Led by one of the most
efficient offensive performances in school history by freshman Sarah Dooms (Greenwood,
Ind./Center Grove), Valparaiso cruised to a 3-0 (25-10, 25-18,
25-15) sweep of Loyola in a rare Tuesday night Horizon League matchup at the
ARC.
“This is really the first
complete match that we've played at a high level all year,” said Crusader head
coach Carin Avery. “We did have a minor setback in set two where
Loyola went on a run, but we were able to get out of it, something we struggled
with earlier in the season. It was great
to see us keep up the pressure over the course of an entire match.”
Dooms needed just 19 swings
Tuesday evening to rack up 14 kills, the second-highest total of her young
career. The freshman also committed just
one attack error, registering a hitting percentage of .684, a clip which is the
best by a Crusader since the move to 25-point rally scoring in 2008. Her .684 attack percentage also ranks seventh
overall in program history for a single match.
It wasn’t just Dooms who was
clicking offensively on Tuesday, however, as Valpo posted 49 kills against just
12 attack errors, good for a .389 hitting percentage, easily its best attacking
match of the season and the second-best hitting percentage since the move to
25-point rally scoring. Senior middle
hitter Katie Layman (LaPorte, Ind./New
Prairie) seconded Dooms well, racking up nine kills on 17 swings without an
error, hitting .529. Jenny Pokorny (Geneva,
Ill./Geneva)
continued her strong attacking play from the setter position, putting down
seven kills on just 13 swings to hit at a .538 clip.
“It
was nice to see Sarah and Katie step up and have great matches tonight,” said
Avery. “In the last couple years, we've
relied on one or two players to really get it done offensively. This year we don't have that, something that
you can see in the parity of kills between our five attackers. It’s helping us become a better, well-rounded
team, and hopefully down the stretch it will work to our advantage.”
Back-to-back kills by Dooms,
a service ace by Tara Diebler (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin
Central) and a solo block by Amy
Groesbeck (Wheaton, Ill./North) got the match off to a great start for
Valpo, as Loyola was forced to take a timeout before cracking the
scoreboard. The Crusaders extended the
match-opening run out to 10-2 before the Ramblers played them even for a
stretch, taking it to 15-7. But Valpo
ended the set on a 10-3 spurt, highlighted by five more kills from Dooms, who
hit .800 with eight kills in the opener.
Valpo got out to a 5-2 lead
in the second set, but a four-point Loyola run gave the Ramblers their first
lead of the match. The Crusaders
responded with a three-point spurt, including a solo block by Katie Britton (Mishawaka, Ind./Marian)
to take the lead for good. The set
remained close up until 11-10, when back-to-back kills by Layman started a 6-1
Valpo run to gain some breathing room.
Loyola came up with three straight points to close back within 17-14,
but a Diebler kill followed by three straight Rambler errors made it 21-14 and
the teams just traded sideouts from there, as Valpo went into the locker room
up two sets to none.
Looking for their first sweep
in nearly a month, the Crusaders came out of the locker room just as sharp as
when they went in, jumping out to an early 10-2 advantage, sparked by a pair of
aces from Ariel Cudney (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte)
and two kills by Britton. Loyola closed
to within 13-9, but a Groesbeck kill halted the Rambler spurt and Valpo never
led by less than five the rest of the way en route to the easy victory.
Britton also posted seven
kills Tuesday, while Groesbeck tallied six kills on .385 hitting. Pokorny picked up 36 assists and six digs in
addition to her attacking prowess, while Taylor
Root (Jenison, Mich./Jenison) led all players with 17 digs on the back
line. The Crusader defense overall was
just about as impressive as its offense, as Valpo out-killed Loyola 49-24 and
outdug the Ramblers 47-29. Colleen
Francis paced Loyola (7-10, 0-6 Horizon) with eight kills and nine digs, while
Mallory Curran picked up a match-best four blocks.
“We talked about really eliminating our
errors tonight, and we definitely did that,” said Avery. “I’m really excited that we more than doubled
Loyola in kills, plus only committed [a season-low] 12 errors.”
Valparaiso (15-3, 4-2
Horizon) returns to the ARC for the middle match of a three-match homestand on
Saturday evening, as the Crusaders host Cleveland State on White Out
night. First serve is set for 6 p.m.,
with the first 300 fans in attendance receiving a free t-shirt. If you can’t make it to the ARC, as always,
you can listen or watch live online at www.valpoathletics.com,
with the audio broadcast also available locally on WVUR, 95.1 FM. The official Crusader website will also have
a link for live stats.