Trailblazers Rally Past Lake Land, Stay Perfect at 7-0

VINCENNES, Ind. – The Vincennes University Volleyball team remained unbeaten Tuesday night with a hard-fought Region 24 victory over Lake Land College on the VU campus. The Trailblazers battled through momentum swings to earn a 3-1 win (25-20, 21-25, 30-28, 25-22), improving to 7-0 overall and 3-0 in Region 24 play.

Sophomore Kenli Sullivan continued her strong start to the season, leading VU with 13 kills and three aces, while freshman middle Taryn Thuis added 10 kills and five blocks. Paulina Krawczyk chipped in nine kills and three blocks, and setter Rylee Edwards guided the offense with 21 assists. Scarlet Konkel contributed 15 assists and three kills in an expanded role at the net, while libero Adaline Eisenmann anchored the defense with 14 digs as the Trailblazers finished with nine blocks as a team.

Head Coach Gary Sien noted how last year's history with Lake Land added motivation for his squad. "We definitely wanted to get this one," Sien said. "Lake Land was the top seed going into last year's Region 24 Tournament, and we split with them in the regular season. Tonight, they really served us tough and put us in some difficult situations, but our group showed a lot of fight to pull through".

After dropping the second set and trailing by as many as seven points in the fourth, VU used tough serving and improved blocking to swing momentum. "Our serving and blocking really took over," Sien added. "When you're not passing or running offense the way you want, serving is the one skill you can always control. Once we put them out of system and our block got going, that made the difference".

Sien also credited Sullivan for responding to heavy defensive attention, Thuis for another steady outing, and contributions from Konkel and Allie Robinson off the bench. "Kenli was targeted a lot after being named Region 24 Player of the Week, but she still led us in kills. Taryn had another great match, and Scarlet did a nice job stepping in with assists and blocks. It was a little ugly at times, but a win is a win," Sien said.

The Trailblazers (7-0, 3-0 Region 24) now turn their focus to hosting the Blazer Classic this Friday and Saturday. The seven-team event will feature Vincennes, Danville Area CC, Ellsworth CC, Mineral Area College, Southwestern Illinois College, Wabash Valley College, and Wallace State CC. VU will open play Friday against Southwestern Illinois at 3 p.m. (EST) and Mineral Area at 7 p.m. (EST). On Saturday, the Trailblazers return to action against Wallace State at 10 a.m. (EST) before closing the Classic with Ellsworth at 2 p.m. (EST).

Hear more from Coach Sien by clicking here.

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