October 29, 20181st2nd3rd4thFinal
Missouri State192525253
Valparaiso251523171
MSUTeam StatsVALPO
.247Hitting Pct..086
56Kills48
16Errors33
162Total Attacks174
54Assists44
1Aces6
80Digs78
9.0Blocks5.0
MSULeadersVALPO
Villarreal - 12
KillsCummings - 10
Rear - 46
AssistsAnderson - 38
Butters - 1
AcesCarlson - 2
Idos - 16
Flynn - 16
Butters - 16
DigsCookerly - 27
Irwin - 4
BlocksMcCarthy - 3
BoxscorePlay-by-Play
Volleyball Falls at Home Monday to Missouri State
Monday, October 29, 2018
Volleyball Falls at Home Monday to Missouri State
Rylee Cookerly tallied a match-high 27 digs Monday.

A busy weekend for the Valparaiso University volleyball team came to an end Monday night at the ARC, as Valpo dropped a 3-1 (19-25, 25-16, 25-23, 25-17) decision to visiting Missouri State.

How It Happened

  • Valpo took control of the opening set thanks to the arm of sophomore Ally Cummings (Novi, Mich./Novi). Cummings tallied five kills as part of a 7-1 run which gave Valpo a 15-9 advantage.
  • Missouri State would close back to within two points twice later in the set, the second time coming at 19-17. But a service error returned the serve to Valpo, and sophomore Melissa Flynders (Mokena, Ill./Providence Catholic) then tallied a service ace to spark a 6-2 spurt to close the set and claim the opener.
  • Missouri State never trailed in the second set, as Valpo committed 11 attack errors in the set and hit just .020. The Bears broke the set open early, going on a 6-1 run to extend its lead to 12-6, and Valpo got no closer than four points the rest of the way.
  • Missouri State looked to have control of the third set just past the halfway point, as the Bears led 14-9. Valpo would score six of the next eight points, including a pair of kills from sophomore Jaclyn Bulmahn (McCordsville, Ind./Mt. Vernon), to close to within one at 16-15.
  • Later in the frame, with Missouri State up 19-17, Valpo rattled off three straight points – including a highlight-reel dive by Cummings to dig a ball across the sideline that ended up going back over the net and falling for a kill – to take a 20-19 lead. Valpo would eventually push its lead to two points at 22-20, but the Bears scored five of the final six points of the set to go up 2-1.
  • Valpo never led in the fourth frame, registering just nine kills as Missouri State closed out the victory.

Inside the Match

  • The loss was just the second for Valpo at home this season (8-2).
  • Valpo hit just .086 for the match, finishing with 33 attack errors against 48 kills. Missouri State hit .247, recording 56 kills and just 16 attack errors.
  • Cummings paced Valpo with 10 kills – the fourth time in Valpo’s last five matches the sophomore has led in that department.
  • Bulmahn came off the bench to chip in six kills.
  • Sophomore Brittany Anderson (East Chicago, Ind./Bishop Noll) handed out 38 assists and tallied nine digs.
  • Sophomore Rylee Cookerly (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg), fresh off of earning MVC Defensive Player of the Week honors earlier in the day, led all players with 27 digs on Monday. Cookerly now has topped the 500-dig mark for the season and is already over 1200 digs for her career.
  • Senior Katherine Carlson (Lake Orion, Mich./Notre Dame Prep) tallied a pair of service aces and now sits alone in fifth place in program history with 132 career aces – the second-most by a Valpo player in the last quarter-century.

Next Up

Valpo (21-7, 8-5 MVC) has a light docket this weekend, heading up to Chicago Friday night for a meeting with Loyola in its only match in a 11-day span. The match, which starts at 7 p.m., can be seen live on ESPN3.