led the way in her first 6k and made her debut for VU as well. Adi and Allie worked well together over the race and didn’t leave each other’s side until the end, finishing just one second apart. Jasmine ran well after only running for a few weeks.”

The Trailblazers will look to continue to improve as they shift focus now to their next race, the 2024 Live in Lou Classic hosted at E.P. “Tom” Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Ky. on Saturday, Oct. 5.

“Overall it was a good race and very encouraging for a lot of them to get another race on the board after a rough first race,” Steigenga said. “It will be exciting to see how far we move up in the next XC rankings as we didn’t have anything other than the first race to base off of in the first poll. In two weeks we’ll head to Louisville for another big field, competitive race and hopefully some more fast times.”

 Tournament is in Oneonta, Alabama

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Beginning on Sunday, the University of Evansville men’s golf team will be playing in the Graeme McDowell Invitational at Limestone Springs in Oneonta, Ala.

Running Sunday through Tuesday, the tournament will feature 18 holes each day.  The tournament field includes Evansville, ULM, Louisiana Tech, Troy, North Alabama, Lamar, Samford, Lipscomb, USC Upstate, Alabama State, Memphis, and Jacksonville State.  Individuals from LSU and Alabama will also be taking part.

Evansville opened the season two weeks ago at the Colonel Shootout where the team tied for 5^th place.  Andres Rodriguez was the top finisher for the Purple Aces, tying for 17^th in the final standings.  Over the three rounds, he finished at 1-over-par with a 214.

Omar Khalid tied for 27^th with a 217 while Luke Schneider and Bryce Conlee followed with 3-round scores of 22.  They tied for 44^th.