The Crusaders closed a brief two-match road trip Saturday night, racing past UMKC 30-26, 30-28, 30-27 at the Swinney Recreation Center in Kansas City, Mo.

Valpo came from behind for wins in the first two games before opening up a huge lead in game three and hanging on at the end. Angie Porché (Lywood, Ill./Thornton-Fractional South) led the Brown and Gold offense for the second straight night, hitting .364 with 14 kills and only two errors.

Jessie Fox (Granger, Ind./Penn) joined Porché in double-figures with 11 kills, her seventh straight match with at least 10 kills. Sara Hughes (San Antonio, Texas/Perrysburg, Ohio, H.S.) also had a second straight excellent offensive night, finishing with six kills and 42 assists.

Valpo also had a big night on the defensive end, holding UMKC to just a .125 hitting percentage, never letting the Kangaroos hit above .175 in a single game. Brittany Marks (Elkhart, Ind./Memorial) led the defensive charge with 26 digs, the third-most in a three-game match in school history. Marks set Valpo's three-game digs record (30) earlier this season, and had a 33-dig night at home last Friday.

The Crusaders picked up seven blocks on the night as well, led by four from Jill Meyer (Crystal Lake, Ill./South) who had a career-best two solos. Meyer had a solid all-around night with seven kills and a .294 hitting mark.

Angela Melka and Sarah Johnson led UMKC (3-17, 1-3 Mid-Con) with 11 kills each. The Kangaroos had only five team blocks and were out-dug 57-55 by the Crusaders.

Valpo (12-7, 3-2 Mid-Con) will return to the Athletics-Recreation Center next weekend for Friday and Saturday night matches at 7:00 p.m. Both contests will be carried live on 95.1 FM and online at www.valpo.edu/athletics.

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