Valparaiso (15-9, 7-4 MVC)
Friday, Oct. 27 - Belmont (11-14, 5-6 MVC) - 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 28 - Murray State (12-8, 6-5 MVC) - 5 p.m.
Next Up For Valpo Volleyball: The Valpo volleyball team brings its longest winning streak in conference play since joining the Missouri Valley Conference home to the ARC this weekend, as the Beacons look to add to the streak in matchups with Belmont Friday night and Murray State Saturday evening.
Previously: Valpo came away with a 2-0 record for a second straight road weekend last weekend, winning at Southern Illinois in four sets before sweeping Missouri State.
Looking Ahead: It's right back to the road next weekend for the Beacons, but a shorter trip than either of the last two weekends, as they play at Bradley next Friday and at Illinois State next Saturday.
Following the Beacons: Both of this weekend's matches will be broadcast live on ESPN+. Links for the live video and stats are available via ValpoAthletics.com.
Head Coach Carin Avery: In her 22nd season as head coach at Valparaiso, Carin Avery is the all-time winningest head coach across all sports in the history of Valpo Athletics. She has won 486 matches (486-237, .672) at the helm of the program and has led Valpo to three league regular season and tournament titles. The program has made six postseason appearances under Avery, including three NCAA Tournament appearances, and advanced to the championship match of the 2021 NIVC. Avery has coached 60 All-League recipients over her tenure at Valpo, which has spanned three different conferences. She is Valpo’s all-time leader in both victories and winning percentage, and owns a 541-261 (.675) record overall as a head coach.
Series History: Belmont - Valpo has won all three meetings in the all-time series against the Bruins, including both last season in the first matchups as conference foes - 3-2 at the ARC and 3-1 in Nashville. Emma Hickey tallied 65 digs over those two contests.
Murray State - Valpo owns a 7-1 record all-time against the Racers, including a 2-1 mark last season in their first season as conference rivals. The Beacons swept Murray State at the ARC last season in the first meeting, while the Racers got their revenge in five sets on their home court despite Mallory Januski tallying 13 blocks. The rubber match came in the opening round of the MVC Tournament and was another Valpo sweep.
Scouting the Opposition: Belmont - The Bruins enter Friday's match with an 11-14 overall record and a 5-6 mark in MVC play after getting swept on both ends of the Iowa road trip last weekend. Ally Peterson averages a team-best 2.71 kills/set, while Kamryn Olson dishes out 9.00 assists/set. Rachel McBride tallied 4.32 digs/set as well.
Murray State - The Racers enter the weekend at 12-8 overall and 6-5 in MVC play, one match behind Valpo in the standings. Darci Metzger ranks among the MVC's best, averaging 4.38 kills/set, while Bailey DeMier picks up 11.10 assists/set and Dahlia Miller tallies 5.41 digs/set.
Valpo Picked Sixth in Preseason Poll: Valpo has been picked to finish in sixth place in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2023, according to preseason polling of the conference’s head coaches. The Beacons accumulated 73 points in the polling to come in at sixth position, outpacing Illinois State by two points. UNI claimed seven of 12 first-place votes and nipped Drake by two points for the top spot in the poll.
Looking Back at Last Season: The Beacons enjoyed another successful season in 2022, finishing the campaign with a 22-11 overall record. Valpo posted a 9-9 mark in MVC play to finish in sixth place in the newly-expanded 12-team conference and won a match at the MVC Tournament for its fourth straight appearance. The Beacons earned an at-large bid to the 2022 NIVC, their third showing in the tournament in the last five seasons. After a record-setting rookie campaign, freshman libero Emma Hickey was named a Second Team All-MVC and MVC All-Freshman Team honoree.
What's Back: Valpo returns plenty of experience from last year's squad, as 11 letterwinners are back this year, including four starters plus the libero. In all, 98% of the assists, 89.3% of the digs, 62.7% of the blocks and 60.9% of the kills from last season are back in 2023.
Who's New: Joining the 11 returnees on this year's team are six players looking to make an impact in their first season as Valpo. The sextet includes four true freshmen and two transfers - one fifth-year grad transfer and one sophomore.
Top of the Charts: With Valpo's win over Purdue Fort Wayne to close out nonconference action, head coach Carin Avery surpassed Valpo Athletics Hall of Fame member Emory Bauer for the most wins by a Valpo head coach across all sports in department history.
Bauer amassed his victories over three different sports, collecting 361 wins in 28 seasons as head coach of the baseball program, 109 victories in 22 years guiding the football team and eight wins in one season as men’s basketball head coach.
Avery’s record total, meanwhile, has obviously come all at the helm of the Valpo volleyball program. In her 22nd season as head coach, Avery’s teams have averaged better than 22 wins per year in her first 21 years guiding the program. Valpo has finished with a winning record 19 times and has posted 20 or more victories 17 times. Under Avery, Valpo has posted the six winningest seasons in program history, including a program-best 29 wins in 2004.
Five in a Row: Last weekend's wins at Southern Illinois and at Missouri State extended Valpo's current winning streak to five straight matches - a season best. It is the first time Valpo has won five consecutive MVC matches since joining the Valley - the program had previously won four straight conference contests three times. The last time Valpo won five or more league matches in a row was a six-match winning streak in Horizon League play in 2013.
Road Warriors: Of course, the last four of those victories over the last two weekends all came away from home, as the Beacons won at Indiana State, Evansville, SIU and Missouri State. This was the first time Valpo has played four consecutive true road matches since playing five in a row on the road in the spring 2021 season, and the first time in a “normal” season since 2017. This two-weekend stretch is the first time Valpo has played four or more true road matches in a row and won all of them since a six-match winning streak in 2008 which featured wins at Youngstown State, Cleveland State, DePaul, Loyola, UIC and Chicago State.
Road Sweeps: Two of Valpo's four road wins in this winning streak came in straight sets, as the Beacons swept both Indiana State and Missouri State. The 3-0 win at Missouri State was especially notable, as it was the first time in program history Valpo swept the Bears on their home court and it was MSU's first time getting swept at home since Oct. 30, 2021. Prior to these past two weekends, Valpo’s last 3-0 road win in MVC play came at Indiana State on Oct. 5, 2019.
Locking Down the Block: Valpo's defensive performance at the net has been a big part of the reason the Beacons are on their current winning streak. At Indiana State on Friday, Valpo matched its season high with 13 rejections - tied for the program's second-most blocks in a three-set match in the 25-point era and the team's best effort in a sweep since 2017. Last Friday at Southern Illinois, the Beacons posted 12 rejections - the team’s fourth straight match with double-digit blocks, doing so for the first time since the 2021 team did so in five consecutive matches Nov. 13-26.
Back Row Success: The Beacons' back line did well in both matches last weekend to keep plays alive, averaging an eye-popping 23.71 digs/set over the two victories. Against SIU, Elise Swistek racked up a season-best 28 digs - 10 more than any other player - to lead the way as the Beacons totaled 91 digs. Then, at Missouri State, it was Emma Hickey's turn to fill up the stat sheet, as she totaled 31 of Valpo's 75 team digs in the sweep. The 31 digs ties Hickey for second-most in a three-set match in program history, is six more than any other MVC player in a three-set match this season and gives her six 30+ dig matches for her career. The pair of stellar back-row performances last weekend bumped Valpo's season average to 17.25 digs/set - tops in the Valley and sixth nationally.
Moan Stepping Up: For someone who had seen just nine sets of action in the Valpo uniform prior to the Beacons' winning streak, sophomore right side Maddie Moan has been a big part of the recent success. Moan entered in the second set against Bradley - which proved to be the start of the five-match winning streak - and has totally seized her opportunity for regular playing time. Over this stretch, Moan is averaging 2.06 kills/set on .356 hitting and has been part of 10 blocks as well. She even made an impact on the back row in the win last Friday at SIU, easily eclipsing her previous career high with six digs.
Climbing the Digs Chart: Both fifth-year outside Bella Ravotto and sophomore libero Emma Hickey continue to climb the program's career digs chart. Ravotto, who moved into the top-10 in program history for career digs early this month, moved past Karen Kulick and Lori Barton last weekend up into eighth in program history with 1,546 digs. Meanwhile, Hickey - who became the fastest player in program history and MVC history to 1,000 career digs earlier this season - now owns 1,174 career digs, has already cracked the top-20 in program history in the category and is just 115 digs away from the top-15 in Valpo history.
All-Tournament Team Honorees: Six different Valpo players made nine All-Tournament Teams in the season's first four weekends:
Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational - Emma Hickey, Mallory Januski
Stacheville Challenge - Januski, Miranda Strongman
Popcorn Classic - Bella Ravotto (MVP), Olivia Blackketter, Januski
EIU Volleyball Invitational - Strongman, Sam Warren
Three Times the Fun: Parse the previous list and you'll see senior middle Mallory Januski picking up a trio of All-Tournament Team honors this season. It is the first time a Valpo player has earned spots on three All-Tournament teams in the same season since Allison Ketcham did so in 2018. But, one of Ketcham's honors came in the postseason at the MVC Tournament - Januski is the first Valpo player in the Carin Avery era to receive three All-Tournament Team spots from solely early-season, preconference tournaments.
A Balanced Attack: Last year's Valpo team was notable for its balance on the attack, and this year's squad has been no different. Mallory Januski's 2.45 kills/set leads the Beacons, but ranks just 21st overall among Valley players. Five regulars are averaging between 1.90 and 2.45 kills/set.
Capturing Crowns: The Beacons' triumph in the Popcorn Classic added yet another crown to the program's trophy case. Valpo has now won 34 in-season tournament titles in head coach Carin Avery's time at the helm of the program. The team has won at least one tournament in 17 of her seasons, and multiple tournaments 11 times. Those tournament titles have come in 14 different states.
Another 20-Win Campaign: It's a milestone that has become routine for the program, yet still impressive in its totality - Valpo finished with 22 wins in 2022 and has now won 20 or more matches in 17 of Carin Avery's 21 seasons as head coach. Even more remarkably, one of the four seasons Valpo didn't reach 20 wins was the shortened spring 2021 campaign, when the program played just 20 matches total. The Beacons also secured their 19th winning season in Avery’s 21 seasons at the helm.
Top Half Finishes: In addition to the 20-win season, the Beacons also secured a top-half finish in the MVC standings as they finished in sixth place in the 12-team conference. Valpo has now finished in the top-half of the Valley standings in each of its six years in the conference, the only MVC program to accomplish that feat - Illinois State had finished top-half each of the last five years, but dropped out of the top-six in 2022. Going back further, Valpo has posted top-half conference finishes in 20 of Avery's 21 seasons - as well as qualifying for the conference tournament in each of her 21 seasons - and 29 of the last 30 years overall.
Digging Deep: Valpo continued its long tradition of strong back row play last fall, finishing 10th nationally and leading the MVC with 17.27 digs/set. The program has ranked among the top-30 nationally in digs/set in each of the last 12 seasons, highlighted by the 2017 campaign in which it led the nation with 20.03 digs/set. Other top finishes include third nationally in the spring 2021 season (20.37/set), a fourth-place rank in 2010 and a sixth-place finish in 2015. Since the move to 25-point scoring, only seven teams have averaged more than 20 digs/set over the course of a season, and Valpo is the only program to have done it twice. 2018 saw Valpo lead the nation with 2,613 total digs - a mark which set a program single-season record and a Division I record in the 25-point era.
Hickey Sets New Standards: Emma Hickey made an immediate impact on Valpo’s backcourt and the record books in her rookie season. She set Valpo and MVC freshman record for digs in a season, finishing with 735 total digs, and led the Valley and ranked fourth nationally with 5.70 digs/set. No D-I freshman was within 200 digs of her season total, while it was tied for the second-most digs by a D-I freshman in the last 12 seasons. Her 735 digs are tied for fourth overall on Valpo’s single-season chart and rank sixth in MVC history as well.
Januski Runs the Middle: Senior middle Mallory Januski bided her time behind a pair of All-Conference middles in her first two seasons at Valpo, but given the opportunity in 2022 to run with a starting role, Januski took full advantage. She led Valpo and ranked fourth in the Valley with a .353 hitting percentage, a mark which smashed the program's single-season record. Januski also ranked seventh in the Valley with 0.98 blocks/set, tallying 122 total blocks — seventh-most by a Valpo player in the 25-point era. That total includes a monster 13-block performance at Murray State, a program record for the 25-point era.
