Friday night will be a special night at the ARC, as Valparaiso University hosts its first Missouri Valley Conference event in any sport when nationally-ranked UNI visits to take on the Crusader volleyball team to open conference play. Valpo will then play host to Drake Saturday night before hitting the road for a Monday night conference match at Southern Illinois.

On the back of a trio of strong performances last week and an All-Tournament Team award at Western Illinois, Valparaiso University freshman setter Brittany Anderson (East Chicago, Ind./Bishop Noll) has been named the Missouri Valley Conference Freshman of the Week.

After earning the tournament title at Western Illinois’ Buffalo Wild Wings Invitational this weekend, the Valparaiso University volleyball team placed three players on the All-Tournament Team – led by junior middle Sydney Bronner (Frankenmuth, Mich./Frankenmuth), who was named Tournament MVP. Bronner was joined on the All-Tournament Team by freshman setter Brittany Anderson (East Chicago, Ind./Bishop Noll) and senior middle Taylor Graboski (Upper Sandusky, Ohio/Upper Sandusky).

The Valparaiso University volleyball team dug deep to secure the Buffalo Wild Wings Invitational championship Friday in Macomb, Ill., posting one of the top dig totals in a four-set match in program history in a 3-1 (23-25, 25-21, 25-22, 25-19) victory over McNeese Friday evening. Earlier in the day, Valpo took care of business against host Western Illinois, sweeping the Leathernecks in straight sets (25-22, 25-23, 25-19). The Crusaders have now won five consecutive matches entering Missouri Valley Conference play next weekend.

In front of a great crowd at the ARC in its home opener on Tuesday night, the Valparaiso University volleyball team put together a strong all-around performance in a 3-1 (25-13, 25-17, 18-25, 25-14) victory in non-conference action over Eastern Illinois. Redshirt junior Allison Ketcham (Mishawaka, Ind./Marian) set a new career best in the win with 29 digs, while freshman Ally Cummings (Novi, Mich./Novi) led the way offensively with a season-high 15 kills on .394 hitting.

The Valparaiso University volleyball team gets its first chance to play in front of its home fans on Wednesday evening as the Crusaders host Eastern Illinois at the ARC. The final early-season tournament is on the docket for this weekend, with matchups against Western Illinois and McNeese State at WIU's Buffalo Wild Wings Invitational.

Season tickets for the 2017 Valparaiso University volleyball team’s home schedule at the ARC are available through the athletics ticket office. Season tickets are currently priced at just $25 apiece as a special deal to celebrate Valpo's first season in the Missouri Valley Conference, include a ticket to each of Valpo’s 11 home matches and will be on sale through Saturday, Sept. 23 at the special discounted rate.

The Valparaiso University volleyball team ensured a happy trip home from New York on Saturday as the Crusaders earned a pair of four-set victories to finish off play at the Cornell Invitational, downing Binghamton 3-1 (25-17, 25-18, 19-25, 25-20) in the early afternoon before capping off the tournament with a 3-1 (32-30, 25-22, 21-25, 25-17) victory over the Big Red. Junior Sydney Bronner, who set a pair of new career highs versus Cornell, represented Valpo on the All-Tournament Team as the Crusaders tied St. John’s and Cornell for the tournament’s best record at 2-1.

The Valparaiso University volleyball team opened play at the Cornell Invitational on Friday afternoon against St. John’s, but was unable to top their Big East opponent despite a strong offensive match from Taylor Graboski (Upper Sandusky, Ohio/Upper Sandusky), falling to the Red Storm 3-0 (25-22, 25-21, 25-14).