VUVB sweeps Lake Land for second time in four days to remain unbeaten in Region 24

MATTOON, Ill. – The Vincennes University Trailblazers concluded their back end of their Region 24 road back-to-back Saturday afternoon at Lake Land College in Mattoon.

The Blazers came away with their second three-set sweep over the Lakers in just four days. Winning 26-24, 25-20, 25-19.

This match was much closer than the one played Wednesday night at the P.E. Complex, with the Lakers defending their home floor well.

Vincennes held a narrow 12-9 lead midway through the opening set and continued to grow an eventual six point advantage on the scoreboard.

Lake Land answered back, going on an impressive 15-5 scoring run to move ahead 24-20 and serve for set point.

The Trailblazers showed again, much like they have all season, that there is no quit in this team, as VU would rally back, scoring the final six points of the set to take set one 26-24, behind three kills from freshman hitter Malgorzata Banasiak (Gdynia, Poland).

Lake Land opened the second set by jumping out on top, scoring three of the first four points, before the Blazers would respond with a 6-0 run of their own.

The Lakers would cut the lead down to just two points before VU would go on a 4-0 scoring run to take a 15-9 lead.

Lake Land could not manage to cut into the deficit, only able to get within three points of the Trailblazers as VU won set two 25-20 to take a 2-0 match lead.

Set three was another back-and-forth battle, with the score even at 9-9 midway through the set.

The Lakers looked to avoid being swept on their home court, opening a 16-13 advantage on the scoreboard before the Blazers would answer back with a 10-2 scoring run and later close out the third set 25-19 to complete the sweep.

"Today was the last day of a tough two weeks for us as we have played 10 matches in that time," VUVB head coach Gary Sien said. "After the emotional win at Wabash Valley last night and not having the full roster today, we were wondering where our minds would be."

"We wonder no more as the kids fought back in several stretches," Sien added. "Winning the first set was important as we battled back from a large deficit and a slow start."

The VUVB offense was led by freshman Jagoda Szybinska (Poznan, Poland) who finished with a team-high 13 kills on the day, while also adding four digs, a pair of aces and a solo block to her totals.

Sophomores Jamie Russell (East St. Louis, Ill.), Emilie Cornelson (Saskatoon, Canada) and freshman Addison Ainscough (Cannelburg, Ind.) all finished with eight kills each for the Blazers.

Russell seemed to dominate the whole match from both sides of the net, leading the Trailblazers with six blocks on defense to go along with her kills.

Cornelson added a pair of digs and solo block and Ainscough finished with 15 digs and two blocks on the game.

Malgorzata Banasiak stepped into a bigger role Saturday afternoon and did not disappoint, finishing with seven kills and three blocks.

The VU offense was run by freshman Hannah Graber (Montgomery, Ind.) who racked up 37 set assists on her way to a double-double with 12 digs to go along with a pair of kills and an ace.

Amee Beedle (Wheaton, Ill.) and Grace Earp (Mattoon, Ill.) patrolled the back row defensively, with Beedle ending the match with 11 digs and a kill and Earp finishing with nine digs and two set assists in front of her hometown crowd.

Freshman Lara Gomes de Castro (Sao Paulo, Brazil) also saw some expanded playing time, with the Blazers only using eight players against Lake Land, ending her day with three digs, a set assist and an ace.

"We had a little more balanced attack today as Jagoda, Addison, Jamie, Emilie and Gosia all had at least seven kills," Sien said.

"Hannah ran a nice offense as our ball control, like last night, got better as the match went on. The team did themselves proud during these last two weeks."

Vincennes will hit the road again Tuesday, Oct. 5 when the Blazers travel to Harrisburg, Ill. to take on Southeastern Illinois College at 7 p.m. eastern.

VU will then return home this weekend to host the Showdown on the Wabash Friday, Oct. 8 and Saturday, Oct. 9 at the P.E. Complex.

Lake Land – 24  20  19  x  x

VUVB (14-3, 6-0) – 26  25  25  x  x

INDIVIDUAL STATS

Amee Beedle – 1 point, 1 kills, 11 digs

Addison Ainscough – 9.5 points, 8 kills, 1 solo block, 1 block assist, 15 digs

Lara Gomes de Castro – 1 point, 1 ace, 3 digs, 1 set assist

Emilie Cornelson – 9 points, 8 kills, 1 solo block, 2 digs

Jagoda Szybinska – 16 points, 2 aces, 13 kills, 1 solo block, 4 digs

Jamie Russell – 12 points, 8 kills, 2 solo blocks, 4 block assists, 2 digs

Grace Earp – 9 digs, 2 set assists

Hannah Graber – 3 points, 1 ace, 2 kills, 12 digs, 37 set assists

Malgorzata Banasiak – 8.5 points, 7 kills, 3 block assists, 1 dig