Saturday, October 15, 2005

Valparaiso bounced back from its first conference loss in two seasons Saturday evening, defeating Centenary 30-13, 30-13, 30-27 in Shreveport, La. The win keeps Valpo tied atop the Mid-Con standing halfway through conference play, and with the win, head coach Carin Avery ties Cindy Harris as the program's all-time winningest coach with 92 victories.

Jessie Fox (Granger, Ind./Penn H.S.) led the Valpo offense, hitting .409 with a match-high 12 kills. Freshman Allison Sears (Elkhart, Ind./Memorial H.S.) chipped in a career-high nine kills to go along with five blocks, while fellow freshman Jill Meyer (Crystal Lake, Ill./South H.S.) added seven kills.

Katie Bova (Milwaukee, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels H.S.) and Sara Hughes (San Antonio, Texas/Perrysburg (Ohio) H.S.) split the setting duties for the Crusaders. Bova led the way with 15 assists, while Hughes contributed 13 assists and a match-high ten digs for her first career double-double.

Valpo held the advantage in all the statistical categories. The Brown and Gold hit .227 while holding Centenary (9-16, 0-7 Mid-Con) to a .010 hitting percentage. The Crusaders outdug the Ladies 49-34 and recorded nine blocks to Centenary's four. Valpo also registered 11 service aces, four of which came from Brittany Marks (Elkhart, Ind./Memorial H.S.).

Valparaiso (16-5, 6-1 Mid-Con) puts their 16-match home winning streak on the line next weekend as the Crusaders host two Mid-Con foes. Friday night, the Westerwinds of Western Illinois invade the ARC, and Saturday night, Valpo plays host to UMKC. First serve for both matches is slated for 7 p.m.