Valparaiso (16-5, 7-1 MVC)
Tuesday, Oct. 21 - UIC (11-7, 5-3 MVC) - 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 25 - Southern Illinois (10-12, 4-4 MVC) - 6 p.m.

Next Up For Valpo Volleyball: Winners of six in a row, the Valpo volleyball team kicks off the second half of Missouri Valley Conference play this week with two more home matches, hosting UIC on Tuesday evening and Southern Illinois on Saturday evening.

Previously: The Beacons took two home matches last week, rallying from down two sets to take down Belmont in five on Friday before turning around to earn a four-set win over Murray State on Saturday.

Looking Ahead: Valpo returns to the road next week with matches at Indiana State (Oct. 31) and at Evansville (Nov. 1).

Following the Beacons: Both matches this week are scheduled to be streamed on ESPN+. Live stats are also available for both matches via ValpoAthletics.com.

Head Coach Carin Avery: In her 24th season as head coach at Valpo, Carin Avery is the all-time winningest head coach across all sports in the history of Valpo Athletics. She has won 523 matches (523-262, .666) at the helm of the program and has led Valpo to three league regular season and three league 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 61 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 578-286 (.669) record overall as a head coach.

Series History: UIC - Valpo's most-common opponent in program history, the two squads are even at 32-32 in the all-time series. The Flames had won eight straight meetings since they joined the Valley before Valpo earned a 3-0 sweep in Chicago two weeks ago - Ava Helming had 15 kills on .520 hitting in that win, while Sam Warren added 12 kills as well. Coach Avery is 23-13 against the Flames in her tenure as Valpo head coach.

Southern Illinois -  Valpo is 13-6 all-time against the Salukis, including a commanding 13-3 series lead since joining the Valley. The Beacons are winners of seven of the last eight in the series, most recently rallying from two sets down on Oct. 11 to earn a 3-2 win in Carbondale. Valpo set a program record for hitting percentage in a five-set match in that win, swinging at a .340 clip - led by 17 kills from Warren and 15 kills on .520 hitting from Helming.

Scouting the Opposition: UIC - The Flames come into Tuesday's match with an 11-7 overall record and sit in a tie for third in the MVC standings at 5-3 after pulling out five-set wins over both Murray State and Belmont last weekend. Julieta Sandez leads the MVC and ranks second nationally with a .465 hitting percentage, while Hannah Ditsworth ranks second in the conference with 1.24 blocks/set.

Southern Illinois - The Salukis, who play UIC Friday before coming to the ARC, enter the week with a 10-12 overall record and a 4-4 mark in Valley play after earning a five-set win at Bradley and a sweep at Illinois State last weekend. Larissa Seger ranks third in the Valley in both hitting percentage (.352) and aces/set (0.40), while Kelly Franklin sits in the top-10 in both hitting percentage (.318, 6th) and kills/set (3.05, 9th).

W6: With last weekend's wins over Belmont and Murray State, the Beacons have won six matches in a row and are perfect in the month of October. It matches the program's winning longest winning streak in conference play since joining the MVC, as the 2023 squad had a similar stretch in October of that season.

Secure in Second: Valpo is enjoying its best start to conference play since joining the MVC as it sits at 7-1 - you have to go back to 2013 in the Horizon League, when Valpo started 8-1, for a better beginning. The win over Belmont on Friday gave the Beacons a two-game lead over third place in the conference standings, a vital spot to be in with the 2 seed in the MVC Tournament earning a bye to the semifinals.

Déjà vu: The road less traveled is often less traveled for a reason, and asking a team to rally from down two sets to earn a 3-2 win is tough enough to do once, much less in consecutive matches. But that's what the Beacons accomplished in their wins at Southern Illinois and at home versus Belmont in back-to-back contests - the first time in Carin Avery's career at Valpo her team has done that in two consecutive outings. Under Avery, Valpo has now rallied from down 0-2 to force a fifth set 27 times and has finished off the comeback with a win in 16 of those matches. Notably, in the two most recent matches, Valpo faced an identical 5-2 deficit in the fifth set, Avery called a timeout and the Beacons then outscored their opponent 13-4 the rest of the way. 

Go the Distance: Giving the fans their money's worth seems to be a theme of Valpo's winning streak, as four of the first five wins in the streak (Illinois State, Bradley, Southern Illinois, Belmont) went the full five sets. It is the first time in program history the Beacons have won four five-set matches in a five-match stretch. After having not won 3-2 in back-to-back conference matches since 1992, Valpo has now done so twice this month - the Illinois State and Bradley matches came on back-to-back nights, the first time since 1988 Valpo has done so in conference play on consecutive days.

Winning Tradition Continues: The Beacons secured a winning 2025 season with Saturday's win over Murray State, the 22nd winning season in 24 years under Carin Avery. With 16 wins this year, Valpo is closing in on that 20-win milestone - the program has won 20 or more matches in 18 of Avery's 23 seasons as well, and has averaged 22 wins per season in Avery's tenure.

Dominating the Attack: Already ranked among the nation's best in kills/set, the Beacons took it to another level in Saturday's win over Murray State, racking up 70 kills and ending the night with a 24-kill edge over the Racers. The 70 kills and 67 assists were both second-most by a Valpo team in a four-set match in the 25-point era, while it was just the 16th time this year a D-I team has tallied at least 70 kills in a four-set contest.

Winning the Service Game: There weren't many similarities between Valpo's two wins in the box scores last week, but the service columns were definitely one of them. The Beacons combined for nine aces and 10 errors on serve, while their opponents combined for just two aces and 13 errors. Valpo has limited its opponents' ability to score directly from serve all season long, ranking 20th nationally by surrendering just 0.96 aces/set.

The Road is Our Home: Two weeks, four matches on the road were no problem for the Beacons to start the month of October, as they returned to Valpo with four straight road wins. The four road victories came within an nine-day span, the second time in the last three years the Beacons have accomplished that feat, as they did so in 2023 as well - prior to that, the last time they did so was in 2008.

Record-Setting Attack: The Beacons blew a program record out of the water in that win at SIU, hitting at a .340 clip with 71 kills and just 17 attack errors - easily the best hitting percentage in a five-set match in program history. Valpo's previous high in a five-set match in the 25-point era was .306, while its previous high in a five-set match in any era was .311. The Beacons, who finished a match hitting above .300 for the fifth time this year, hit .294 or better in all five sets.

Extinguishing the Flames: Given the recent nature of the series between the two programs, it was notable that the only three-set result from the current winning streak was a 3-0 Valpo win at UIC. The Beacons had not beaten the Flames since UIC joined the Valley prior to the 2022 campaign (0-8) and had dropped all nine sets over the three matches played in Chicago in that time frame. Error avoidance was at the forefront of Valpo's win this season, as the Beacons committed just five non-block attack errors over the three sets, while the Flames committed 16.

Digging It and Killing It: The Beacons rank among the nation's best on both sides of the ball this season. Valpo currently leads the the MVC rankings with 16.73 digs/set, a mark which ranks 17th nationally, while it is second in the Valley and 20th nationally with 13.98 kills/set. Notably, that latter mark would be the program's best kills/set average in a season since 2015.

Warren Racks Them Up: One night after having her roughest match of the season on the attack, senior right side Sam Warren bounced back in a big way in Saturday's win over Murray State. Warren 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 is one of just three D-I players this year with 22 kills on 33 or fewer swings, and is one of just 21 players with at least 20 kills and a .550 hitting percentage in a match this season. Averaging 2.72 kills/set this year, Warren has been in double figures in six of Valpo's eight MVC matches, including four nights with at least 16 kills.

The Right Stuff: Sophomore right side Ava Helming has been pacing the Beacons' attack all season long and had another stellar weekend last weekend. She paced Valpo with 16 kills in the win over Belmont and duplicated that total on .343 hitting in the victory over Murray State. The MVC Player of the Week for Oct. 13, Helming has led Valpo in kills 13 times this season, ranks sixth in the Valley with 3.39 kills/set and has raised that mark to 3.71 kills/set in Valley play, good for third in the conference.

Hickey Keeps On Digging: Senior Emma Hickey, who is ranked 14th nationally this year with 5.04 digs/set, continued her march up the MVC career digs chart last week, surpassing former Missouri State standout Emily Butters for sixth in MVC history against Belmont. With 2,496 career digs, Hickey needs just 14 more digs to push her past former Drake star Kylee Macke, while she also is just 42 digs away from cracking the top-25 in NCAA D-I history in the category.Hickey leads all active NCAA players (all divisions) in career digs and owns 673 more digs than any other active Division I player. 

Kois' Helping Hands: Senior Addy Kois is moving into striking distance of the Beacons' career top-10 in assists. Kois, who dished out 54 assists over last weekend's pair of victories, now owns 2,483 career assists - just 104 shy of Jenny Rohren for 10th in Valpo history in the category.

Filling In in the Middle: With sophomore middle Jessica Pickett sidelined due to injury over the last three matches, Lilly Merk and Maddie Moan have picked up the slack. Merk is averaging 2.14 kills/set on .315 hitting - both marks above her season averages - and matched her career high with 13 kills in the Belmont win. Meanwhile, while she hasn't been set often, Moan has kills on 12 of her 20 swings over the last three matches and has tallied 11 blocks over the 14 sets, after entering the SIU match with just four blocks in 11 sets played this year.

Still Underclassmen: It's easy to forget, given the number of returnees this year's Beacon squad features, that a large number of those returnees are still just sophomores. 75.3% of the team's kills and 75.8% of the team's blocks have come courtesy of the underclassmen.

Players of the Week: - Sophomore Ava Helming became Valpo's seventh MVC weekly award winner Oct. 13, earning MVC Player of the Week honors for the second time in her career. She hit .520 with 15 kills in Valpo's wins at UIC and at SIU, becoming the first Valpo player to hit at least .500 with 15 or more kills in consecutive matches since Allison Sears in October 2008. 
- Emma Hickey was named Defensive Player of the Week for the third time this year and seventh time in her career after the Illinois State/Bradley road weekend as she averaged 5.60 digs/set and 1.70 assists/set while not committing a serve reception error on 39 attempts. 
- Jessica Pickett was named Player of the Week for the first time in her career and Hickey was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week after splitting the Drake/UNI opening weekend of conference play - Pickett hit .391 over the pair of matches with 2.88 kills/set and 1.50 blocks/set, while Hickey averaged 6.25 digs/set and committed just one serve reception error on 45 attempts. 
- Hickey was recognized as Defensive Player of the Week for the first time this year following the opening weekend of the season, which saw her earn All-Tournament Team honors at the USI Invitational as she averaged 6.60 digs/set and committed just one serve reception error on 49 attempts. 
- On Sept. 15, the Beacons boasted a pair of award winners: Lilly Merk was named Defensive Player of the Week for the first time in her career after averaging 1.50 blocks/set, highlighted by a 12-block effort in Valpo's upset bid at Northwestern, while Keira Lucas was tabbed Freshman of the Week as she averaged 2.44 kills/set on .302 hitting and 2.00 digs/set while committing just one serve reception error on 49 attempts at the Lehigh Steel Classic.

Capturing Crowns: Valpo continued its penchant for winning in-season tournament titles under Carin Avery this season, claiming a share of the crown at the USI Invitational and sweeping its way to the Lehigh Steel Classic title. Valpo has won 36 in-season tournament titles in Avery's time as head coach. The team has won at least one tournament in 18 of her seasons, and multiple tournaments 12 times. Those tournament titles have come in 14 different states.

All-Tournament Accolades: Over the course of Valpo's four early-season tournaments, six players combined to earn a total of nine All-Tournament Team honors.
- Leatherneck Classic: Emma Hickey, Lilly Merk
- Lehigh Steel Classic: Kadence Brumitt (MVP), Addy Kois
- EMU Tournament: Ava Helming, Merk
- USI Invitational: Helming, Hickey, Sam Warren

New-Look Conference Slate: With MVC membership down to 11 volleyball programs, the conference schedule has been pared back to 16 matches this season, meaning there will be four teams each team plays only once. Valpo's matchups against Drake and UNI on opening weekend were its lone looks at the Iowa-based schools this season, while the Beacons will also face Evansville and Indiana State just once apiece. In addition, the MVC Tournament will feature just six teams this season after previously featuring eight programs.

MVC Success: Valpo is looking to continue its run of success in conference play again this season, as the program has finished in the top-half of the Valley standings in each of its eight years in the conference, the only MVC program to accomplish that feat. Going back further, Valpo has posted top-half conference finishes in 22 of Avery's 23 seasons - as well as qualifying for the conference tournament in each of her 23 seasons - and 31 of the last 32 years overall.

Looking Back at Last Year: Valpo is coming off an 18-win season in 2024, a campaign highlighted by the amount of production generated by the team's youth. Jessica Pickett set program freshman records for hitting percentage and blocks, while Ava Helming had the third-most kills by a freshman in Avery's tenure as both rookies earned spots on the MVC All-Freshman Team. On the more veteran side, Emma Hickey became the fastest player in program history and tied for the fastest in MVC history to reach 2,000 career digs.

Who's Back: In a nutshell, everybody who could be. All 16 players who ended last season on the Beacons squad with remaining eligibility return for Valpo in 2025. That group accounted for 78.1% of the kills, 84.4% of the service aces, 78.0% of the digs and 93.9% of the blocks from the 2024 season.

Who's Gone: Valpo graduated just two players from last year's squad: Abby Boyle and Elise Swistek. Swistek's production will be the big piece to replace, as she closed her time at Valpo as one of just 10 players in program history to surpass 1,000 kills (1,018; 19th) and 1,000 digs (1,479; 12th).

Who's New: The Beacons welcome two freshmen to the large group of returnees this year. Keira Lucas is an outside hitter who was a three-time All-State honoree at Northview [Ind.] H.S., while Olivia Wagner is a setter who helped lead Lakeville South [Minn.] H.S. to the 2024 Minnesota Class AAAA state championship.

Young But Mighty: Legendary college basketball coach Al McGuire is credited for having said "The best thing about freshmen is that they become sophomores." If that's the case for last year's class of Valpo volleyball freshmen, opponents are in for a rough time this season. Last year's freshman class accounted for 59.1% of the team's kills, 31.1% of the aces and 73.6% of the blocks in the 2024 campaign. That comes out to a total of 58.7% of the team's points accounted for by freshmen last season, a mark which ranked third nationally among D-I programs, trailing only Mississippi Valley State and Le Moyne - two programs which combined for just eight wins, compared with the Beacons' 18 victories. Prior to last season, none of Avery's teams in her time at Valpo had freshmen account for even 30% of the team's points.

Digging Deep: Valpo continued its long tradition of strong back row play last fall, finishing the 2024 campaign 19th nationally with an average of 17.20 digs/set. The program has ranked among the top-30 nationally in digs/set in every season since 2009, including 14 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 (10th; 2,752).

Libero on Lockdown: Senior Emma Hickey has been quite simply one of the nation's most prolific liberos since stepping on campus prior to the 2022 campaign. She's ranked among the top-15 nationally in digs/set in each of her first three seasons, ending last season in third position with 5.72 digs/set. Her 715 total digs last year were sixth-most in a single season in program history.

The Pickett Fence: Sophomore Jessica Pickett made a big impact at the net in her first season of collegiate volleyball last year. An MVC All-Freshman Team honoree, Pickett ranked third in the Valley in blocks/set (1.14, 139 total) and fourth in hitting percentage (.331). She  set Valpo freshman records for both hitting percentage and total blocks - her hitting percentage ranked third overall and second in the 25-point era in Valpo's single-season record book, while he block total ranked eighth overall and third in the 25-point era.

At the Helm(ing): Sophomore Ava Helming joined Pickett as an MVC All-Freshman Team honoree last season for her strong work on both sides of the net at the right pin as a rookie. Helming ranked second on the team with 293 kills and 78 blocks - her 293 kills is tied for third-most by a freshman under head coach Carin Avery, while 78 blocks ranks sixth by a freshman under Avery. The only other freshman to rank among the top-10 in both kills and blocks by a rookie in the Avery era was another right side in Morgan Beil, who developed into a three-time All-Horizon League performer.

Next Stop, 600: Head coach Carin Avery reached yet another milestone last October, winning her 500th match in charge of the Valpo program with the Beacons' win at Murray State. Valpo's all-time winningest coach in any sport, Avery's 500th win came in her 752nd match in charge of the program. Avery is the second current MVC coach to win at least 500 matches at their current institution, joining UNI's Bobbi Petersen.