The Valpo volleyball team rebounded from getting swept on Friday with a three-set sweep in its favor less than 24 hours later, taking down Southern Illinois (25-20, 25-23, 25-16) in Carbondale, Ill. on Saturday evening.
 
How It Happened

• A back-and-forth first half of the first set saw Valpo take control past the halfway point. The Beacons led 17-13 before a 5-1 run from the Salukis knotted things up at 18-18.
• Valpo closed the first half with a 7-2 spurt, including two kills — one the set winner — from freshman Ava Helming (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston), to take the opening set.
• SIU enjoyed as much as a three-point lead early in the second set, but Valpo took the lead past the halfway point thanks to a 6-0 run on the serve of senior Elise Swistek (LaPorte, Ind./New Prairie) which gave the Beacons a 17-13 lead.
• The Salukis closed to within one point as Valpo held set point late, but on the Beacons' second chance, freshman Jessica Pickett (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) converted on a kill to close out the frame and take a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Valpo's right sides were key to the Beacons' big run in the third set, as junior Sam Warren (Kentland, Ind./South Newton) had two kills and a block and Helming had two kills as part of a 8-1 run which turned an 8-8 tie into a 16-9 Valpo lead. The Beacons cruised from there in closing out the sweep.

 
Inside the Match

• Saturday's result was just the second 3-0 victory in Valpo in MVC play and its first since sweeping Indiana State in Terre Haute on Sept. 28.
• The Beacons held a 44-33 advantage in kills over SIU on Saturday and hit .220 to the Salukis' .101 clip. Valpo improved its hitting percentage by 67 points over its first meeting against SIU, while the Salukis' hitting percentage decreased by 86 points.
• Helming paced all players on Saturday with 13 kills, hitting at a .400 clip. It is the sixth time in Valpo's last seven matches the freshman right side has posted at least 13 kills, and the fourth time in that stretch she has hit at least .400.
• Freshman Jordyn Gove (Amarillo, Texas/Randall) reached double figures in kills for the 10^th time this year with a 12-kill night.
• Junior Emma Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) racked up a match-best 20 digs and is now within 89 digs of the 2,000-dig milestone for her career.
• Swistek was right behind Hickey, as she registered 19 digs on Saturday. The senior moved up two spots on Valpo's career dig chart and is now tied with Katherine Carlson for 13^th in program history with 1,409 career digs.
• Pickett boosted her blocks/set average to 1.12 blocks/set this year with a match-best six rejections Saturday.

 
Next Up
Valpo (15-10, 7-6 MVC) continues its four-match road swing at Drake Friday night at 6 p.m. The match can be seen live on ESPN+.