Valparaiso (0-0, 0-0 MVC)
at Hampton Inn Invitational (Indianapolis, Ind.)
Friday, Aug. 30 - vs. SIUE (0-0) - 6 p.m. CT
Saturday, Aug. 31 - vs. Eastern Michigan (0-0) - 1 p.m. CT
Sunday, Sept. 1 - at IU Indianapolis (0-0) - 1 p.m. CT
Next Up For Valpo Volleyball: Coming off of its fourth postseason appearance in the last six years, the Valpo volleyball team kicks off the 2024 campaign this weekend at IU Indianapolis' Hampton Inn Invitational. The Beacons will be taking on SIUE and Eastern Michigan in addition to the host Jaguars.
Looking Ahead: Valpo's second weekend of action takes the team to the North Star State, as the Beacons head to St. Paul, Minn. for the St. Thomas Invitational, where they will face Northern Illinois and Tarleton State as well.
Following the Beacons: Valpo's match against IU Indianapolis on Sunday afternoon will be broadcast live on ESPN+. All three matches will have live stats available, linked via ValpoAthletics.com.
Head Coach Carin Avery: Entering 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 489 matches (489-243, .668) 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 544-267 (.671) record overall as a head coach.
Series History: SIUE - Valpo owns a 4-1 record all-time against the Cougars, but the one defeat came last season, as SIUE earned a 3-1 win at the Purdue Fort Wayne Invitational. Four different Beacons had 10 kills apiece and Emma Hickey led all players with 19 digs, but SIUE hit at a .252 clip in the victory.
Eastern Michigan - Valpo and EMU have split eight all-time meetings, with the Beacons emerging victorious in five sets in the most recent meeting at last season's Popcorn Classic. EMU led two sets to one before the Beacons rolled through the final two sets (25-14, 15-6) to earn the come-from-behind win. Elise Swistek had 15 kills and 14 digs in the victory, while Addy Kois tallied 28 assists and 12 digs.
IU Indianapolis - Valpo shared conference affiliation with the Jaguars (previously known as IUPUI) from 1998 through 2006 as Mid-Continent Conference rivals. In 36 total meetings, Valpo holds a 23-13 edge - including wins in each of the last four matchups. The last meeting between the two programs came at this very tournament in 2019 on the season's opening weekend, a 3-1 Valpo victory.
Scouting the Opposition: SIUE - The Cougars posted a 13-16 overall record last year and went 7-11 in OVC play, finishing in ninth place in the conference standings. SIUE was picked to finish in eighth place in the OVC in its preseason poll and garnered one first-place vote.
Eastern Michigan - The Eagles went 5-25 in 2023 and were 3-15 in MAC play, finishing in sixth place in the MAC West Division. EMU was picked to finish this season in 11th place in the MAC in the conference preseason poll.
IU Indianapolis - The Jaguars posted a 9-20 record last season and were 3-15 in Horizon League action, finishing in 10th place in the league standings.
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).
Winning Ways: The 2023 squad secured a winning season with an early-November win over Bradley, extending the tradition of the program's excellence. In 22 seasons under head coach Carin Avery, Valpo has posted a winning record 20 times. 18 of those times, the program has won at least 20 matches, and the team has averaged 22.2 wins per season in Avery's tenure.
Top Half Finishes: The Beacons ended the 2023 regular season in a tie for fifth-place finish in the final MVC regular season standings. Valpo has now finished in the top-half of the Valley standings in each of its seven years in the conference, the only MVC program to accomplish that feat. Going back further, Valpo has posted top-half conference finishes in 21 of Avery's 22 seasons - as well as qualifying for the conference tournament in each of her 22 seasons - and 30 of the last 31 years overall.
Postseason History: Last year's at-large bid to the NIVC extended the program's run of postseason appearances to three consecutive years and four of the last six seasons. Valpo's history with the NIVC is highlighted by the program's run to the title match in 2021, while its first NIVC trip in 2018 featured a trip to the quarterfinals. Previously, Valpo made three straight NCAA Tournament appearances with Avery at the helm from 2003 through 2005, while the program also appeared in an NCAA Tournament play-in match three straight years 1994-1996.
Digging Deep: Valpo continued its long tradition of strong back row play last fall, finishing 12th nationally with 17.17 digs/set. The program has ranked among the top-30 nationally in digs/set in each of the last 15 seasons, including 13 seasons among the top-20 and four seasons among the top-10 - highlighted by the 2017 campaign in which Valpo led the nation with 20.03 digs/set. Other top finishes include fourth nationally in the spring 2021 season (20.37/set), a fourth-place rank in 2010 and a sixth-place finish in 2015. Since the move to 25-point scoring, only seven teams have averaged more than 20 digs/set over the course of a season, and Valpo is the only program to have done it twice. 2018 saw Valpo lead the nation with 2,613 total digs - a mark which set a program single-season record and a Division I record in the 25-point era. Valpo also boasts two of the top-10 athletes in D-I history in career digs - Rylee Cookerly (2nd; 3,175) and Taylor Root (9th; 2,752).
Capturing Crowns: Valpo has had a penchant for winning in-season tournament titles under Carin Avery. The Beacons added yet another crown to the program's trophy case last season as they claimed their home tournament, the Popcorn Classic. Valpo has won 34 in-season tournament titles in head coach Carin Avery's 22 seasons at the helm of the program. The team has won at least one tournament in 17 of her seasons, and multiple tournaments 11 times. Those tournament titles have come in 14 different states.
Hickey Racks Up the Digs: Joining the long line of standout liberos at Valpo, junior Emma Hickey aims for a third straight season as one of the nation's prolific liberos. Hickey, who became the fastest player in Valpo and MVC history to surpass 1,000 career digs last season, finished the year 15th nationally in digs/set after ranking fourth in the same category as a freshman in 2022. Hickey already ranks 14th in program history with 1,363 digs - just 164 away from the top-10 - and has tallied nearly 400 more digs than any other D-I player entering their junior season this year.
Swistek as a Senior: Valpo will need to reload its attack this year, as the Beacons graduated three of their four most prolific attackers in terms of kills/set from last year's squad. Last year's leader in that category does return, however, as senior outside Elise Swistek registered 2.43 kills/set to pace the Beacons and also ranked second on the team with 3.39 digs/set. Swistek became the 26th player in program history to surpass 1,000 career digs late last season and enters 2024 with 1,048 digs, while with 647 career kills, she has a shot at potentially reaching 1,000 career kills as well.
