Valparaiso
forced a fifth set Friday evening on the road at preseason league
favorite Milwaukee, but the Panthers came away with the win in the
final frame to earn the 3-2 (19-25, 25-13, 25-22, 19-25, 15-13)
victory over the Crusaders at the Klotsche Center in Milwaukee.
The
Crusaders jumped out to a 9-5 lead in the early going of the opening
set, thanks in large part to three early kills by Katie Britton
(Mishawaka, Ind./Marian). Milwaukee came back with four straight
points to tie the set at nine and set the tone for a back-and-forth
middle portion of the set. Finally, trailing 17-16, Britton tallied
a kill to knot up the frame and Jenny Pokorny (Geneva,
Ill./Geneva) stepped back and served five straight points to give
Valpo breathing room. The Crusaders eventually ended the set on
their second set point opportunity on a kill by Sarah Dooms
(Greenwood, Ind./Center Grove).
The
second set was all Milwaukee, as the Panthers jumped out to leads of
9-1 and 15-4 and cruised to the win to knot the match at a set
apiece. The third looked like it would come to the same conclusion,
as Milwaukee led 10-4 before Valpo dished out a 10-2 run of its own,
highlighted by four kills from Dooms, to storm back and take a 14-12
lead. The end game approached with the two sides going back and
forth, but unlike the first set, it was Milwaukee which put together
three straight points with the score tied late to take a 2-1
advantage.
The
fourth set saw the Panthers gain an early small advantage and hold it
through until the Crusaders tied for the first time at 10-10 on a
service ace by Ariel Cudney (LaPorte, Ind./LaPorte).
Milwaukee put together a 4-1 spurt to lead 14-11, but the Crusaders
got back in the frame thanks to a number of Panther errors, earning a
16-16 tie. After Milwaukee used its second timeout, Britton served
five points in a row, as Diebler picked up a pair of kills and Dooms
and Amy Groesbeck (Wheaton, Ill./North) one apiece, to stake
Valpo to a 21-16 advantage and close a 9-2 run. The Panthers scored
three straight to close within two, but a Groesbeck kill stopped the
spurt and Valpo closed the set on a 4-0 run to send the match to the
fifth set.
Valpo
held a slight advantage for much of the fifth set, earning a trio of
two-point leads: at 4-2 on a kill by Dooms, at 8-6 on a kill by Tara
Diebler (Indianapolis, Ind./Franklin Central) and at 10-8 on a
solo block by Diebler. But each time, Milwaukee scored at least two
straight points to keep the Crusaders from pulling away. A Groesbeck
kill gave Valpo its final lead at 11-10, but the Panthers scored four
straight points to earn three match point opportunities. Valpo
staved off two match point chances on kills by Groesbeck and Dooms,
but an attack just long gave Milwaukee the match at 15-13.
Both
teams struggled offensively Friday, as Milwaukee (7-7, 4-0 Horizon)
hit just .124 with 45 kills. Valpo posted 65 kills, but also had 46
attack errors, 16 of which came on Panther blocks, to hit .086 for
the match. The Crusaders got a career-best 18 kills from Dooms,
while Diebler posted 12 and Groesbeck 11 kills. Britton and Katie
Layman (LaPorte, Ind./New Prairie) chipped in 10 kills apiece as
well.
Taylor Root
(Jenison, Mich./Jenison) led
all players in the back row, tallying 34 digs Friday, just one off of
her career high. Pokorny picked up 19 digs as well to go along with
53 assists. Cudney, among the national leaders in aces/set entering
this weekend, registered four service aces. Milwaukee was led by 14
kills on .464 hitting from Natalie Schmitting, while Rachel Neuberger
recorded nine blocks.
Valparaiso
(13-3, 2-2 Horizon) looks to get back on the winning track Saturday
on the back half of the Wisconsin road trip, as the Crusaders play at
Green Bay. First serve is slated for 4 p.m., and all the action can
be heard live on WVUR, 95.1 FM, Valparaiso and online at
www.valpoathletics.com,
which will also have links for live stats and live chat.
