Saturday, September 18, 2004

Valparaiso pulled out a tight victory in five games against North Texas on Saturday afternoon to win all three matches of the Billiken Invitational held in Saint Louis, Mo.

The Crusaders rallied for a 29-31, 30-18, 30-21, 28-30, 15-12 win over the Mean Green after defeating Saint Louis Friday night and Saturday morning.

Katie Bova (Milwaukee, Wis./Divine Savior Holy Angels H.S.) tallied 11 kills while hitting .500 along with dishing out 60 assist to lead the way for the Brown and Gold. Lauren Moulton (Elgin, Ill./Larkin H.S.) added a match-high 18 kills along with six blocks while Jessi Novak (Antigo, Wis./Antigo H.S.) added 16 kills and 20 digs.

Amy Palash (Winfield, Ill./Saint Francis H.S.) also had a double-double with 15 kills and 17 digs. Jessie Fox (Granger, Ind./Penn H.S.) and Liz Mikos (Dundee, Ill./Jacobs H.S.) each had 12 kills, while Sara Silcox (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City H.S.) had a match-high 21 digs.

Brittney Gregory led the Mean Green with 18 kills while hitting .457 on the afternoon. Katy Prokof added 15 kills and 12 digs for North Texas (1-9), while Anne Pope had ten blocks.

Valpo hit .251 for the match and had 85 kills, 20 more than the Mean Green.

Valparaiso (9-3) will return to action on Friday evening as the Crusaders return to the Athletics-Recreation Center for the Mid-Continent Conference opener against Oral Roberts. First serve is slated for 7 p.m.