For the second straight night, the Valpo volleyball team went to a fifth set, but this time, the Beacons were unable to emerge victorious in the final frame, falling 3-2 (25-22, 25-19, 17-25, 15-25, 15-12) to host St. Thomas Friday night in St. Paul, Minn.
How It Happened
- Valpo jumped out quickly in the decisive fifth set, scoring four of the first five points. St. Thomas scored the next four to take the lead before the Beacons scored three of the next four to take a 7-6 lead.
- The Tommies scored five of the next six points to pull ahead, 11-8. The Beacons reeled off three points in a row to even the final frame at 11-all, but St. Thomas scored four of the final five points as the hosts closed out their win.
- In contrast to Valpo's other five-set matches this season, none of the first four sets went down to the wire. The Beacons led 15-14 in the opening frame before St. Thomas went on a 6-2 run to take the lead for good, and Valpo got no closer than two points the rest of the way.
- Valpo and St. Thomas were even at 13-13 just past the midway point of the second set, but the Tommies rattled off seven points in a row to take control. The Beacons battled back and got as close as 21-19, but were stymied from getting any closer as St. Thomas went up 2-0 in the match.
- It was seemingly a different Valpo squad after the in-match break, as after hitting just .053 in the first two sets, the Beacons hit .373 in the next two frames. After surrendering the first two points of the third set, Valpo scored 12 of the next 16 points to take control and eventually extend the match.
- St. Thomas led early in set four, 8-7, before the Beacons went on a 7-1 run to take control, going on to force the decisive fifth set.
Inside the Match
- Friday marked Valpo's third five-set match of the young season. The Beacons had won each of their first two matches which went the distance.
- The Beacons held match advantages in kills, hitting percentage, aces, digs and blocks over the Tommies, but the final set was decided by attack errors, as despite Valpo out-killing St. Thomas in the fifth set 10-9, the Tommies committed just one attack error to the Beacons' six.
- Freshman Ava Helming (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) paced Valpo with 15 kills — her third double-figure output of the year — on .344 hitting and added four blocks as well.
- Junior Sam Warren (Kentland, Ind./South Newton) set a career best with 13 kills on .346 hitting Friday, while freshman Jordyn Gove (Amarillo, Texas/Randall) recorded her first career double-double with 12 kills and 14 digs.
- Sophomore Mara Thomas (Bogart, Ga./Athens Academy) surpassed her career high with 28 assists, while junior Addy Kois (Osceola, Ind./Penn) handed out 24 assists. Both setters came up just one dig shy of a double-double, as each tallied nine digs.
- Freshman Lilly Merk (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute South Vigo) paced the Beacons, as she set a season best with six blocks.
- Senior Elise Swistek (LaPorte, Ind./New Prairie) and junior Emma Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) tied for team-high honors with 25 digs apiece. With her output, Hickey moved into 11th place in program history with 1,481 career digs.
- The Beacons registered eight service aces on Friday, including the first two aces in the career of sophomore Kendal Ramey (Crawfordsville, Ind./Western Boone).
Next Up
Valpo (3-2) faces a quick turnaround, as the Beacons close out the St. Thomas Invitational on Saturday morning at 11 a.m. versus Tarleton State.
