Monday, August 29, 2011

Senior Jenny Pokorny (Geneva, Ill./Geneva) and junior Taylor Root (Jenison, Mich./Jenison) represented Valparaiso on the WVU Mountaineer Invitational All-Tournament Team as they helped lead the Crusaders to a 3-1 mark at their season-opening tournament.

Pokorny had a hand in 140 of Valpo’s 165 kills on the weekend, handing out 125 assists (nearly nine per set) while also chipping in 15 kills of her own on a team-high .317 hitting percentage.  The senior also averaged 2.64 digs and 0.57 blocks per frame as well.  Pokorny picked up a pair of double-doubles, one each day, registering 40 assists and 13 digs in the Crusaders’ come-from-behind five-set win over West Virginia before tallying 30 assists and 10 digs in the tournament-closing sweep of New Hampshire.

Root picked up right where she left off from her record-setting campaign of a year ago, recording 69 total digs on the weekend, averaging 4.93/set.  The junior led all players in the digs column in each of Valpo’s first three matches, totaling 15 digs against #21 Ohio State and 12 versus Robert Morris.  Root’s weekend was highlighted by a 33-dig effort in the five-set victory over the host Mountaineers, just two off of her career high in the category.