Friday, October 31, 2003

Valparaiso continued its dominance in the Mid-Continent Conference on Friday evening with a convincing 30-23, 30-24, 30-16 victory over Western Illinois in Macomb, Ill. to improve to 10-0 in conference play.

Lauren Moulton (Elgin, Ill./Larkin H.S.) led all Crusaders in hitting with a .417 percentage and 13 kills. She was one of three players in double-figures in the kill category for the Brown and Gold.

Michelle Robinson (Bloomington, Ill./Normal H.S.) tied for match-high honors with 14 kills, while hitting at a .353 rate, and Liz Mikos (Dundee, Ill./Jacobs H.S.) added 11 kills after hitting .308. Mikos also had a team-high three blocks.

Cyndi Norman (Minooka, Ill./Minooka H.S.) quarterbacked the offense with 46 assists, while Sara Silcox (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City H.S.) lead the defense with 13 digs. Lindsey Moore (Wakarusa, Ind./Penn H.S.) added 11 digs, and Marion Hansen (Huntley, Ill./Huntley H.S.) chipped in ten for the Brown and Gold.

Kali Landis led Western Illinois (5-19, 4-6 Mid-Con) with 14 kills and 15 digs, while hitting .393. Ashley Baker added 13 kills for the Westerwinds, while Jennifer Alexander contributed the same number of digs. Jenna Yurs had five blocks for the hosts.

Valpo outslugged Western Illinois offensively, hitting .300 for the match with 54 kills, while the Westerwinds hit just .128 with 39 kills. Valpo also outdug Western Illinois 56-51 for the match.

Valparaiso (22-6, 10-0) will head to Kansas City, Mo. for the Crusaders final road match of the season on Saturday evening. First serve against UMKC is set for 7 p.m.