Valparaiso (6-3, 0-0 MVC)
Terrier Invite (Spartanburg, S.C.)
Friday, Sept. 20 - vs. Presbyterian (3-7) - 10 a.m. CT | vs. South Carolina State (1-5) - 3 p.m. CT
Saturday, Sept. 21 - at Wofford (6-4) - 10 a.m. CT

Next Up For Valpo Volleyball: The Valpo volleyball team brings the nonconference slate to an end this weekend with a trio of matches at Wofford's Terrier Invite. The Beacons will play Presbyterian and South Carolina State on Friday before facing the host Terriers on Saturday.

Previously: The Beacons hosted the Popcorn Classic last weekend, posting a 2-1 record with sweeps of Miami and Purdue Fort Wayne sandwiching a 3-1 loss to Cornell. Elise Swistek and Jessica Pickett represented Valpo on the All-Tournament Team

Looking Ahead: Valpo opens MVC play next weekend with the downstate road swing, playing at Evansville and Indiana State.

Following the Beacons: Valpo's match against Wofford will be broadcast live on ESPN+. All three tournament matches will have live stats available, 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 495 matches (495-246, .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 550-270 (.671) record overall as a head coach.

Series History: Presbyterian - Valpo won the only previous meeting between the two programs, sweeping the Blue Hose at the Bradley Invitational in 2010.

South Carolina State - First meeting. Valpo last took on a MEAC opponent in 2022, when it defeated Delaware State and Morgan State.

Wofford - Valpo beat the Terriers in the 2014 season opener, 3-1, at the North Carolina Central Invitational in the only previous meeting between the teams.

Scouting the Opposition: Presbyterian - The Blue Hose enter the week at 3-7, with a Wednesday night match at Furman prior to this weekend's contests. Five of PC's seven losses have come in five sets, however. Hannah Rowe is averaging a team-best 2.51 kills/set.

South Carolina State - The Bulldogs sit at 1-5 on the year, earning a win over Mississippi Valley State last weekend. Xaria Pickett averages a team-best 3.00 kills/set, while Hailey Harris is hitting .305 with 2.52 kills/set and 1.05 blocks/set.

Wofford - The Terriers come into the weekend with a 6-4 record and earned the biggest win in program history last time out, taking down #15 Tennessee in five sets on Monday night. Sarah MacLean hits .335 with a team-high 2.95 kills/set, while Bradley Brown is averaging 2.45 kills/set on .430 hitting.

Hey, That Looks Familiar: Notably, Wofford's win over Tennessee earlier this week featured the Terriers using their libero as their primary setter in some rotations due to an injury to one of their setters. Valpo fans are quite familiar with that situation, as in 2016, Valpo used libero Morganne Longoria as its primary setter the second half of the season due to setter injuries. All told, Longoria served as primary setter for 13 matches, averaging 5.43 assists and 5.86 digs per set over that stretch that saw Valpo post a 7-6 record.

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).

Cracking the Record Books: There were a trio of edits to the program's single-match record book last Friday following the Beacons' matches against Miami and Cornell. Most notably, sophomore Mara Thomas delivered eight service aces - second-most in a match in program history and most in the rally-scoring era. As recently as two weeks ago Valpo's previous high in the 25-point era by an individual was five service aces - freshman Lilly Merk surpassed that with a six-ace night against Northern Illinois Sept. 5 before Thomas' performance.

Led by Thomas' effort at the service line, the Beacons racked racked up 14 aces as a team against the Big Red - second-most by a Valpo team in the 25-point era. That came following a total of 80 digs in the match earlier Friday in the sweep of Miami- tied for fifth-most in a sweep in the 25-point era.

Moving Up the Charts: Junior Emma Hickey and senior Elise Swistek both continued their respective moves up Valpo's career digs chart last weekend. Hickey vaulted into the top-10 in program history Friday night against Cornell, ending the weekend ninth all-time at Valpo with 1,557 career digs. On Saturday, Swistek cracked Valpo's top-20 in career digs, finishing the win over Purdue Fort Wayne with 1,191 digs.

1,500 For Hickey: Emma Hickey reached yet another career milestone Sept. 7 with her final dig of the weekend at St. Thomas, as it was the 1,500th dig of her collegiate career. Hickey reached the mark in her 72nd career match, becoming the fastest player in both Valpo history and MVC history to hit 1,500. She surpassed Illinois State's Courtney Pence, who reached the mark in 74 matches, as the fastest player in the MVC history to 1,500 career digs, and also bettered Rylee Cookerly and Taylor Root in Valpo's record books, as both Cookerly and Root hit the mark in 76 matches.

The Rookies Produce: Valpo's freshman class has stood out at the net through the season's first three weekends. The Beacons' rookies have accounted for 58.9% of the team's kills and 73.1% of the team's blocks over the first nine matches. Freshmen have combined for 10 matches with double-figure kill totals and seven matches with five or more blocks.

I'm About to Play My Ace: Through three weekends of competition, early returns indicate the service game might be more of a weapon for this year's squad than in the program's recent history. The Beacons have 71 aces through the season's first nine matches, averaging 2.03 aces/set. To put the average into context, Valpo has not averaged more than 1.20 aces/set since the 2017 season, while its high in the 25-point era is 1.46 aces/set. Individually, Mara Thomas (8, Cornell) and Lilly Merk (6, Northern Illinois) have posted the program's two highest individual single-match ace totals of the 25-point era.

All-Tournament Honors: Five different Beacons have combined for six All-Tournament Team accolades through the season's first three weeks. Most recently, senior Elise Swistek and freshman Jessica Pickett represented Valpo on the Popcorn Classic All-Tournament Team. Swistek posted double-doubles in all three tournament matches, leading all players in digs in all three matches - including 27 in the sweep of Miami, a D-I high by a non-libero in a three-set match this season - and in kills in the Beacons' two wins, averaging 3.80 kills/set and 6.60 digs/set for the weekend. Pickett stood out in the middle on both sides of the net, averaging 2.40 kills/set on .404 hitting and a team-best 1.50 blocks/set, highlighted by a career-high 11 kills on .500 hitting in the sweep of Miami and seven kills on just 12 swings and a match-high six blocks in the sweep of Purdue Fort Wayne.

Swistek's honor was her second of the season, as she was joined by junior Sam Warren on the All-Tournament Team at the St. Thomas Invitational, while on opening weekend, junior Emma Hickey and freshman Ava Helming picked up All-Tournament honors at the IU Indy Hampton Inn Invitational.

Player of the Week: Junior Emma Hickey was tabbed the MVC Defensive Player of the Week for the fourth time in her career following opening weekend for her performance at the IU Indy tournament. She averaged 5.42 digs/set and 1.58 assists/set over the three matches, while also committing just one service reception error on 65 chances. Hickey posted 34 digs - her eighth career 30+ dig match - and 11 assists in the season-opening win over SIUE.

Big Debuts: Valpo's season-opening win over SIUE featured a number of standout collegiate debuts from the Beacons' freshmen. Leading the way was Ava Helming, who debuted with 20 kills on .282 hitting - the most kills by a Valpo player in a match since Nov. 11, 2022. The 20 kills set a program record for kills by a freshman in her debut, and also is the high-water mark for any Valpo player in a season opener. Defensively, Jessica Pickett posted nine blocks - also a program record for blocks by a freshman in her debut and the highest total for any Valpo player in a season opener. Lilly Merk tallied 11 kills and Kadence Brumitt added 10 kills as well, marking the first time in program history three Valpo players have posted double-figure kills in their respective collegiate debuts in the same match.

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, winning at least one tournament in 17 of her seasons and multiple tournaments 11 times. Those tournament titles have come in 14 different states. While Valpo tied for the best record (2-1) at its season-opening tournament at IU Indy this year, Eastern Michigan earned the tournament title by virtue of the head-to-head victory.

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 ninth in program history with 1,557 digs - 86 away from fifth position - and has tallied 452 more digs than any other D-I junior. She also leads all active D-I players with 5.46 career digs/set.

Swistek as a Senior: Valpo reloads 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 currently ranks 20th in program history with 1,191 digs, while with 753 career kills, she has a shot at potentially reaching 1,000 career kills as well.