The #9 Valparaiso bowling team closed out action at the Track Kat Klash Sunday in Huntsville, Texas, finishing in seventh place in the tournament hosted by Sam Houston State.  Redshirt sophomore Alyssa Alvarez (Antioch, Ill./Antioch) represented the Crusaders on the All-Tournament Team.

Valpo opened play on Sunday, contested in the best-of-seven baker format, against host #8 Sam Houston State, and but for a pair of narrow losses, could have come out with a 4-0 sweep.  But the Crusaders fell by two pins in the second game and eight pins in game four, as the match was tied at two games apiece.  A 266 from Sam Houston State put the Crusaders down 3-2 after five games, and while Valpo won game six 214-174 to send the match to a decisive seventh game, the host Bearkats rolled a 252 in the finale to claim the 4-3 win.

The Crusaders opened their second match of the day with a 254 game to claim the early lead against Long Island, but wouldn’t break 200 the rest of the match, while LIU posted games of 200+ in four of the five games to earn a 4-1 win.  Valpo closed the tournament on a high note, trading wins and losses with Louisiana Tech in its finale before taking home the 4-3 win with a 192-172 victory in game seven.

Valparaiso (20-27) now takes a break for the holidays before returning to the lanes at the Mid-Winter Invitational in Jonesboro, Ark.  Action starts at the three-day event on Friday, Jan. 11.