CARTERVILLE, Ill. – The Vincennes University volleyball team picked up their 20th win of the season Tuesday night as the Blazers headed to John A. Logan College in Carterville, Ill. for a Region 24 showdown with the Volunteers.
Vincennes was able to come out on top in this match between the two teams currently at the top of the Region 24 standings, taking the match in four sets 25-22, 17-25, 25-21, 25-17.
The match was very close from the very beginning as the two teams traded early runs in the opening set before the Blazers were able to rally from behind with a 9-1 scoring run to take an 18-14 lead.
The two teams traded side outs until the Volunteers cut the deficit down to one at 23-22 before VU closed out set one with back-to-back points to take the set 25-22 and grab the early 1-0 match lead.
Set two again began as a back-and-forth battle before the Volunteers broke away with six straight points and would ride the home crowd momentum to a 25-17 set two victory and even the match at 1-1 going to a pivotal third set.
The teams again traded scoring runs early in set three with VU gaining the upper hand with four straight points to take an 18-15 advantage.
After another series of side outs, VU was able to close out the third set strong with a 3-0 scoring run to take set three 25-21 and regain the match lead at 2-1.
The Trailblazers rode this momentum into set four as VU jumped out to an early 10-3 lead in the fourth set.
John A. Logan would attempt to battle back and force a fifth set but were unable to overcome the Vincennes lead as the Blazers closed out set four 25-17 to take the match 3-1 over the host Volunteers.
“We saw this game not as any kind of revenge, but as getting redemption,” VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. “We lost not only a game the last time we played them but a bit of our being. We think we got that back tonight.”
“Sounds simple enough but we played together,” Sien added. “Even after that tough loss to Wallace State, we stayed together. They are so tough minded, we are so proud of their play and effort.”
“Strategically, we started right off the bat with serving as tough as we can and going at certain players,” Sien said. “We were trying to disrupt their offense with that and then block. Our front row was exceptional tonight as we touched nearly every hit with our block.”
The VU offense was led by sophomore Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) who controlled the game at the net with 19 kills, six blocks, three digs, two set assists and an ace.
Sophomores Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) and Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) also reached double-digit kills, each recording 10 kills in the match.
Tavares would add a pair of blocks and a dig, while Dias filled up the stats sheet with seven digs, two aces, one block and one set assist.
