CARMEL, Ill. – The Vincennes University volleyball hit the road Tuesday night to take on Region 24 rival Wabash Valley College in Mt. Carmel, Ill.
The Trailblazers faced a tough test against the host Warriors but came out with the four-set victory 25-22, 25-21, 24-26, 25-23.
VU entered the game short-handed again with sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) being inactive for the game, turning the libero position over to freshmen Ashley Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) and Julianna Rettig (Antioch, Ill.).
Vincennes did a good job getting out to a hot start in set one, quickly building a 15-7 advantage before the Warriors rallied back to cut the deficit to 17-14.
VU would use a 6-1 scoring run to get the lead back to eight before Wabash Valley again answered back cutting the Trailblazer lead down to 24-22 before the Blazers closed out the first set 25-22 to take the 1-0 match lead.
The Trailblazers bounced back from this tough finish to the opening set early in set two, scoring eight of the first nine points of the second set on their way to building a commanding 20-8 lead over the Warriors.
Wabash Valley refused to go away quietly however as the Warriors would use a big 7-0 scoring run to cut the VU lead down to 22-20 late in the set.
Vincennes would get back on track and close out the second set 25-21 to gain the 2-0 match lead.
Looking to avoid being swept in front of the home crowd, Wabash Valley came out firing in the third set, gaining the early advantage and building their largest lead of the night at 19-14.
It was VU’s turn to attempt the late comeback as VU chipped away at the deficit with a pair of three point runs and were serving match point before the Warriors grabbed the momentum back to score three straight to close out set three in overtime 26-24.
Set four was a back-and-forth battle with both teams trading small scoring runs before Vincennes broke out with a late 23-17 lead.
Wabash Valley would close the margin with four straight and later cut the lead to a single point before VU would get the final point to take the set and the match 25-23 and earn the 3-1 victory.
“We didn’t have Grace out there tonight and we didn’t know that until right before the match,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “But Ashley and Julianna did a really nice job of filling that position in. Sometimes people think of that as a secondary position, but it’s really just as important as a middle, outside or setter. That’s a key position for us and they did a nice job of stepping up in her absence tonight.”
“It’s always difficult to play at Wabash Valley,” Sien added. “We got ourselves in trouble tonight when we just couldn’t serve receive. When a team gets behind like that, one thing they can do to get back in it is just to serve tough.”
“We were able to get the plays that we needed to get the win,” Sien said. “Wabash Valley, every year, as the year goes on, they get better. They have won some matches lately and have given a lot of teams in the Region trouble. So it wasn’t like it was unexpected that this was going to be a tough match for us.”
The VU offense was led by sophomore Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) who had a big night with 13 kills and a team-high seven blocks.
Sophomore Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) finished her night with another double-double with 11 kills, 11 digs, two blocks and two set assists.
Sophomore Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) was the third Trailblazer with double digit kills, ending her night with 10 kills, six blocks, two aces and one dig.
Sophomore Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) also had a big night at the net, with three kills and five blocks in the game.
Freshmen Paulina Fister (Tuszyn, Poland) and Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) each recorded two kills on the night, with Fister adding seven digs, one block and one set assist.
Sophomore setter Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) ran the VU offense well on her way to a team-high 23 set assists, six digs and two kills.
Freshman setter Rylee Edwards (Fairfield, Ill.) also shared time at the setter position, finishing her night with 14 set assists and five digs.
Freshman liberos Julianna Rettig and Ashley Earp each stepped in to run the VU back row defense, with Rettig finishing the night with nine digs and Earp rounding out the VU box score with four digs and two set assists.
“Isadora had a great all-around match,” Sien said. “She got some big swings and she played a heck of a game in the back row tonight. She literally covered from corner to corner. Even ones that she didn’t get up, she was able to touch. It was rare tonight for a ball to hit the floor without her touching it.”
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