VUVB falls to Jefferson College in Midwest District A Semifinals in four sets

Hillsboro, Mo. – The historic run for the Vincennes University volleyball team has likely come to an end Saturday afternoon as the Blazers fell to host Jefferson College in four sets, 19-25, 18-25, 26-24, 18-25 in the Midwest District A Semifinals.

Jefferson utilized the home court advantage early as Vincennes fell behind two sets to zero with the Vikings winning set one 25-19 and set two 25-18.

Looking to avoid being swept for the first time since late September, the Blazers rallied back to win set three in overtime 26-24.

The momentum would not last however as Jefferson answered back to take set four and win the match 25-18, handing VU only their fourth loss of the season.

"We started off very slow as our serve receive and defense were uncharacteristically off," VUVB head coach Gary Sien said. "We did some good things in stopping a couple of Jefferson's hitters, but we did not capitalize on that with any extended runs of our own. It still seemed like we made enough plays in every set to win."

VU was led offensively by freshman Addison Ainscough (Cannelburg, Ind.) who led Vincennes with nine kills and narrowly missed a double-double with eight digs.

Freshmen Jagoda Szybinska (Poznan, Poland) and Malgorzata Banasiak (Gdynia, Poland) were next in line as Szybinska ended the match with seven kills and a pair of aces and Banasiak finished with six kills and a pair of blocks.

Sophomores Emilie Cornelson (Saskatoon, Canada) and Jamie Russell (East St. Louis, Ill.) finished the match with five kills each, with Russell also leading the team with six blocks, while Cornelson added two of her own.

Sophomore Breanna Metzger (Dale, Ind.) rounded out the VU hitting, ending with three kills offensively and four blocks on the defensive side of the net.

Freshman setters Hannah Graber (Montgomery, Ind.) and Josephine Mulligan (Saint John, Ind.) ran the Vincennes offense, with Graber finishing with a team-high 19 set assists to go along with five digs and one kill. Mulligan ended her day by just missing a double-double with 13 set assists and nine digs.

Sophomore libero Grace Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) led the VU first contact defense as Earp led the Blazers with 19 digs, along with three service aces.

Sophomore Amee Beedle (Wheaton, Ill.) also helped out the back row defense, finishing with six digs on the match.

The Vincennes volleyball season likely comes to a close with the Trailblazers sporting a 22-4 record and an unbeaten 12-0 record against Region 24 teams.

The fall 2021 addition of the Trailblazer volleyball team came away with the first Region Championship as an NJCAA Division I program and the school's first volleyball Region Championship since 2006.

"It was a great year," Sien added. "These students put forth their all in winning a championship and having the best record in the Region."

Jefferson – 25  25  24  25  x

VUVB (22-4, 12-0) – 19  18  26  18  x

VINCENNES STATS

Josephine Mulligan – 9 digs, 13 set assists

Amee Beedle – 6 digs

Addison Ainscough – 9 points, 9 kills, 8 digs

Emilie Cornelson – 6.5 points, 5 kills, 1 solo block, 1 block assist

Jagoda Szybinska – 9 points, 2 aces, 7 kills, 3 digs, 1 set assist

Breanna Metzger – 5 points, 3 kills, 4 block assists, 2 digs

Jamie Russell – 8.5 points, 5 kills, 1 solo block, 5 block assists

Grace Earp – 3 points, 3 aces, 19 digs, 1 set assist

Hannah Graber – 1 point, 1 kill, 5 digs, 19 set assists

Malgorzata Banasiak – 7.5 points, 6 kills, 1 solo block, 1 block assist, 3 digs