Valparaiso junior libero Brittany Malicoat (Elkhart, Ind./Memorial) was named the Horizon League’s Defensive Player of the Year this evening, while sophomore outside hitter Angie Porché (Lynwood, Ill./Thornton Fractional South) joined Malicoat on the 12-member All-League team.

Malicoat earns All-League honors for the second straight season after being named to the Mid-Continent Conference second team last year.  She also becomes the third Crusader in the last five years to earn league Defensive Player of the Year honors, joining Sara Silcox (2003) and Liz Mikos (2005).  The junior has already broken the Horizon League single-season digs record and, with 653 digs on the year, is just 22 digs shy of her own Crusader single-season standard.  Malicoat currently leads the Horizon League with 5.78 digs/game, good for 22^nd in the nation, and also paces the league with 0.38 aces/game.  She currently ranks second in Valpo history with 1,601 career digs and is also among Valpo’s all-time top-10 in service aces.

Porché repeats as an All-League honoree after being named to the Mid-Con first team last season.  The sophomore currently paces all Horizon League players with 4.70 kills/game, which ranks 37^th among all Division I players, and is second in the league with 0.36 service aces/game.  Porché currently ranks second on Valpo’s single-season kills list with 517 terminations, just 19 shy of the Crusader record, and sits just three kills shy of 1,000 for her career as only a sophomore.