Valpo U Volleyball Extends Winning Streak to Four with Win Over Bradley
 Today was a fairytale for the Valpo volleyball team, as on Taylor Swift Night at the ARC, the Beacons extended their winning streak to four straight matches with a 3-1 (25-17, 22-25, 25-20, 25-15) victory over Bradley.
How It Happened
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Valpo used a five-point spurt in the opening set, a run which included a kill and a block by freshman Ava Helming (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston), to gain separation as it pulled out to an 11-5 lead.
–         The Beacons’ lead remained at least four points the rest of the way on their way to claiming the opener, which they finished off on a kill from freshman Jordyn Gove (Amarillo, Texas/Randall) — her seventh of the set on just 14 swings.
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Bradley turned the tables in set two as it doubled its kill output and limited the Beacons to .073 hitting in the set. The Braves used a 7-1 run to go up 14-8, and while Valpo fought back to within two points twice late in the frame, Bradley evened the match at one set apiece.
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â A 5-0 run early in set three, which featured back-to-back kills by Gove, gave Valpo a lead it would not relinquish as it went ahead 9-5.
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â The Braves got as close as two at 19-17, but the Beacons slammed the door with a four-point spurt bookended by a kill and an ace from senior Elise Swistek (LaPorte, Ind./New Prairie) as they went on to a 2-1 lead in the match.
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Swistek was the story of set four, as she had seven kills on .600 hitting in the set. Three of those kills, as well as a block, came as the Beacons jumped out to a quick 7-2 lead over the Braves.
–         Junior Addy Kois (Osceola, Ind./Penn) ended a four-point spurt mid-set with a service ace, pushing the Beacons’ lead to 15-7. Bradley got no closer than seven points the rest of the way as Valpo finished out the victory.
Inside the Match
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Valpo extended its winning streak to four consecutive matches with the win, a season-best run of victories.
–         It also matches the program’s second-longest winning streak in conference play since joining the MVC, only surpassed by last year’s squad reeling off six straight Valley wins.
–         The Beacons have won six straight matches over Bradley. The length of Friday’s match was notable, as all four meetings over the last two seasons had gone the full five sets.
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Valpo hit at a .255 clip in the victory, while the Braves hit just .100 for the match. The Beacons were above a .300 hitting percentage in all three of their set wins.
–         Swistek continued her recent hot streak on the attack by tying for match-high honors with 15 kills — the eighth time this season she has tallied at least 15 kills. Over Valpo’s current four-match winning streak, the senior is averaging 16.8 kills per match.
–         Speaking of hot streaks on the attack, there’s the work of Helming from the right side. Fresh off of earning MVC Freshman of the Week honors after averaging 3.33 kills/set on .417 hitting last weekend, the rookie went for 14 kills on .448 hitting Friday night.
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Just like Helming, Gove reached double figures in kills for the eighth time this season on Friday, riding her big opening set to a 13-kill night.
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Sophomore Mara Thomas (Athens, Ga./Bogart Academy) handed out a match-best 27 assists.
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Junior Emma Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) easily led all players with 26 digs and also had 30 serve receptions without an error. The junior boosted her career total to 1,860 digs, 27 away from sixth place in program history.
–Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Making her third straight start in the middle, junior Maddie Moan (Woodstock, Ill./Woodstock [Milwaukee]) stood out defensively, leading all players with six blocks. Her six rejections set a career high, one match after she had tied her previous best with five blocks last time out at Belmont.
Next Up
Valpo (13-9, 5-5) goes after a five-match winning streak and looks to boost its Valley record above the .500 mark on Saturday evening as it hosts Illinois State on Trick or Treat night at the ARC. First serve is slated for 5 p.m.