VINCENNES, Ind. – The four-time defending Region 24 Champion Vincennes University volleyball team announced another big addition earlier this week in six-foot setter Scarlet Konkel.

“We have not really recruited the area where Scarlet is from before now, so we wanted to move towards looking more at that part of the state of Illinois,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “At first we were looking at Scarlet as a middle, which she can do extremely well. However I was pleasantly surprised when she told me that the past couple of years she has been doing some setting too.”

“It’s tough to get setters with that level of length,” Sien added. “We typically like our setters to have some height so they can potentially play some front row or, if they are able to hit, be a part of a six-two offense by setting in the back row and hitting in the front row or be a blocking option in a five-one offense.”

“So now, we are recruiting Scarlet as a setter as well as an opposite/right side hitter, which is a position that she has played in the last couple of years,” Sien said. “And if we do end up needing her in the middle she is more than capable because she actually has more years of experience in that position.”

Konkel joins the Trailblazers after a very accomplished career at Nashville Community High School in Nashville, Ill. where she played for her father Josh Konkel, who was also her coach on the Southern Illinois Wave Club team.

Konkel is coming off of a standout senior season where she guided Nashville to a 33-4 record, playing all 82 sets in all 37 matches and ending the season with 459 set assists, 213 digs, 98 kills, a .260 hitting percentage, 23 aces and 18 blocks.

Konkel was named to the Southern Illinois River to River All-Conference team the times and also earned All-South honors three times.

Konkel also earned Illinois Volleyball Coaches Association (IVCA) All-State honorable mention honors once and 2nd team honors once.

Konkel also earned Honorable Mention All-State honors by the News-Gazette in 2023.

Konkel was twice named Team MVP at Nashville Community HS and earned the Serving award once.

Konkel was a member of the 2021 and 2022 Regional Championship teams at NCHS as well.

“Scarlet’s leadership and knowledge will be missed both on and off of the court,” Konkel’s High School and Club Coach Josh Konkel said. “I am proud of the way she has led her team over the past couple of years and I know that Vincennes is getting a great player and teammate in her.”

Scarlet is the daughter of Josh and Autumn Konkel and plans to major in Business at Vincennes University.

Konkel is a recipient of the Vincennes University Val/Sal Scholarship as the Valedictorian of her high school class and is an Illinois State Scholar.

Konkel is joining a Trailblazer squad that finished last season with a 30-13 record, earning VU’s fourth straight Region 24 Championship.

“Scarlet comes from a big time volleyball family,” Sien added. “Her father is her high school and club coach. Her sister plays at Cumberland University in Tennessee and was an All-American this past season. She has a tremendous volleyball background. Her mother coaches at the grade school level. Her sisters coaches, too When you get someone who is the youngest in their family, typically the youngest will absorb everything. So we are going to be getting someone who not only has some really good playing experience but also life experience because her family has that background.”

“Scarlet comes in with a very strong volleyball background and has some leadership experience,” Sien said. “Having someone who has that experience at the middle position also goes back to how we recruit for blocking. Scarlet is also an excellent student. She’s the valedictorian of her graduating class, she’s an Illinois State Scholar. So she is definitely someone who is going to be very serious about academics and about life outside of volleyball as well.”

“We are going to have quite a number of new players next season,” Sien added. “Right now we have a lot of length and height. We have a lot of athletic ability and should be able to fill just about every position of need that we have open due to graduation. We’re still not done. We’ve got space for a couple more players out there. But where we are now, if we were to start the season today, I wouldn’t feel uncomfortable with the roster we have right now.”

“It might take us a little bit of time because we have so much newness coming in,” Sien said. “Last season we had a number of veteran players in key positions coming back so we were able to ease our incoming freshmen into our system and philosophy. But this year it could take us a little bit more time to get that going because of all the new incoming players and really only having three weeks of practices before our first game in August. But I feel really good about who we have already signed so far.”

The Vincennes University Athletic Department is excited to welcome Scarlet Konkel to the 2025 Trailblazer recruiting class.

 Friday’s game moved to a 3 p.m. start time

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Set for its first home series in three weeks, the University of Evansville softball team welcomes Belmont to Tri-State Orthopaedics Field at James & Dorothy Cooper Stadium this weekend.  Friday’s opener has been moved to a 3 p.m. first pitch with Saturday beginning at 2 p.m. and Sunday’s finale starting at 12 p.m. with all three contests set to be carried on ESPN+.

 Last Time Out

– UE picked up a road MVC series win at Valparaiso last weekend, sweeping a doubleheader on Friday before falling in Saturday’s finale

– Jess Willsey had two hits while Niki Bode scored twice in the game one victory and it was Willsey who provided the game-winning hit in the 8th inning of game two

Freshman Accolade

– Eliza Piggott is the reigning MVC Freshman of the Week after batting .600 in the 3-game series at Valparaiso; she added a home run and five RBI

– Piggott paces the MVC with a .727 slugging percentage while sitting 4th in OPS, tied for 5th in RBI, ranking in a tie for 7th in home runs and 10th in batting average

–  In the final game of the series against the Beacons, Piggott tied her career mark with three hits as she went 3-4 with three RBI

– Since March 9, her average has risen from .229 to .351

– Piggott put together one of her top performances in the second contest versus UNI as she went 3-4 with a home run, two RBI, two runs, and a sacrifice

Hitting Streak 

– Picking up a hit in each game she played at Valparaiso, Niki Bode extended her hitting streak to seven games, the longest current streak on the team

– Her batting average of .398 is third in the league while other MVC rankings include sac flies (T-2nd), runs scored (6th), and on-base percentage (8th)

– Bode scored a total of four runs in the series against the Beacons

Doing it All

– Another strong weekend saw Jess Willsey go 5-for-13 in the series at Valparaiso to push her season batting average to .306

– She scored two runs in the series and is tied for the MVC lead with 26

– Willsey is second in the MVC with 111 at-bats, tied for 4th with seven home runs, and tied for 8th with 25 RBI

– Her double in the 8th inning of game two at Valparaiso proved to be the game winner

Solid Streak

– Freshman Cassidy Gall has put together a solid stretch for the Purple Aces

– She has allowed just one earned run over the course of her last 16 innings in the circle and earned win #2 of her career in the opener at Valpo

– The recent streak has lowered her ERA to a team-best 2.82

VINCENNES, Ind. – Vincennes University sophomore and 2025 All-Region 24 honoree Bryan Akanmu (Paris, France) announced his commitment to play next season at Wagner College in Staten Island, N.Y. Thursday morning.

“Wagner College feels like home,” Akanmu said. “I believe in the coaching staff and they believe in me.”

Akanmu joined the Trailblazers this past season after spending his freshman season at McCook Community College in Nebraska.

Akanmu averaged 9.2 points, 7.4 rebounds and 2.6 assists per game this past season in his lone season with the Blue and Gold.

Akanmu’s best game this season came when he had a 22-point, 11-rebound double-double in a win over Lake Land College.

Akanmu scored in double figures 17 times in 33 games for the Trailblazers, while also recording five double-doubles including ending the regular season with four straight double-doubles.

Akanmu helped Vincennes to a 28-5 record this past season, including a perfect 16-0 regular season record in Region 24 play.

The Trailblazers earned the No. 14 seed in the 2025 NJCAA Division I National Championship tournament, where Akanmu guided the Blazers to the National Quarterfinals.

Akanmu closed out his Trailblazer career by earning 2025 NJCAA Division I All-Region 24 honors.

“My favorite part of this past season was just playing with my brothers and knowing we had each other’s back,” Akanmu added. “Vincennes University surrounded me with teammates that pushed me and believed in me. Also the teachers have helped me so much in order to maintain excellent grades.”

Akanmu is joining a Wagner College squad that finished last season with a 14-16 record, including a 6-10 record in Northeast Conference (NEC) play.

The Vincennes University Athletic Department would like to congratulate Bryan Akanmu on his commitment to continuing his education at Wagner College and wishes him good luck as he continues his basketball career next season.

BLOOMINGTON, Ind. – Members of the Indiana swimming and diving program received eight of the 10 Big Ten postseason awards – voted on by the league’s coaches – presented by the conference office on Thursday (April 3).

Indiana won all four coach of the year awards, both swimmer of the year awards and both diver of the year awards, only missing out on the freshman of the year honors. IU is the first program to sweep the coach of the year awards.

2025 marks the first season that the Big Ten postseason awards have included the freshman of the year award. As such, Indiana is also the first program to sweep the eight original awards.

Indiana was the Big Ten’s best representative nationally, finishing third and fourth at the men’s and women’s NCAA Championships, respectively. IU and Texas are the only two programs to finish top four at both championships this season.

The Indiana women’s fourth-place finish marked a program-record national performance, having previously never placing higher than seventh. Both programs tallied record points, the men scoring 459, and the women recording 312.

Indiana also won its fourth consecutive Big Ten men’s championship. The women finished second but led the conference with eight Big Ten titles and 18 medals across the meet.

Big Ten Men’s Swimming Coach of the Year: Ray Looze

Big Ten Women’s Swimming Coach of the Year: Ray Looze

Indiana head swimming coach Ray Looze is the only Big Ten head coach to win both the men’s and women’s coach of the year award in the same season, completing the feat for the fourth time this season. He previously won both in 2016, 2017 and 2024. Looze is now a 16-time Big Ten Coach of the Year, winning his ninth men’s award and seventh women’s award. He has won the men’s award each of the last four seasons and eight times in the last 10 years.

In 2025, Looze’s men and women combined for 20 program records, nine Big Ten records and the American record in the men’s 200 medley relay. Indiana had historic success on relays – The men reached the podium in all five relay events, and the women placed top 10 in each event.

Indiana swimmers earned eight medals at the NCAA Championships and three national titles, winning the women’s 200 freestyle (Anna Peplowski), men’s 1,650 freestyle (Zalán Sárkány) and men’s 200 breaststroke (Jassen Yep).

Big Ten Men’s Diving Coach of the Year: Drew Johansen

Big Ten Women’s Diving Coach of the Year: Drew Johansen

Also named the CSCAA Men’s Diving Coach of the Year, Indiana head diving coach Drew Johansen is the winner of both of the conference’s coach of the year awards. Johansen has won one of the awards each of the last four seasons, winning the men’s award the last two years after last capturing the women’s honors in 2022.

Under his leadership, Indiana divers won four of six national titles between the men’s and women’s NCAA Championships and totaled six medals. The men won all three national championships, the second three-event diving sweep in NCAA history and first since Miami in 1997.

Over the last three seasons, Indiana men’s divers have won seven of the nine available national championships, capturing the 3-meter and platform titles all three years. In that span, Hoosier divers combined for 13 medals and 342 points.

Big Ten Men’s Swimmer of the Year: Owen McDonald

Indiana has won the last four Big Ten Swimmer of the Year awards, as junior Owen McDonald adds to the three-year streak Brendan Burns had built.

McDonald was the Big Ten’s top-scoring swimmer at the NCAA Championships, earning 42 points. The first-year Hoosier reached the championship final in all three of his individual events, earning bronze in the 200 IM with a Big Ten record 1:39.42 before placing sixth in both the 100-yard backstroke (44.16) and 200-yard backstroke (1:37.59). He was also a force on relays, helping Indiana place fifth in the 400-yard freestyle relay and 400-yard medley relay as well as sixth in the 200-yard freestyle relay.

McDonald was also the Big Ten Swimmer of the Championships, sweeping his individual events and claiming two meet records. In his first season in the conference, McDonald set Big Ten records in the 200 back, 200 IM and 400 freestyle relay.

Big Ten Women’s Swimmer of the Year: Anna Peplowski

Senior Anna Peplowski capped her storied career with two personal firsts: a national championship and the Big Ten Women’s Swimmer of the Year award. Peplowski is the first Hoosier to receive the award since Lilly King won it three consecutive years from 2016-18.

Peplowski made history as Indiana’s first-ever freestyle champion, winning the 200-yard freestyle over two Big Ten opponents in second and third to improve from her second-place performance a year ago. In her victory, Peplowski set the Big Ten record in the 200 free with a 1:40.50.

The four-time NCAA medalist also earned bronze in the 500-yard freestyle, her second consecutive medal in the event. Peplowski also finished ninth in 100 free and helped Indiana reach the podium in the 200 freestyle relay, 400 freestyle relay and 800 freestyle relay. Peplowski finished as the Big Ten’s joint top point scorer at the NCAA Championships with Olympic teammate and Wisconsin fifth-year Phoebe Bacon, both recording 45 points.

Big Ten Men’s Diver of the Year: Carson Tyler

Indiana has won the last five – and six of the last seven – Big Ten Men’s Diver of the Year awards, with senior Carson Tyler earning the last two. Tyler and senior teammate Quinn Henninger both scored 49 points to finish fifth in scoring at the NCAA Championships, leading the Big Ten, as the duo teamed up to complete the three-event diving sweep.

Tyler took care of the final two events of the sweep, defending his titles in the 3-meter springboard and platform events. The five-time NCAA Champion became the first athlete to win three consecutive championships on platform and the third to win the event three times.

While the 1-meter springboard was the one event he did not win, it was the also the one event Tyler earned a career-best score on. His 432.75 earned maximum points for Indiana out of the consolation final, winning it by 64.15 points.

Big Ten Women’s Diver of the Year: Skyler Liu

The top-scoring diver at the NCAA Championships with 36 points, senior Skyler Liu finishes her collegiate career as the Big Ten Women’s Diver of the Year.

Liu captured her first-career national championship on platform, Indiana’s third title in five years in the event. Her personal best score of 382.15 ranks No. 5 in program history among an elite list of previous platform-winning Hoosiers.

Liu medaled in both of her events, earning bronze on the 3-meter springboard. The senior also successfully defended her Big Ten crowns in both events and was named the Big Ten Diver of the Championships.

 Petrova won the Golfweek/Stifel Spring Challenge on Wednesday

ST.LOUIS – After winning the Golfweek/Stifel Spring Challenge on Wednesday, University of Evansville junior Kate Petrova was named the Missouri Valley Conference Women’s Golfer of the Week on Thursday.

Wednesday’s final round in Pawleys Island, S.C. saw Petrova record a 4-under 67 to win the tournament by one stroke.  Her effort was the lowest score of her Purple Aces career and tied for the second-lowest round in program history.

Petrova opened the tournament with a 1-over 72 on Monday before recording a 1-under 70 in Tuesday’s second round.  Posting a 67 in round three, Petrova finished with a 208 to best the competition by just one stroke.

Her efforts helped Evansville finish in 5^th place out of 16 participating teams.