Valparaiso (10-9, 2-5 MVC)
Friday, Oct. 18 - at Murray State (9-7, 4-3 MVC) - 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 19 - at Belmont (7-12, 2-5 MVC) - 5 p.m.

Next Up For Valpo Volleyball: The Valpo volleyball team heads south this weekend, traveling to take on Murray State Friday night and Belmont Saturday evening to close out the first half of MVC action.

Previously: Valpo fell in a close three-set match to UIC in mid-week action last week before splitting a home weekend, dropping a four-set match to Southern Illinois before bouncing back with a five-set win over Missouri State.

Looking Ahead: Valpo is back at the ARC next weekend to host Bradley and Illinois State.

Following the Beacons: Both matches this week will be broadcast live on ESPN+. The matches will have live stats available as well, linked via ValpoAthletics.com.

Head Coach Carin Avery: In her 23rd season as head coach at Valparaiso, Carin Avery is the all-time winningest head coach across all sports in the history of Valpo Athletics. She has won 499 matches (499-252, .664) at the helm of the program and has led Valpo to three league regular season and tournament titles. The program has made seven postseason appearances under Avery, including three NCAA Tournament appearances, and advanced to the championship match of the 2021 NIVC. Avery has coached 62 All-League recipients over her tenure at Valpo, which has spanned three different conferences. She is Valpo's all-time leader in both victories and winning percentage, and owns a 554-276 (.667) record overall as a head coach.

Series History: Murray State - The Beacons hold a 6-2 advantage in the all-time series over the Racers, but the two programs have split the four meetings since Murray State joined the Valley. In last season's lone meeting, the Racers came from down two sets to beat the Beacons in five at the ARC. Elise Swistek had 17 kills and 20 digs in that contest, while Emma Hickey had 28 digs.

Belmont - Valpo holds a 4-1 edge in the series over the Bruins, including a 3-1 record since Belmont joined the Valley. Last season, the Beacons swept Belmont at the ARC in the regular season, but the Bruins got a measure of revenge in the opening round of the MVC Tournament, beating Valpo in four sets.

Scouting the Opposition: Murray State - The Racers are 9-7 overall and sit at 4-3 in MVC play after dropping matches at Drake and at UNI last weekend. Ella Vogel ranks third in the Valley with 3.98 kills/set, while Dahlia Miller is third in the conference with 5.21 digs/set.

Belmont - The Bruins enter the weekend at 7-12 overall and with a 2-5 mark in MVC action. Belmont boasts two of the Valley's top six hitters in terms of hitting percentage (Lucy Kay, 5th, .327; Bella Mathis, 6th, .302), while Brooke Gilleland ranks ninth in the conference with 3.27 kills/set.

Valpo Picked Sixth in Preseason Poll: Valpo was picked to finish in sixth place in the Missouri Valley Conference in 2024, according to preseason polling of the conference's head coaches. The Beacons shared sixth position with Missouri State, while UNI topped the poll. In six of Valpo's seven seasons in the Valley, the program has met or exceeded its preseason prognostication.

Looking Back at Last Season: Valpo is coming off a third consecutive postseason appearance in 2023, as the Beacons earned an at-large berth in the NIVC. The program posted an 18-15 overall record and went 10-8 in MVC play, finishing in a tie for fifth place in the Valley standings. Miranda Strongman earned First Team All-MVC honors, while Mallory Januski was a Second Team All-MVC honoree.

Who's Back: This year's squad returns nine letterwinners from the 2023 team, a group which includes the team's leader in kills (Elise Swistek) and digs (Emma Hickey). The Beacons return a good bit of their back row defensive production, as 65.7% of the team's digs from last year are back in 2024.

Who's Gone: Valpo did graduate a talented class which accounted for a good portion of the team's front row production last year, as the Beacons return just 37.9% of the kills and 25.3% of the blocks from 2023. Middles Mallory Januski and Miranda Strongman, both All-MVC selections last year, ended their Valpo careers 1-2 in program history in career hitting percentage, while the team also graduated players who ranked among the top-10 in program history in career digs (outside hitter Bella Ravotto) and assists (setter Victoria Bulmahn).

Who's New: While there's a lot of production from last year to replace in 2024, there's also an exciting new class of rookies eager to take on the challenge of stepping up into contributing roles. This year's squad has nine players with freshman eligibility - one redshirt (Jessica Pickett) and eight true freshmen. The incoming class includes two players who were AVCA High School All-Americans last year (Ava Helming, Second Team; Lilly Merk, Third Team) and three others who were First Team All-State honorees as high school seniors (Jordyn Gove, Drew Glaser, Kadence Brumitt).

500 in Sight: Seemingly every time you turn around, head coach Carin Avery is approaching another milestone. Next up for Avery - Valpo Athletics' all-time winningest coach in any sport - is the 500-win mark as head coach at Valpo. Avery enters the week with 499 Valpo victories to her credit. In her 23rd season as head coach at Valpo, Avery's squads have averaged over 22 wins per season with her at the helm.

A Lengthy Affair: It took quite some time for Valpo to come away with its Saturday win over Missouri State, and that's not just referring to the fact the match went five sets. From the time the first serve was contacted until the final point hit the ground to end the match, the contest clocked in at just over two hours, 45 minutes (note that this differs from boxscore time due to the fact boxscore time is calculated from the moment starters are entered). The match featured seven replay reviews (not counting one other lengthy review that was eventually returned due to technical issues), the last of which came after Valpo had seemingly won the fifth set at 16-14 before the review resulted in the call being reversed, necessitating a regroup by the Beacons before their eventual victory.

Killing It: The victory over the Bears was capped off by a kill from freshman Lilly Merk, closing out one of the most productive matches on the attack by a Valpo team in the 25-point era. The Beacons racked up at least 14 kills in every set, including the fifth set, where 14 of their 17 points came via the kill. Valpo ended the night with 78 kills, tied for third-most in a five-set match in the 25-point era, as five different players reached double figures in kills. Valpo finished with 73 team assists as well, tied for fourth-most in a five-set match in the 25-point era.

A Career Best: Playing in the 109th match of her career Saturday, senior outside Elise Swistek surpassed her career best as she registered 19 kills in the win over Missouri State. Swistek, whose previous career best was 17 kills, has stepped up across the board this year, reaching double figures in kills 13 times and in digs 15 times, while pacing the Beacons in kills on 11 occasions.

Those Freshman Hitters: For most of last weekend, the Beacons had freshmen playing in five of their six positions in the front row - Jessica Pickett and Lilly Merk as the middles, Kadence Brumitt and Jordyn Gove splitting time at one outside, and Ava Helming and Jordyn Gove as the right sides. That group recorded 41 of Valpo's 54 kills Friday against SIU and 58 of the 78 kills Saturday against Missouri State. Glaser tallied a career-high 10 kills in the SIU match, while Pickett set a career best with 12 kills in the win over the Bears.

The Rookies Produce: Last weekend was just the latest in the production from Valpo's freshman class this season. The Beacons' rookies have accounted for 59.8% of the team's kills, 33.% of the aces and 80.3% of the blocks this year. That comes out to a total of 59.9% of the team's points accounted for by freshmen, a mark which ranks third nationally, trailing only Mississippi Valley State and Le Moyne. Freshmen have combined for 23 matches with double-figure kill totals and 15 matches with five or more blocks.

What a Stretch: Junior libero Emma Hickey has racked up the digs ever since stepping on campus in 2022, but the last two weeks have been the most prolific of her career. Over Valpo's last five matches, Hickey has tallied 144 digs - her highest total over a five-match stretch in her career. That includes three matches with 30+ digs - 34 against UNI, the highest total by a Panther opponent since September 2019; 33 against Drake, third-most in a four-set match in the 25-point era; and most recently 35 in the win over Missouri State.

Leading the Way: Junior Emma Hickey currently leads the nation in total digs, racking up 439 digs to date. Her average of 5.93 digs/set ranks second nationally as well. With 1,802 career digs, Hickey has far and away the most digs of any D-I junior, as number two on that list - Montana State's Lauren Lindseth - sits at 1,259 career digs. In fact, Hickey ranks 24th nationally overall among D-I players in career digs.