Sometimes the night's promotion dovetails perfectly with the way a match plays out. That was the case Saturday night at the ARC for the Valpo volleyball team on Taylor Swift Night, as senior #22 Sam Warren (Kentland, Ind./South Newton) smashed her previous career best with 22 kills as the Beacons extended their winning streak to six straight matches with a 3-1 (22-25, 25-17, 25-19, 25-22) victory over Murray State.
 
How It Happened

• Murray State never trailed in the opening frame, and extended its lead out to six points on multiple occasions. A 5-0 run on the serve of Addy Kois (Osceola, Ind./Penn) shaved a 17-11 deficit to 17-16 and forced a timeout from the Racers, but out of the stoppage, MSU scored three in a row to regain control. The Racers took the opener despite Valpo holding a 19-11 advantage in kills, as the Beacons also committed 12 attack errors to MSU's two.
• A 6-1 spurt early in set two, including two kills each from Kadence Brumitt (Niles, Mich./Brandywine) and Ava Helming (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston), gave the Beacons control with a 10-4 lead. A little later, a 6-0 run on the serve of Mara Thomas (Bogart, Ga./Athens Academy) pushed the edge out to 17-7 and MSU got no closer than seven points the rest of the way, with Valpo eventually evening the match on a Warren kill.
• While Valpo never trailed in set three, the score was tied on five occasions — the latest coming at 14-14. The Beacons created separation at that point, going on a 9-2 run, with service runs from Jordyn Gove (Amarillo, Texas/Randall) and Mia Liberti (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle Institute) giving them a big advantage, and Helming came through with a kill on Valpo's second set point chance to give it a 2-1 lead in the match.
• The fourth set was the most closely contested of the match, with the largest lead being just three points. The last tie came at 19-19, followed by Keira Lucas (Brazil, Ind./Northview) coming up first with a kill and then combining with Maddie Moan (Woodstock, Ill./Woodstock [Milwaukee]) on a rejection to give the Beacons a 21-19 lead.
• A Racer kill was answered by a kill from Helming, and after MSU picked up another kill, it committed a service error to make it 23-21. Helming then teamed with Lilly Merk (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute South Vigo) on a block to push it to match point, and on Valpo's second chance, Helming finished things off with another kill to close out the victory.

 
Inside the Match

• With the win, Valpo matches the 2023 team for the longest winning streak within MVC play with six straight conference victories.
• Overall, the six-match winning streak is tied for the program's longest since it opened the 2022 campaign with 12 straight wins.
• This year's team also extends its best start within MVC play to a 7-1 conference record — two games clear of a two-way tie for third place.
• Saturday's victory ensured that the Beacons will finish with a winning record this year — the 22^nd time the program has done so in Carin Avery's 24 seasons at the helm.
• The story of Saturday's win was the performance of Warren from the right side. The senior smashed her previous career best of 17 kills with a 22-kill night, and did so on incredible efficiency, needing just 33 swings as she finished with a .576 hitting percentage.
• The 22 kills marked the best effort by a Valpo player since Gretchen Kuckkan tallied 25 kills Sept. 3, 2022 against Northern Illinois.
• Warren's night was one of just 21 stat lines with at least 20 kills and a .550 hitting percentage by a D-I player this season.
• Meanwhile, Helming was just as potent as ever from the right side, finishing the evening with 16 kills on .343 hitting.
• Led by Warren and Helming, the Beacons held a 24-kill advantage over Murray State, notched at least 16 kills in all four sets and ended the match with 70 kills — second-most in a four-set match by a Valpo squad in the 25-point era. It is just the 16^th time a D-I team has tallied at least 70 kills in a four-set match this season.
• 67 of Valpo's 70 kills were assisted, also second-most in a four-set match in the 25-point era. Both Valpo setters finished with double-doubles — Kois posted her fifth of the year with 32 assists and 14 digs, while Thomas notched 26 assists and 11 digs for her seventh of the season.
• Emma Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) led the back-row effort with a match-best 23 digs. The senior's career total moved to 2,496 digs with Saturday's performance, moving her past former Missouri State standout Emily Butters for sixth in MVC history. Next up on that chart is former Drake standout Kylee Macke, a mere 14 digs away.
• The Beacons recorded 10 team blocks on Saturday, hitting double figures in that category for the 10^th time this year. Merk led the way with six rejections, while Moan matched her season high as she was in on four blocks for the second straight night.

 
Next Up
Valpo (16-5, 7-1 MVC) opens the second half of MVC play Tuesday night at the ARC at 6 p.m. against UIC. It will be the program's Cancer Awareness Match, and is also a Family Night, with five tickets, five concession vouchers and five promo items for just $25. Tickets are available now at https://tickets.valpoathletics.com/event/valpo-volleyball-vs-uic-b9p1qh.