Valpo U Volleyball Falls Short in Five Sets at Wofford Saturday

Volleyball Falls Short in Five Sets at Wofford Saturday

Playing against a homestanding Wofford squad which earned a victory over a nationally ranked foe earlier in the week, the Valpo volleyball team played the Terriers point-for-point in its finale at the Terrier Invite Saturday morning before succumbing to the hosts in five sets, 3-2 (25-21, 23-25, 25-22, 19-25, 15-9).

How It Happened

–          Wofford led from the jump in the opening set, scoring the first three points of the frame. Valpo was within one at 13-12 at the midway point of the set and was still within two at 17-15, but the Terriers scored the next three points and kept the Beacons from getting any closer than three points the rest of the way.

–          Wofford looked to have the inside track on claiming the second set as well, pulling out to a five-point advantage at 16-11. The Beacons battled back, eventually claiming their first lead since early in the set as consecutive kills from freshman Jordyn Gove (Amarillo, Texas/Randall) put them on top, 21-20.

–          The Terriers came back with the next two points to regain the lead at 22-21, but the rookie Gove put her teammates on her shoulders to close out the second set. A kill, a block and another kill from Gove gave Valpo set point at 24-22, and on its second chance, it was again Gove coming up with the decisive kill to even the match at one set apiece.

–          Valpo never led in the third set, but it wasn’t for lack of trying, as there were eight tie scores in the frame. The last two ties of the set came at 20-20 and 21-21, setting up a race to four, and it was the Terriers who reeled off four of the next five points to take the set and claim a 2-1 lead in the match.

–          It was a mid-set run in the fourth set which proved decisive, as with the set tied 13-13, Valpo reeled off a 6-1 run — featuring a kill and two blocks from freshman Ava Helming (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) — to pull ahead 19-14. The Terriers got no closer than three points the rest of the way as the match headed to a fifth frame.

–          The Beacons scored the first two points of the final frame before Wofford reeled off an 8-1 run to gain control. Valpo was unable to answer with a big run of its own as the Terriers successfully defended their home court.

Inside the Match

–          Wofford entered the match with a 5-0 record at home this year, a mark which included a win this past Monday over #16 Tennessee.

–          Valpo ended nonconference play with a 2-1 record on all four weekends of action.

–          Three different Beacons matched their career best in the kills column on Saturday, led by senior Elise Swistek (LaPorte, Ind./New Prairie), who posted 17 kills for the third time in her career. She finished with another double-double as well, finishing with 13 digs.

–          Gove came off the bench after not appearing in the first set to tally 14 kills on .297 hitting, while fellow rookie Lilly Merk (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute South Vigo) matched her best with 11 kills on .360 hitting.

–          Junior Sam Warren (Kentland, Ind./South Newton) rounded out a quartet of Beacons in double figures with 10 kills on .304 hitting.

–          Junior Addy Kois (Osceola, Ind./Penn) handed out 30 assists, while sophomore Mara Thomas (Bogart, Ga./Athens Academy) dished out 26 assists and smashed her previous career high in the digs column, finishing with 21 digs.

–          Junior Emma Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) posted her third career double-double and surpassed the 30-dig mark for the ninth time as she recorded a match-high 37 digs to go with 10 assists.

–          Freshman Jessica Pickett (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) led the Beacons’ effort at the net defensively with five blocks.

Next Up

Valpo (8-4) opens MVC play Friday night as it starts the in-state road swing with a 6 p.m. match at Evansville. The match can be seen live on ESPN+.