The Valpo volleyball team jumped out to a one-set lead after taking a tight opening frame, but Eastern Michigan returned the favor in the second set and the Eagles pulled away in each of the final two sets, defeating the Beacons 3-1 (23-25, 25-23, 25-17, 25-13) Saturday afternoon in Indianapolis.

How It Happened

• Valpo pulled ahead by six points at the halfway point of the opening frame, 13-7, after a 6-0 run.
• EMU closed to as close as one point on multiple occasions later in the set before a four-point spurt gave the Eagles a 22-21 lead. The Beacons responded with three straight of their own, however, as senior Elise Swistek (LaPorte, Ind./New Prairie) picked up a kill before freshman Lilly Merk (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute South Vigo) tallied back-to-back kills to give Valpo set point at 24-22.
• An EMU kill extended the set, but freshman Jessica Pickett (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) came up with a kill on the Beacons’ second opportunity to close the frame to give Valpo the one-set lead.
• Valpo jumped ahead 9-4 early in the second set and looked poised to lead the frame start-to-finish in taking a two-set advantage, as the Beacons’ edge was 23-21 late. But EMU scored the final four points of the set to even the match at one set apiece.
• An 8-1 run for the Eagles midway through set three gave them a six-point lead, and Valpo could get no closer than four points the rest of the frame.
• EMU started out the fourth set on a 7-1 run and led for the duration to close out the match.

Inside the Match

• While both EMU and Valpo racked up 50 kills, the Eagles did so on .269 hitting while the Beacons swung at just an .078 clip — due in large part to 21 EMU blocks.
• Swistek paced Valpo with a 12-kill effort, while freshman Ava Helming (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) reached double figures for the second straight match to start her collegiate career with a 10-kill afternoon.
• The Beacons recorded eight service aces for the second straight match, led by three from Merk — including her key back-to-back aces late in set one.
• Junior Addy Kois (Osceola, Ind./Penn) handed out 21 assists and sophomore Mara Thomas (Bogart, Ga./Athens Academy) posted the second double-double of her career with 20 assists and 11 digs.
• Junior Emma Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) led the Beacons with 19 digs and moved up to 12^th place in program history with 1,416 career digs.

Next Up

Valpo (1-1) concludes its time at the Hampton Inn Invitational on Sunday afternoon when it faces host IU Indianapolis at 1 p.m. CT. The match can be seen live on ESPN+.