Bowling beats two of the nation’s top-three teams in back-to-back matches – Feb. 1, 2014

- The Valparaiso bowling team entered the Prairie View A&M Invitational knowing the field contained seven of the nation’s top-10 teams, and the schedule worked out to where the Crusaders faced two of the top-three teams in the country in back-to-back matches on Saturday.  First, Valpo edged out #2 Maryland Eastern Shore by a single pin, and followed up the dramatic win with a 42-pin victory over #3 Central Missouri.  It marked the first time in program history the Crusaders earned consecutive wins over such highly ranked opponents.

Men’s soccer win at #24 Michigan State – Sept. 8, 2013

- The Crusader men’s soccer team came into its game at #24 Michigan State knowing they could play with the Spartans, having earned three draws in four matches vs. Michigan State under Mike Avery.  On this day, Valpo would break through.  Todd Vervynckt opened the scoring in the 23rd minute, and after MSU equalized in the 67th minute, Nick Suker responded with the match-winner 12 minutes later in the 2-1 Crusader win.  It was Valpo’s first win over a ranked team since 2008.

Mark Johnson (baseball) doubleheader vs. Youngstown State – Apr. 12, 2014

- Just four days earlier, junior Mark Johnson had registered his first hit of the season.  He entered the Saturday twinbill without a collegiate home run.  But in the doubleheader against the Penguins, Johnson turned out to be the Crusaders’ offensive star.  He came up just a single short of the cycle in the opener, going 3-for-4 with three runs scored and three RBIs, including his first career home run.  Johnson then went deep again for his second home run of the day in game two as part of another 3-for-4 game.

Men’s tennis downs UIC in Horizon League Championship – Apr. 25, 2014

- A record-setting season for the Crusader men’s tennis team – one which saw four players break the previous single-season mark for singles wins in a year – saw Valpo paired up against UIC to open the Horizon League Championship.  The Crusaders claimed the doubles point and won at No. 1 and No. 5 singles, but the Flames took wins at 3, 4 and 6 as the match came down to No. 2 singles.  Freshman Dave Bacalla eventually closed out an exciting three-set win, taking the third set 6-4, as Valpo earned its first main bracket win in program history at the HL tournament.

Clay Yeo (men’s basketball) game-winning 3-pointer to beat Oakland – Feb. 9, 2014

- Freshman Clay Yeo had played just three minutes over the three previous games, but against Oakland, Yeo played 25 minutes, tasked mainly with slowing down Grizzlies sharpshooter Travis Bader.  Offensively, Yeo hit three triples earlier in the game, but his fourth was by far his biggest, as with the clock winding down in a tie game, Lavonte Dority drove and kicked to Yeo in the corner.  The rookie knocked down the 3-pointer with 7.4 seconds to play, giving Valpo a 63-60 win.

Volleyball beats Iowa, wins Popcorn Classic and matches best start in program history – Sept. 7, 2013

- A Saturday night home match for the Popcorn Classic championship, against a Big Ten team, to maintain an unbeaten record?  No problem for the Valparaiso volleyball team, which matched its best start in program history (8-0) with a hard-fought 4-set win over Iowa to claim the tournament crown.  It was the second straight season the Crusaders defeated a Big Ten program, and Valpo’s first win over a Big Ten team at home in program history.  Morgan Beil was named tournament MVP, while Kelsey Victor led the way against the Hawkeyes with 12 kills and seven blocks.