VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University volleyball returned home Friday night for the first time in two weeks and treated the fans to a very exciting Region 24 showdown with John A. Logan College.

Unfortunately for the Trailblazers, VU came out on the wrong end of Friday night’s match, falling to the Volunteers 22-25, 25-20, 25-11, 23-25, 10-15.

The match got off to an excellent start for the Blazers, quickly building an early 14-8 lead over John A. Logan in the first set.

The Vols would rally back late in set one though with the aid of a 9-1 scoring run to take a 22-19 lead and close out set one 25-22 to take a 1-0 match lead.

Looking to bounce back on their home floor, the Blazers found themselves in a back-and-forth battle in set two.

VU was able to grab the upper hand with a 4-0 scoring run before closing out the set with another four unanswered points to even the match 1-1 with a 25-20 set two victory.

Vincennes continued to ride this momentum into set three, building a big 8-2 early advantage before pulling away late with a big 10-2 scoring run to grab a 2-1 match lead with a big 25-11 win in set three.

The Trailblazers continued to roll into set four where they again grabbed the early lead with a 10-2 margin on the scoreboard.

John A. Logan would chip away at this deficit however and use a 5-0 scoring run to jump in front late and force a winner-take-all fifth set by taking set four going the distance 25-23.

Set five began as another back-and-forth battle, before the Volunteers scored four straight to swing the momentum with a 10-5 lead.

Vincennes would again look to answer back on their home floor but were unable to overcome the deficit as John A. Logan closed out the match in the fifth set 15-10 to take the match 3-2.

“I thought we played hard,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “I thought we played well 90 percent of the time. But against a good team and a good defensive team like them, it’s got to be more than 90 percent. Towards the end of the fourth set, we just stopped playing. We had a big lead early on and led most of that and then we stopped being aggressive, didn’t take as many swings. Then the fifth set was a continuation from the end of the fourth set.”

“We can’t just be satisfied with 90 percent,” Sien added. “We had several crucial moments during the fifth set where we needed a kill and we just didn’t get it. Just one kill could have led to two, three and suddenly we’re on a run. We should have won the match in the fourth set, if not earlier because I thought we played well in the first set as well. In a long match like this was, it has to be from beginning to end. We have to be able to finish and finish aggressively out there.”

The Trailblazers offense was again led by the sophomore hitting duo of Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) and Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil).

Tavares led the Blazers with 12 kills, four blocks and two aces, while Dias notched another double-double with 11 kills, 14 digs, two blocks and one set assist.

Freshman Paulina Fister (Tuszyn, Poland) just missed out on a double-double of her own, finishing the night with nine kills, 13 digs, two blocks and one ace.

Sophomores Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) and Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) each recorded six kills on the night, with Czyzewski adding a set assist and Dalla Pozza filling up the stats sheet with three blocks, three digs, two aces and one set assist.

Freshman Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) rounded out the VU offensive numbers with five kills and three blocks on the night.

Sophomore setters Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) and Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) moved the ball around all night, with Mehringer finishing with 30 set assists, four digs and one ace, while DeCoursey added 21 set assists, one dig and one ace.

Sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) led the back row defense again for the Blazers, finishing the night with a team-high 19 digs to go along with a pair of set assists and two aces.

“I thought Grace not only had the numbers in digs but I thought she also serve received very well,” Sien said. “I thought our middles connected pretty well overall tonight. We discussed that before the game that we need to get the ball to the middle more often just to keep the block honest. Our pins had a really tough job putting away the ball because they had two blockers on them the majority of the time. Against a good blocking team and a good defense, if you don’t have that middle presence consistently, they are just going to ignore our middles.”

The Trailblazers will look to bounce back after a short turnaround when VU hits the floor tomorrow, Saturday, Sept. 28 in Champaign, Ill. for the Parkland College Fall Challenge.

Vincennes will begin their day against NJCAA Division II No. 5-ranked Heartland Community College at 4 p.m. eastern, before ending the weekend against Lincoln Land Community College at 6 p.m. eastern.

“We are going to have to think about tonight and try to take as much positive from it as possible,” Sien said. “We did play hard for most of the match and a few plays here and there we probably should have won. We have to learn that we have to go from beginning to end against good teams. We have to learn from tonight and have a very short memory because we can’t keep carrying a loss with us. We just don’t have the time to that.”

“Somehow, some way, we have to get our confidence back,” Sien added. “Both with ourselves and with each other and get back to that mindset that I saw last weekend at Wallace State where we played extremely well that I thought we could have beaten almost anybody. It’s a short turn around playing again tomorrow, so we don’t have a choice but to have a short memory.”

UE scores final nine points of 5^th set

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – In one of the most dramatic comebacks in recent memory, the University of Evansville volleyball team overcame an 11-6 deficit in the fifth set to take a 3-2 win over Valparaiso in Friday’s Missouri Valley Conference opener at Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

Facing the late deficit, the Purple Aces stormed back to score the final nine points of the match to open the MVC schedule with a huge win.  Giulia Cardona racked up 29 kills while Angelica Gonzalez registered a new career high with 14.  Chloe Cline added seven kills and three block assists.  Lexi Owen finished the night with 44 assists while Ainoah Cruz led all players with 23 digs.  Valparaiso was led by Jordyn Gove’s 16 kills and 10 digs.

Set 1 – Valpo 25, UE 15

Things looked to be going Evansville’s way in the early stages when a service ace by Maddie Hawkins and a kill from Giulia Cardona set the Aces up with a 6-3 lead.  The Beacons quickly regrouped with a 7-2 run to take a 10-8 lead. Another big run put them up by a 21-12 score and they would cruise to the win in the opening set.

Set 2 – UE 25, Valpo 23

After the Beacons took a 4-2 advantage out of the gate, the Aces came back to take a 7-5 lead on a Chloe Cline kill.  From that point, it was a battle as the middle stages of the set saw multiple ties and lead changes.  With the score knotted at 20-20, Evansville made its move.

Angelica Gonzalez recorded a pair of kills to put UE in front at 23-20.  Valparaiso battled back to get within one before the Aces got the job done to tie the match.

Set 3 – Valpo 25, UE 16

Madisyn Steele recorded a kill as Evansville scored the first two points of the set.  Valpo came back to take their first lead at 6-5 before extending the lead to 10-6.  From that point, the never relinquished control, going up 20-13 before taking a 2-1 lead with a 25-16 win.

Set 4 – UE 26, Valpo 24

With the score tied at 3-3, Cardona added another kill before getting the job done with her serving to put UE in front at 6-3.  The Beacons battled back to make it a 9-7 game but efficient serving by Blakeley Freeman, coupled with a pair of Cardona kills extended the lead to 14-9.

After three in a row by VU cut the deficit to a pair, Cline and Heidbreder combined on a block that got UE back on track as the advantage grew to five points at 17-12.  The Beacons responded with a 7-0 run to go back in front.  Cardona halted the stretch as the Aces scored three in a row to go up 20-19.  Gonzalez and Steele assisted on a block that set UE up with a 22-20 edge and a quick response by Valpo put them back in front at 23-22.

The defense got the job done once again as Cardona and Steele tallied a block to give UE a 24-23 lead.  With the Aces up 25-24, Cardona added a solo block to the scoresheet to clinch the set and send the match to the 5th.

Set 5 – UE 15, Valpo 11

Valpo had the early momentum, taking a 6-3 lead before Evansville scored a pair to pull back within a single point.  The Beacons countered to go back in front at 11-6 and looked to be on their way to the win.  UE had other ideas.

After a time out, a pair of Beacon errors made it a 3-point game and VU would take a time out.  Following the stoppage, the Evansville offense recorded four kills in a row to go up 12-11.  Valpo utilized their second time out, but the Aces continued to roll.  Lexi Owen’s serving kept the Beacons off balance as UE pulled off the comeback, scoring the final nine points to seal the win.

Saturday’s match against UIC is set for a 5 p.m. start inside Meeks Family Fieldhouse.

 Aces in action at Butler Double Dual

 EVANSVILLE, Ind. – Opening weekend is set for the University of Evansville men’s and women’s swimming and diving teams.  Following the annual Alumni Meet on Saturday, the Purple Aces travel to Indianapolis to take part in the Butler Dual.

Saturday’s Alumni Meet begins at 12 p.m. and will be held on the UE campus at Wyttenbach Pool.  Sunday’s meet will take place at Fishers High School with the start time set for 11 a.m. CT.  Joining Evansville in the meet are Xavier, St. Louis, Bellarmine, and Butler.

UE has 17 returners to the men’s side including sophomore Boris Tavrovsky who placed third overall in the men’s 200-Yard Backstroke in the 2024 MAC Championship. Tavrovsky went below the previous record of 1:47.14 in the preliminary round with times of 1:46.00 and 1:46.16 respectively.

The women’s side has 10 returners including Madison Rollett who placed second in the women’s three-meter diving competition at the Missouri Valley Conference Championship. Madison also earned all-Missouri Valley Conference first-team honors.

This marks the first season back at the helm of his alma mater for head coach Toby Wilcox.  The 1985 UE grad was head coach of the Aces from 1988 through 1997.  He earned three Midwestern Collegiate Conference Coach of the Year awards in his first term as UE coach.

COLUMBIA, Mo.—University of Southern Indiana Men’s Cross Country raced to a 21st-place finish out of 37 teams at the University of Missouri’s Gans Creek Classic Friday morning.
 
Senior Brady Terry finished 58th out of 320 competitors to lead the Screaming Eagles, who finished with 618 points to put them ahead of the three other Ohio Valley Conference teams that competed in the event. Terry finished the eight-kilometer race in 24 minutes, 13.6 seconds.
 
The Eagles sophomore class aided USI in the even with Alex Nolan, Jackson Collman, Isaac Stanford and Cole Hess rounded out its top-five finishers. Nolan and Collman were 112th and 128th, respectively, while Stanford and Hess posted respective finishes of 178th and 195th.
 
Freshman Layden Wagoner (201st) and sophomore Landen Swiney (239th) rounded out USI’s top-seven.
 
USI’s men also carded a 17th-place finish out of 26 teams in the open race. Freshman Griffen Wheeler was 126th out of nearly 400 runners as he crossed the finish line in 26:02.6 to lead USI.
 
The Eagles return to action October 5 when they send a small squad to compete at the “Live in Lou” Classic at Tom Sawyer State Park in Louisville, Kentucky. USI co-hosts the Angel Mounds Invitational October 18 in Evansville, Indiana, before wrapping up its third year of Division I with the OVC Championships November 1 in Union City, Tennessee.