Saturday, November 01, 2003

Valparaiso needed five games to extend its Mid-Continent Conference win streak, but in the end the Crusaders pulled out a 30-28, 29-31, 30-21, 29-31, 15-9 victory over UMKC on Saturday evening in Kansas City, Mo.

Liz Mikos (Dundee, Ill./Jacobs H.S.) led five Crusaders with double-figure kill totals as the freshman tallied 18 spikes while hitting .448. She also added eight blocks.

Lauren Moulton (Elgin, Ill./Larkin H.S.) and Michelle Robinson (Bloomington, Ill./Normal H.S.) each added 17 kills, while Sarah Schmalz (Corona, Calif./Riverside Christian H.S.) added 12 more. Moulton also had six blocks.

Marion Hansen (Huntley, Ill./Huntley H.S.) added ten kills, while tying for match-high honors with 18 digs. Sara Silcox (Michigan City, Ind./Michigan City H.S.) added 17 digs, while Cyndi Norman (Minooka, Ill./Minooka H.S.) dished out 67 assists along with 14 digs.

Vanessa Portela led UMKC (6-22, 4-7 Mid-Con) with 17 kills, while Lindsey Zerr added 15 kills and seven blocks. Sara Foster added 13 kills and Angela Melka tallied 11 kills and 11 digs. Heather Stapleton contributed 18 digs for the Kangaroos.

For the match Valpo hit .223 with 80 kills, while UMKC hit .190 with 71 kills. The Crusaders hit .429 in the decisive fifth game. The Brown and Gold also outdug the Kangaroos 91-79.

Valparaiso (23-6, 11-0) set a new school record for wins in the Mid-Continent Conference with 11 in the victory. The Crusaders will return to action on Friday evening when the Crusaders host IUPUI. First serve is set for 7 p.m. at the Athletics-Recreation Center.