VUVB continues winning ways with road sweep over John A. Logan

CARTERVILLE, Ill. - The Vincennes University volleyball team hit the floor for the first time in nearly two weeks by hitting the road to take on Region 24 opponent John A. Logan Friday night.

The Trailblazers extended their winning streak to nine games and improved to 9 – 0 in Region 24 play with a three-set sweep over the Volunteers 25-17, 25-16, 25-21.

Vincennes shook off the rust early against the host Vols, setting the tone from the start to take set one 25-17 and take a 1-0 match lead.

VU continued to roll in set two, jumping out to a 2-0 match lead over John A. Logan for the second-time this season by winning set two 25-16.

Looking to avoid a repeat of two weeks ago, when the Volunteers battled back from down 2-0 to force a fifth set on Oct. 9, the Trailblazers kept their foot on the gas and finished the Region 24 battle by taking set three 25-21 to win the match three sets to zero.

"We came in against the hottest team in the Region, with Logan going 6-1 since we last played them," VUVB head coach Gary Sien said. "The stoppage we had didn't seem to faze us as we picked up right where we left off."

"We worked hard this week in practice and we completed our game plan to a tee," Sien added.

The Trailblazers were led by freshman Jagoda Szybinska (Poznan, Poland), who finished with a team-high eight kills and set a career-high with 13 digs defensively, while also adding one block.

"I thought Jagoda played a good all-around game as she did very well in the back row, where she hasn't played much this year," Sien said.

VU was also aided by sophomore Jamie Russell (East St. Louis, Ill.) and freshmen Addison Ainscough (Cannelburg, Ind.) and Malgorzata Banasiak (Gdynia, Poland) who all finished with six kills each.

Ainscough would also add nine digs, five blocks and a pair of aces, while Russell would lead the Blazers with six blocks and four digs and Banasiak came away with a pair of block s and digs for the match.

Sophomores Breanna Metzger (Dale, Ind.) and Emilie Cornelson (Saskatoon, Canada) helped control the game at the net defensively, with the pair matching Russell's team-high of six blocks.

Metzger would also add five kills offensively and a pair of digs on defense, while Cornelson finished off a pair of kills offensively.

"Our front row of Emilie, Jamie, Breanna and Addison put up a huge block as we controlled the net," Sien added. "Our defense was outstanding as we had everyone hitting the floor on every single play."

The Vincennes offense was set up by freshman setters Hannah Graber (Montgomery, Ind.) and Josephine Mulligan (Saint John, Ind.).

Graber would come away with her seventh double-double of the season, finishing with a team-high 17 set assists, 10 digs and a kill.

Mulligan ended her night with 14 set assists, six digs and an ace.

Sophomore Grace Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) again served as Vincennes' first line of contact defensively, with Earp leading the Blazers with a team-high 17 digs, while also adding a set assist.

Vincennes will have a quick turnaround to close out their regular season as VU will host Region 24 opponent Kaskaskia at the P.E. Complex Saturday, Oct. 23 at 12 p.m. eastern.

This match will be Sophomore Recognition Day for the Blazers as VU celebrates their six volleyball sophomores playing their final game at the P.E. Complex.

"This is another situation of us having two tough games on back-to-back days, but we'll enjoy tonight's win a bit and get ready for tomorrow's game," Sien said.

John A. Logan – 17  16  21  x  x

VUVB (19-3, 9-0) – 25  25  25  x  x

VINCENNES STATS

Josephine Mulligan – 1 point, 1 ace, 6 digs, 14 set assists

Addison Ainscough – 10.5 points, 2 aces, 6 kills, 5 block assists, 9 digs

Emilie Cornelson – 5 points, 2 kills, 6 block assists

Jagoda Szybinska – 8.5 points, 8 kills, 1 block assist, 13 digs

Breanna Metzger – 8 points, 5 kills, 6 block assists, 2 digs

Jamie Russell – 9 points, 6 kills, 6 block assists, 4 digs

Grace Earp – 17 digs, 1 set assist

Hannah Graber – 1 point, 1 kill, 10 digs, 17 set assists

Malgorzata Banasiak – 7 points, 6 kills, 2 block assists, 2 digs