Valparaiso rallied from a two games to one deficit to defeat Oral Roberts 22-30, 30-23, 29-31, 30-16, 15-11 on Friday evening at the Athletics-Recreation Center for the Crusaders 16th straight home victory, increasing the Brown and Gold's lead to two games in the Mid-Continent Conference standings.

Oral Roberts took the opening game hitting .352 with 22 kills and just three errors. Valpo responded in game two, shutting the Golden Eagles offensive attack down as Oral Roberts hit just .034 for the game. In game three, the visitors jumped out to a 26-19 lead only to see Valpo tie the game before finally succumbing with the two-point deficit. The Crusaders tied the match in game four, hitting .484 with seven kills, while holding the Golden Eagles to a -.027 hitting rate. Valpo then pulled out the final game to improve to 20-5 on the season, 8-0 in the Mid-Con.

Lauren Moulton (Elgin, Ill./Larkin H.S.) led the way for the Brown and Gold with 20 kills while hitting .372. Defensively she added five blocks. Michelle Robinson (Bloomington, Ill./Normal H.S.) added 17 kills hitting .295, while Marion Hansen (Huntley, Ill./Huntley H.S.) turned in a double-double with 15 kills and 18 digs.

Liz Mikos (Dundee, Ill./Jacobs H.S.) also registered a double-double with 11 blocks to go along with her 14 kills and a .355 hitting percentage for the Crusaders. Cyndi Norman (Minooka, Ill./Minooka H.S.) dished out 58 assists and recorded 15 digs, while Sara Silcox (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City H.S.) and Lindsey Moore (Wakarusa, Ind./Penn H.S.) tallied 23 and 20 digs respectively.

Becky Dreher led Oral Roberts (14-12, 6-2 Mid-Con) with 22 kills and hit .234 to go along with her 25 digs. Orieta Zuzich added 20 kills, including nine in game one, while Kimberly Snow had 13 kills and five blocks. Cristiane Alves tallied 12 kills and 15 digs for the Golden Eagles while Keri Meyerson had a match-high 27 digs.

Valpo outhit Oral Roberts .248-.157 for the match and outdug the Golden Eagles 103-96. The Crusaders also held a 16-6 blocking advantage.

Valparaiso will return to the ARC on Saturday evening when the Crusaders host Centenary in a 7 p.m. contest.