Tara Newton

#3 Tara Newton

Pos. MH
Ht. 6-1
Yr. Sr.
Hometown Indianapolis, Ind.
High School (Prev. School) Franklin Central
2009: Appeared in 117 of Valpo’s 118 sets as a junior ... led Crusaders in hitting percentage (.252) and service aces/set (0.26), ranking seventh in the Horizon League in the latter category ... also was second on the squad in kills/set (2.88) and blocks/set (0.58) ... reached double figures in kills 16 times, including 12 of the last 17 matches ... had seven matches with four or more blocks ... hit .556 with 11 kills in sweep at Youngstown State Sept. 18 ... set a then-career high with 19 kills Sept. 25 in win over Wright State ... also matched career high with four aces against the Raiders ... recorded season-best seven rejections Oct. 7 in five-set win over Milwaukee ... hit season-high .600 with 13 kills Oct. 14 against Indiana State ... tallied first career double-double Oct. 31 in win over Oakland with 11 kills and a career-best 10 digs ... also registered six blocks against the Golden Grizzlies ... averaged 5.00 kills/set on .350 hitting over final three regular season league matches ... set new career best with 20 kills Nov. 13 at Milwaukee ... earned a spot on the Horizon League Academic Honor Roll for the fall semester.

2008: Played in 108 sets over 31 matches as a sophomore ... finished second among Crusaders with 60 blocks on the season ... averaged 1.87 kills/set ... reached double figures in kills four times on the season ... registered eight kills without a hitting error Aug. 30 against IPFW ... tallied nine digs to go with eight kills at Green Bay Sept. 26 ... reached 11 kills three times in four matches Oct. 3-Oct. 11 ... kicked off stretch with 11 kills on .471 hitting to go with four blocks against Cleveland State Oct. 3 ... again posted 11 kills, this time on .429 hitting, four days later in sweep at Wright State ... registered 11 kills yet again Oct. 11 against UIC ... recorded season-high six blocks to go with nine kills in sweep of Green Bay Oct. 25 ... tallied season-best 13 kills in quarterfinal win over Green Bay in Horizon League Championship action.

2007: One of just two Crusaders to appear in all 128 games ... became first Valpo freshman since Sara Silcox in 2001 to play in every game in her first season ... posted 1.62 kills and 0.63 blocks/game ... closed out season as Horizon League's best with 0.43 service aces/game in league action ... kicked off career with four kills and four blocks Aug. 24 versus Miami ... registered four kills on .571 hitting in win over Marshall Sept. 6 ... had a solid all-around match in victory over UIC Sept. 21 in Horizon League opener, posting eight kills, six blocks and a career-best four service aces ... repeated eight-kill performance the next night in victory against Loyola ... broke double figures in kills for the first time Oct. 2 versus Cleveland State, registering 11 terminations on .450 hitting and adding seven digs ... kicked off stretch of five straight matches with at least nine kills ... posted 12 kills, seven digs and four aces in win at Green Bay Oct. 6 ... recorded 12 more kills the next day at Milwaukee ... put up career-best 14 kills on .440 hitting at IUPUI Oct. 12 ... tallied eight kills and six blocks at Youngstown State Nov. 2 ... recorded a career-best eight rejections at Cleveland State Nov. 3, including three of the solo variety ... stood out in Horizon League Championship ... opened tournament with 12 kills on .556 hitting against Butler ... followed by hitting .533 with eight kills in win over Milwaukee.

Prep: A three-year letterwinner for the Flashes ... named team’s Most Valuable Player in each of her final two seasons ... earned All-Conference and All-County honors as a junior and as a senior ... a member of the All-South Volleyball Honor team in 2005 and 2006 ... named to All-Marion County First Team as a senior after receiving Honorable Mention accolades as a junior ... earned Hoyt Award for mental attitude as a senior ... also played basketball ... a member of National Honor Society.

Personal: Diebler married her husband, former Valpo basketball player Jake Diebler, in the summer of 2009 ... is the daughter of David and Lona Newton ... major is elementary education ... born Sept. 9, 1988.