CARTERVILLE, Ill. – The No. 2 seed Vincennes University Trailblazer volleyball team continued their postseason run Saturday evening in the NJCAA Division I Region 24 Semi-finals where they faced off against No. 3 seed and host John A. Logan College.
The Trailblazers overcame some big deficits to battle back and come away with a 25-22, 25-22, 25-16 three set sweep over the Volunteers to advance to the Region 24 Championship match Sunday evening.
This match was very evenly fought right from the beginning, with Vincennes grabbing the early momentum with a 6-1 scoring run before the Volunteers shifted the game back to their side with seven unanswered to take a 17-12 lead.
VU battled and went on to score eight of the next nine points to get back in front 20-18.
John A. Logan was able to cut the VU deficit down to a single point at 23-22 before the Blazers came away with the final two points of set one, taking the opening set 25-22 and gaining the early 1-0 match lead.
John A. Logan again came out of the gates strong in set two, grabbing the early lead and growing this margin to 19-13 before the Blazers began to rally back.
Vincennes used a big 12-3 scoring run to swing the momentum back to their side and close out the second set 25-22, giving the Trailblazers the 2-0 match lead.
VU was finally able to get the early momentum again in set three, seemingly breaking away with seven straight points to take a 12-7 lead before the Volunteers answered back to cut the VU lead down to two points.
This would be as close as the Volunteers would get however as VU would pull away late by finishing out the set by scoring seven of the final eight points to take set three 25-16 and complete the three set sweep over the Volunteers.
"Grit and guts," VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. "That's what it took for us to secure this win. When JALC made a run against us, we responded with one of our own. There must have been at least half a dozen runs that they made against us, especially at the end of the first set and several times in the second set."
"This is the type of response that we knew this team could come up with," Sien added. "They have banded together through all the disappointments and the frustrations of the year. They have not let that stop them and they did not quit. I don't think many teams could have come back like this team has in similar circumstances."
The Trailblazer offense was led by sophomore Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) who finished her night with 12 kills, two digs, one block and one set assist.
Fellow sophomores Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) and Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) were close behind Dias with Tavares adding eight kills, two blocks and one dig and Dalla Pozza coming away with seven kills and four blocks.
Freshman Paulina Fister (Tuszyn, Poland) again filled up the stats sheet, finishing the match with eight kills, seven digs, one ace, one block and one set assist.
Sophomore Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) and freshman Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) round out the VU offensive numbers with Czyzewski recording three kills and two blocks, while Sadowska added one kill, three blocks and one set assist.
Sophomore setter Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) and freshman Rylee Edwards (Fairfield, Ill.) distributed the ball well to the Trailblazer hitters, with the pair each recording 14 set assists, with Mehringer adding two aces and two digs, while Edwards finished the match with three digs.
Sophomore Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) entered the match and closed out the first set for the Trailblazers, recording two set assists on the day.
The back row defense was again anchored by sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) who finished her night with seven digs, two aces and two set assists.
Freshman Julianna Rettig (Antioch, Ill.) rounds out the Vincennes University box score for the match, ending the game with four digs and one ace.
"One of the key performances, though short, was when Dylan came in for Rylee at 23-21 in set one," Sien said. "She dished out two set assists for a 25-22 win and she came in at a crucial point of the match."
"Julianna had a slow start but came back in with some tough serves and good passes," Sien added. "Grace had several serving runs and set well out of system. Isadora had several critical kills in tight moments in the match. Paulina had a couple of big time digs that led to a couple of scoring opportunities for us and swung well out there."
"Our blocking took over the match after the first set," Sien said. "With Elisa, Allison, Laura and Martyna combining for block points."
The Trailblazers advance to the Region 24 Championship game Sunday, Nov. 3 at 5 p.m. eastern where they will face off against No. 4 seed Southwestern Illinois College.
Vincennes will look to capture their fourth straight Region 24 Championship Sunday afternoon and look to secure a bye in next weekend's NJCAA Division I Midwest District Championship tournament.
With the win Saturday evening the Trailblazers guarantee that Vincennes will host one of the two Midwest District Championship tournaments, with Sunday's match determining which tournament VU will play in.
"You don't come this far without playing some good volleyball," Sien said. "We expect SWIC to be good obviously and we will need to be playing at a high level. We will have to earn this because no one is going to just give it to us."
"Nothing that has happened in the regular season matters now," Sien added. "This I a new season and a brand new game."
BOX SCORE
John A. Logan – 22 22 16 x x
VUVB (29-12, 17-3) – 25 25 25 x x
VINCENNES STATS
Grace Flexter – 2 points, 2 aces, 7 digs, 2 set assists
Paulina Fister – 9.5 points, 1 ace, 8 kills, 1 block assist, 7 digs, 1 set assist
Rylee Edwards – 3 digs, 14 set assists
Dylan DeCoursey – 2 set assists
Julianna Rettig – 1 point, 1 ace, 4 digs
Laura Tavares – 9 points, 8 kills, 2 block assists, 1 dig
Isadora Dias – 13 points, 12 kills, 1 solo block, 2 digs, 1 set assist
Allison Czyzewski – 4 points, 3 kills, 2 block assists
Martyna Sadowska – 2.5 points, 1 kill, 3 block assists, 1 set assist
Elisa Dalla Pozza – 9 points, 7 kills, 4 block assists
Libby Mehringer – 2 points, 2 aces, 2 digs, 14 set assists