VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Trailblazers shook off the rust after not playing for nearly three weeks by picking up the three-set sweep over Region 24 opponent Shawnee Friday night, 25-10, 25-7, 25-11.
Vincennes got after the Saints early, after dropping the first point of the match, VU responded by scoring the next six points unanswered, ultimately going on a 9-1 scoring run.
The early deficit was too much for Shawnee as the Blazers continued to keep their foot on the gas pedal, taking the opening set 25-10.
Shawnee looked to answer back in set two, evening the score at four-all early, before VU opened a 13-5 lead.
Sophomore Jamie Russell (East St. Louis, Ill.) held serve for the Blazers with the score 13-6 and continued to hold strong as Vincennes scored the next 10 points unanswered.
VU would close out the second set with the 25-7 win, to hold a commanding 2-0 match lead.
Vincennes again got off to a slow start in the third set, with Shawnee battling early to keep the Blazers to 8-6.
VU responded well however and completed the three-set sweep, taking the third and final set by the score of 25-11, giving the Blazers a win in their home opener and a 1-0 start in Region 24 play.
"We really wanted to go out and play with some urgency," VUVB head coach Gary Sien said. "We have to respect every opponent we face and we didn't want to give up points and be out on the floor longer than we had to."
"I'm just glad that we felt that urgency out there tonight. We really wanted to play this game fast, so we can have more time to rest tonight because we have two matches tomorrow," Sien added.
Vincennes was led offensively by Jamie Russell, who led the Blazers with 12 kills on the night, on an impressive .588 hitting percentage. Russell would also add three aces and one block assist.
"Jamie really has more experience playing as a middle and she is just a big target," Sien said. "We've been coaching our hitters to get up faster so we can catch our opponent's blockers being late. Jamie is just naturally fast and quick to get up for a kill and her game has really expanded. Jamie didn't play any back row last year and now she has the opportunity to serve and play defense and she's done a really nice job."
Freshman Jagoda Szybinska (Poznan, Poland) added eight kills on the night and contributed with a pair of block assists.
Freshman Addison Ainscough (Cannelburg, Ind.) led the Blazers from the service line, finishing with a team-high five aces on the night, to go along with four kills and three digs.
Sophomore Amee Beedle (Wheaton, Ill.) and freshman Emilie Cornelson (Saskatoon, Canada) also added some scoring for the Blazers, with Beedle finishing with five kills and Cornelson adding four kills and a team-high three block assists on the night.
The VU offense was set up by freshman tandem Hannah Graber (Montgomery, Ind.) and Josephine Mulligan (Saint John, Ind.). Graber finished with 18 set assists on the night, with Mulligan adding 12.
The Blazers will get a quick rest before returning to the P.E. Complex floor tomorrow afternoon when Vincennes hosts East Central College and Henry Ford College in Tri-Match action, Saturday, Sept. 18.
VU will start the day against East Central at 12 p.m. eastern, before taking on Henry Ford College at 4 p.m. eastern.
"The competition level tomorrow is really going to elevate, so we can't afford to have many errors against a team that is going to be more competitive against us," Sien said. "We want, as we move on to the rest of the season, play in a system where our first ball is going to be on point so our setters can run our offense. We were in our system, pretty much, the whole match tonight and when that happens that's really hard to stop."
"We just want to take a step in the right direction with our offense. I thought we passed okay tonight, but we're going to have to serve receive a lot better as we move forward this season."
Shawnee – 10 7 11 x x
VUVB (4-1, 1-0) – 25 25 25 x x
VINCENNES STATS
Kaley Roush – 1 point, 1 kill
Josephine Mulligan – 3 points, 2 aces, 1 kill, 4 digs, 12 set assists
Amee Beedle – 5 points, 5 kills, 1 dig
Addison Ainscough – 9 points, 5 aces, 4 kills, 3 digs
Lara Gomes de Castro – 1 point, 1 ace
Emilie Cornelson – 5.5 points, 4 kills, 3 block assists, 1 set assist
Jagoda Szybinska – 9 points, 8 kills, 2 block assists
Jamie Russell – 15.5 points, 3 aces, 12 kills, 1 block assist
Grace Earp – 5 digs, 1 set assist
Hannah Graber – 1 point, 1 kill, 3 digs, 18 set assists
Malgorzata Banasiak – 2 points, 1 kill, 2 block assists, 1 dig
