Sophomore Katie Britton (Mishawaka, Ind./Marian) and freshman Taylor Root (Jenison, Mich./Jenison) represented Valparaiso on the Hampton Inn Drake Invitational All-Tournament Team, as announced at the conclusion of the tournament Saturday night.

Britton led the Crusaders offensively on the weekend, picking up 48 kills over the four matches, good for 3.20 kills/set.  The sophomore, who has transitioned into a regular at outside hitter early on this season, set a new career high in Valpo’s victory over Texas A&M-Corpus Christi on Friday with 16 kills.  She then proceeded to break that mark Saturday morning in the Crusader win over South Dakota, registering 18 kills on .316 hitting.

Root earned All-Tournament accolades for the second time in as many weeks for her play at the libero position.  The freshman paced the Crusaders in digs in all four matches, registering at least 12 digs every time out and averaging 4.33 digs/set on the weekend.  She stepped up huge on the back line for Valpo in its five-set thriller over South Dakota Saturday morning, setting a new career high with 28 digs.

Britton and Root helped the Crusaders to a 3-1 record on the weekend, tying them with Drake and South Dakota for the tournament’s best record.  Valpo was officially awarded third place based on the first tie-breaker, set winning percentage (Drake .786, South Dakota .647, Valpo .600).