A tremendous 2018 season for the Valparaiso University volleyball team resulted in a bid to the postseason National Invitational Volleyball Championship, and it was what Valpo did with that tournament berth - winning a pair of matches for the first postseason victories in program history and reaching the NIVC quarterfinal - that comes in as the top moment of 2018 in Valpo Athletics.

The at-large berth in the 2018 NIVC came after a strong regular season in which Valpo won three in-season tournaments and finished in fourth place in the Missouri Valley Conference, which ended the season ranked eighth in the nation in conference RPI.

Making its first postseason appearance since 2005, Valpo traveled the four hours to Oxford, Ohio to take on Ball State in the opening round. The first set was all Valpo, but Ball State controlled the second set to even up the match. A tight third set went Valpo's way, and senior Katherine Carlson then closed out the fourth frame with a kill to cap the first postseason victory in Valpo Volleyball history.

Valpo wouldn't be satisfied with just the one victory, however, as the team repeated the feat the next night as it swept host Miami (Ohio) for its second tournament win and to advance to the tournament quarterfinals. While the NIVC run would come to an end for Valpo in the quarterfinals at Tulane, the memorable run was an appropriate crescendo for one of the best seasons in program history.