Crusaders Secure Spot in MVC Tournament Friday; Fall to #25 Missouri State

by | Nov 18, 2017 | RRSN News | 0 comments

Crusaders Secure Spot in MVC Tournament Friday; Fall to #25 Missouri State

 

The Valparaiso University volleyball team battled gamely against MVC regular season champion and 25th-ranked Missouri State Friday night at the ARC, but the Bears claimed a tight first two sets on their way to a 3-0 (25-20, 26-24, 25-20) victory over the Crusaders. Despite the loss, the Crusaders secured a berth in next week’s MVC Tournament with SIU’s loss at Loyola.

 

How It Happened

–          Valpo got off to a strong start in the opening set, scoring four of the first five points of the match. The Crusaders would extend their lead to as many as four points on four occasions as the frame passed the midway point, with back-to-back kills from junior Sydney Bronner (Frankenmuth, Mich./Frankenmuth) giving Valpo a 17-13 advantage.

–          Missouri State responded with five of the next six points to tie the set at 18-all. A kill from junior Lizzie Zaleski (Oak Lawn, Ill./Marist) briefly quelled the Bears’ momentum and returned the lead to Valpo, 19-18, but Missouri State finished the set with seven of the final eight points to claim the opener.

–          Valpo led throughout most of the first half of set two as well, again extending its advantage to as many as four points – the latest coming at 15-11. Missouri State came back with five straight points – the first four coming on kills from Lily Johnson – to claim a 16-15 lead.

–          The set would remain tight the rest of the way, but while the Crusaders would tie the score a number of times, they were unable to reclaim the outright lead.

–          Trailing 23-21, a kill from junior Katherine Carlson (Lake Orion, Mich./Notre Dame Prep) and an MSU error tied the set at 23-23, and following a Johnson kill, freshman Jaclyn Bulmahn (McCordsville, Ind./Mt. Vernon) registered a kill of her own to force extra points. But back-to-back kills for the Bears ended the second set in their favor.

–          Missouri State reeled off 10 straight points as part of a 14-2 run early in the third set, going ahead 16-6. The Crusaders would not go down without a fight however, forcing the Bears to use both of their timeouts late in the set. Back-to-back kills from Bulmahn held off a pair of MSU match point chances and brought Valpo back to within 24-20, but a kill from Lynsey Wright ended the match.

 

Inside the Match

–          Valpo secured a spot in the MVC Tournament in its first season as a league member late in the third set Friday evening, as over in Chicago, Loyola completed a sweep of Southern Illinois.

–          That win by the Ramblers also guaranteed that Valpo will finish ahead of its preseason projection, as the Crusaders were picked seventh in the MVC preseason poll.

–          The Crusaders currently sit in a tie for fifth place with Indiana State at 7-10 in MVC play. If the Crusaders knock off Southern Illinois on Saturday and Indiana State loses at Bradley, Valpo will be the fifth seed for the conference tournament – otherwise, the Crusaders will enter the tournament as the sixth seed.

–          Valpo’s meeting with the Bears was its third match against a nationally-ranked team within conference play this season.

–          Missouri State enjoyed a 53-35 advantage in kills on Friday, thanks in large part to the work of the All-American, Lily Johnson. The senior tallied 26 kills – the second-most in a three-set match in the NCAA this season – on .442 hitting for the Bears.

–          Carlson paced Valpo with eight kills, while Bulmahn recorded seven kills against just one attack error. Bronner and redshirt junior Allison Ketcham (Mishawaka, Ind./Marian) each picked up six kills and hit .333 for the match as well.

–          Freshman Rylee Cookerly (Brownsburg, Ind./Brownsburg) paced the Crusaders with 22 digs, as Valpo came in a slight bit under its average for the year, tallying 56 digs over the three sets. Carlson added 12 digs as well. Emily Butters picked up a match-best 23 digs for the Bears, who improved to 17-0 in MVC play this season.

 

Next Up

Valpo (16-15, 7-10 MVC) welcomes Southern Illinois to the ARC Saturday night at 7 p.m. for the regular season finale. It will be senior night at the ARC, as Taylor Graboski and Catherine Ament are honored prior to the match. The contest can be seen live on The Valley on ESPN3, WatchESPN and the ESPN app, with links for all the live coverage available via ValpoAthletics.com.

Related Stories

MATT’S MATCHUPS 2024-25 HOOPS – VOLUME 13

My good luck continued as I went 21-4 (84 percent) last week. My overall record is now 255-55, which leaves me at 82 percent for the season. TUESDAY Adams (11-9) at Mishawaka (5-14): The Cavemen edged Adams, 41-37, in the 2024 Class 4A Mishawaka sectional semifinals....

KOPSEA’S KORNER – 2024-25 BASKETBALL – VOLUME 11

SENSATIONAL SEVEN Saint Joseph (17-3): Nick Shrewsberry drained 20 points in the No. 4 (Class 3A) Huskies’ 57-54 win over Marian. Warsaw (18-4): Mydin Burgher’s 15 points helped the No. 4 (Class 4A) Tigers claim the outright the Northern Lakes Conference title with a...

2024-25 IBCA BOYS’ BASKETBALL POLL – FEBRUARY 16, 2025

1             Fishers (22)                        440        21-0 2             Avon                                      395        18-2 3             Indianapolis Cathedral   360        16-4 4             Greenfield-Central           356        18-3 5            ...

IHSAA Girls Basketball Semistate Pairings Revealed

The semistate rounds in the 50th Annual IHSAA Girls Basketball State Tournament were randomly drawn this afternoon as the 32 remaining teams learned their opponents and the location of their games. Semistate games are scheduled for next Saturday (Feb. 22) at eight...

Indiana Makes It Nine-Straight Barn Burner Trophy Wins In Rout Of Purdue

Indiana Makes It Nine-Straight Barn Burner Trophy Wins In Rout Of Purdue   BLOOMINGTON, Ind.  –  Indiana notched its ninth-straight win in the Barn Burner Trophy series and 12th straight in the all-time series in a 78-58 on Saturday afternoon at Simon Skjodt Assembly...

COLLEGE HOCKEY: NOTRE DAME AT NO. 18 PENN STATE

By JOHN FINERAN With six Big Ten Conference hockey games remaining in the regular season, Notre Dame flies east to No. 18 Penn State, one of the league’s hottest teams at the moment, to try and build some momentum for a postseason tournament run. WHEN: Friday at 7...

MATT’S MATCHUPS 2024-25 HOOPS – VOLUME 12

February began a perfect note as I went 19-0 (100 percent) last week. My overall record is now 234-51, which has me at 82 percent for the season. TUESDAY Bremen (8-8) at New Prairie (3-14): The Lions roared to a 43-38 win over New Prairie a year ago. Silas Laidig had...