PARK HILLS, Mo. – The Vincennes University volleyball team opened a very tough weekend tournament Friday evening and split their first two games of this four-game weekend at the 2024 Mineral Area College Cardinal Classic in Missouri.

The Blazers took their first game of the day against Hutchinson Community College in Kansas 20-25, 25-21, 18-25, 25-21, 15-12 before falling in game two of the day to host Mineral Area College 11-25, 15-25, 11-25.

Vincennes opened their day against Hutchinson Community College and this match was very even right from the beginning.

The two teams traded points for most of the opening set before the Blue Dragons pulled away late with five straight points and close out the first set with a 5-1 run to take set one 25-20 and gain the early 1-0 match lead.

Set two was another back and forth battle with Hutchinson gaining the early advantage with a 16-12 lead midway through the set before the Blazers battled back with four straight points.

Vincennes would close out the second set by scoring five of the final six points to take set two 25-21 and even the match at 1-1 going to a pivotal third set.

VU would ride this momentum into the third set, taking a 14-11 lead midway through the set before Hutchinson answered back strong with a pair of 4-0 scoring runs to pull away late and take set three 25-18.

Vincennes looked determined to force a fifth set early in set four, gaining the early 11-8 lead before Hutchinson shifted the momentum back to their side with six straight points.

The Trailblazers would get the momentum back with a 6-0 scoring run of their own, before using another late 6-0 scoring run to take set four 25-21 and force a winner take all fifth set.

In set five, Vincennes once again got out to the early lead, leading 11-5 before Hutchinson would rally back with five straight points to cut the deficit to a single point.

Vincennes was able to regain composure and close out the fifth set strong, completing the comeback with a 15-12 set five victory.

The VU offense was led by sophomore Laura Tavares (Merida, Venezuela) who finished the first match of the day with 17 kills, four blocks, two digs and one set assist.

Sophomore Isadora Dias (Rio Grande de Norte, Brazil) and freshman Paulina Fister (Tuszyn, Poland) each recorded a double-double in the match, with Dias finishing with 13 kills, 12 digs and one set assist and Fister closing the game with 11 kills and 12 digs.

Sophomore Elisa Dalla Pozza (Vincenza, Italy) filled up the stats sheet for the Blazers, finishing with nine kills, a team-high five blocks, five digs, two set assists and one ace.

Sophomore Allison Czyzewski (Louisville, Ill.) and freshman Martyna Sadowska (Pila, Poland) rounded out the VU offensive numbers with Czyzewski finishing the match with two kills, three blocks and one set assist and Sadowska recording one kill, one block, one dig and one set assist.

Sophomore setter Libby Mehringer (Jasper, Ind.) also came away with a double-double in the match, running the Trailblazer offense to 22 set assists, 10 digs, five kills, two blocks and one ace.

Freshman Rylee Edwards (Fairfield, Ill.) also helped spread the ball out to the VU hitters, finishing the match with 17 set assists and three digs.

Sophomore libero Grace Flexter (Oblong, Ill.) ended the match with a team-high 17 digs, six set assists and one ace, while freshman Julianna Rettig (Antioch, Ill.) came away with 12 digs, one set assist and one ace.

"We finally got off the snide that was our fifth, five set match of the year which we finally managed to win," VUVB Head Coach Gary Sien said. "Just tough to accept when half of your losses were in overtime. I think it was just a matter of going out there and doing your jobs, refocusing after each play and pressing ahead."

The Trailblazers then had to immediately turn around and face host Mineral Area College to close out the first day of the Cardinal Classic.

VU understandably got off to a slow start in their second match of the day, quickly falling behind 18-4 before the Cardinals finished out the opening set 25-11 to take an early 1-0 match lead over the Blazers.

Set two was more back and forth at the start, with VU holding an 11-10 lead before Mineral Area regained the lead and pulled away with an 11-2 scoring run to take set two 25-15 and gain a 2-0 match lead.

Looking to close out the sweep, Mineral Area again got off to a quick start in set three, using a 10-0 run to take a 17-4 lead.

VU continued to battle, getting a late 4-0 scoring run but were unable to overcome the deficit as Mineral Area took set three and the match 25-11.

The VU offense was again led by Laura Tavares who finished her night with eight kills, three digs and two blocks.

Elisa Dalla Pozza chipped in with five kills and two blocks, while Isadora Dias added two kills, one block and one dig.

Allison Czyzewski and Martyna Sadowska each finished the match with one kill and one block.

Libby Mehringer ran the VU offense to another filled stats sheet with 11 set assists, three digs, two aces, two kills and one block.

Sophomore Dylan DeCoursey (Montgomery, Ind.) finished the game with three set assists and one dig, while Rylee Edwards came away with two set assists and two digs.

Paulina Fister led the Blazers with six digs, while Grace Flexter added four digs, two set assists and one ace to her total.

Freshman Ashley Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) finished her night with two digs and a set assist and Julianna Rettig rounded out the Vincennes box score with one dig in the match.

"Tough to play right away against a good team after an emotional comeback," Sien added. "But that's the hand that we were dealt and we had a hard time keeping up with their speed."

The Trailblazers will look to rebound when they return to the Mineral Area College court tomorrow, Saturday, Oct. 12 for the final day of the 2024 MAC Cardinal Classic.

Vincennes will close out the weekend tournament with a pair of very tough matches, first facing No. 15 ranked Indian Hills Community College at 2 p.m. eastern and No. 13 ranked Missouri State University-West Plains at 4 p.m. eastern.

"We will have to fight and play hard and not worry about the score," Sien said. "We will have to side out consistently and not allow any long runs. It will truly test us in every way."

BOX SCORE

GAME ONE

Hutchinson – 25   21   25   21   12

VUVB (21-8, 9-2) – 20   25   18   25   15

VINCENNES STATS

Grace Flexter – 1 point, 1 ace, 17 digs, 6 set assists

Paulina Fister – 11 points, 11 kills, 12 digs

Rylee Edwards – 3 digs, 17 set assists

Julianna Rettig – 1 point, 1 ace, 12 digs, 1 set assist

Laura Tavares – 19 points, 17 kills, 4 block assists, 2 digs, 1 set assist

Isadora Dias – 13 points, 13 kills, 12 digs, 1 set assist

Allison Czyzewski – 3.5 points, 2 kills, 3 block assists, 1 set assist

Martyna Sadowska – 1.5 points, 1 kill, 1 block assist, 1 dig, 1 set assist

Elisa Dalla Pozza – 12.5 points, 1 ace, 9 kills, 5 block assists, 5 digs, 2 set assists

Libby Mehringer – 7 points, 1 ace, 5 kills, 2 block assists, 10 digs, 22 set assists

GAME TWO

Mineral Area – 25   25   25   x   x

VUVB (21-9, 9-2) – 11   15   11   x   x

VINCENNES STATS

Grace Flexter – 1 point, 1 ace, 4 digs, 2 set assists

Paulina Fister – 6 digs

Rylee Edwards – 2 digs, 2 set assists

Dylan DeCoursey – 1 dig, 3 set assists

Julianna Rettig – 1 dig

Laura Tavares – 9 points, 8 kills, 2 block assists, 3 digs

Isadora Dias – 2.5 points, 2 kills, 1 block assist, 1 dig

Allison Czyzewski – 1.5 points, 1 kill, 1 block assist

Ashley Earp – 2 digs, 1 set assist

Martyna Sadowska – 1.5 points, 1 kill, 1 block assist

Elisa Dalla Pozza – 6 points, 5 kills, 2 block assists

Libby Mehringer – 4.5 points, 2 aces, 2 kills, 1 block assist, 3 digs 11 set assists