VINCENNES, Ind. – The spring 2021 volleyball regular season came to a close Saturday for the Vincennes University Trailblazers as VU defeated Region 24 opponent Wabash Valley and Morton College.
Vincennes got the morning started by taking on Wabash Valley in a Region 24 match.
The two squads played the first set evenly, back-and-forth until a 6-0 scoring run by Vincennes put the Blazers up 19-14.
VU would build on this momentum to take the first set of the day 25-17.
Set two looked to be another back-and-forth battle with the Warriors holding a slim 6-5 advantage before Vincennes went on an incredible run, scoring 20 of the next 23 points to take set two 25-9 and hold a 2-0 match lead.
Wabash Valley came out firing in the third set, scoring six of the first seven points.
Vincennes was able to respond and even the score at 17-all late in the set, but ultimately dropped the set to WVC 25-23 forcing a fourth set.
The Warriors again looked determined to send this match to a fifth set early on, jumping out to a 10-5 lead.
Wabash Valley held that margin until 16-11 when VU scored nine unanswered points, which became too much for the Warriors to overcome as Vincennes took set four and the match 25-17.
"We finally got back some of our game with this win," VUVB head coach Gary Sien said. "Our front row play was exceptional as our offense was consistent and we touched nearly every ball on our blocking."
"When we serve tough and block, we score well," Sien added. "We will use this win to propel us to the Region 24 tournament next weekend."
VU was led offensively in the first match of the day by Jamie Russell, who finished with a career high 21 points and 18 kills.
Breanna Metzger finished with 14 kills, 19 digs, seven block assists and a set assist.
Metzger routinely teamed up with Emile Cornelson at the net, as Cornelson also finished with seven block assists to go along with her nine kills and five digs.
Savannah Grimes set a new career-high with 47 set assists on Sophomore Recognition Day. Grimes also finished with 13 digs, four block assists, a solo block, two kills and an ace.
Anna Johnsey finished with seven kills, six block assists and five digs and Amee Beedle finished with seven kills, 21 digs and a pair of aces.
VU would return to the floor to close out the Spring 2021 regular season against Morton College Saturday afternoon.
The Trailblazers jumped out on Morton early in the first set and worked their way to a 1-0 match lead after a 25-16 set one win.
Vincennes continued this momentum into the second set, taking a 2-0 match lead for the fourth time in five matches, 25-19.
VU made some substitutions in the third set, managing to get all their players some floor time as the Trailblazers completed the match sweep 25-16.
"We had another opportunity to play our entire roster," Sien said. "Morton is fairly athletic, so we still had to play at a high level. This allowed us some valuable game time to work with different lineups and different positions."
"All in all, it was a good day in recognizing our four sophomores and getting two good wins," Sien added.
Vincennes was led by Emile Cornelson against Morton, who had an impressive match offensively and defensively, finishing with seven kills and seven block assists.
Breanna Metzger closed out her Trailblazer regular season career with six kills, five digs and four block assists.
Amee Beedle finished with six kills, nine digs, an ace, one block assist and a set assist.
Savannah Grimes ended the second match of the day with 27 set assists, nine digs, a solo block and a block assists.
Olga Vasovic ended her day with 10 digs and three aces.
Kacee Nicholson finished out her VU regular season career with an ace and a set assist.
VU now waits to see who they will face in the opening round of the NJCAA Division-I Region 24 Tournament in Mattoon, Ill. Friday March 26.
The Trailblazers close out the Spring 2021 Regular season with a 14-9 record and a 7-3 record in Region 24 play.
Wabash Valley 17 9 25 17 x
VU (13-9) 25 25 23 25 x
VINCENNES STATS
Savannah Grimes – 6 points, 1 ace, 2 kills, 1 solo block, 4 block assists, 13 digs, 47 set assists
Amee Beedle – 9.5 points, 2 aces, 7 kills, 1 block assist, 21 digs
Emile Cornelson – 12.5 points, 9 kills, 7 block assists, 5 digs, 1 set assist
Anna Johnsey – 11 points, 1 ace, 7 kills, 6 block assists, 5 digs, 1 set assist
Breanna Metzger – 17.5 points, 14 kills, 7 block assists, 19 digs, 1 set assist
Jamie Russell – 21 points, 18 kills, 1 solo block, 4 block assists, 3 digs
Grace Earp – 14 digs, 1 set assist
Olga Vasovic – 2 points, 1 ace, 1 kill, 3 digs
Morton 16 19 16 x x
VU (14-9) 25 25 25 x x
VINCENNES STATS
Kacee Nicholson – 1 point, 1 ace, 1 set assist
Savannah Grimes – 1.5 points, 1 solo block, 1 block assist, 9 digs, 27 set assists
Amee Beedle – 7.5 points, 1 ace, 6 kills, 1 block assist, 9 digs, 1 set assist
Emile Cornelson – 10.5 points, 7 kills, 7 block assists
Anna Johnsey – 5 points, 1 ace, 4 kills, 6 digs
Breanna Metzger – 8 points, 6 kills, 4 block assists, 5 digs
Jamie Russell – 5 points, 4 kills, 2 block assists 2 digs
Grace Earp – 4 digs, 1 set assist
Claudia Mendoza – 1 point, 1 kill
Elizabeth Combs – 3 points, 3 kills
Olga Vasovic – 3 points, 3 kills, 10 digs
