Beil Tabbed Preseason All-League: Senior Morgan Beil was honored Thursday as one of seven members of the Horizon League’s preseason All-League team, and if that’s a harbinger of things to come, Beil will join a select group.  The St. Louis native has earned postseason All-League accolades in each of her first three seasons, and if she were to do the same again this year, would join former Crusader Taylor Root as the only Horizon League players to be four-time All-League honorees since the league moved to  a single, 12-player team in 2004.  Beil ranked fourth in the league and led the Crusaders in hitting percentage last season, posting the fourth-best single-season mark in program history.

Returning Starters: Beil (2.41 kills/set, .296, 70 blocks) is one of five returning starters in 2014 for the Crusaders.  Also back on the attack are fifth-year senior Kelsey Victor (1.81 kills/set, .211, 111 blocks) and sophomore Emily Campbell (2.10 kills/set, 2.26 digs/set).  Helping to run the offense for a third season is junior Kelsey Berrington (5.89 assists/set, 2.26 digs/set, 24 service aces).  In the back row, sophomore Morganne Longoria (4.59 digs/set, 28 service aces) returns after starting every match of her rookie season at libero.

15 Deep: The five returning starters are among nine letterwinners back from last season’s squad, which won 25 matches and finished in second place in the league standings.  Junior Nicole Lambert and sophomores Lexie Bouza, Rachel Bruinsma and Jamie Lacheta are also back this season.  Fifth-year senior Lindsey Hauch looks to return to action after missing last season due to injury, while Tarrah Lasky sat out last year in her first year at Valpo to redshirt and maintain four years of eligibility.  Meanwhile, the Crusaders add a quartet of freshmen to the mix as well: Catherine Ament, Kayla Currier, Taylor Graboski and Allison Ketcham.

In Search of 20 More Wins: The Valparaiso volleyball program finds itself among a prestigious group of programs nationwide, as last year’s 25-win campaign was the 12^th straight season the Crusaders captured at least 20 victories.  Only 10 Division I volleyball programs have won at least 20 matches in each of the last 12 years, a group which includes powerhouses such as Penn State, Stanford and Florida.