The Valpo volleyball team jumped out to a two-set lead Friday night at Illinois State, and after the host Redbirds came back to take the next two sets, the Beacons controlled the fifth set to walk away with a 3-2 (29-27, 25-21, 24-26, 21-25, 15-11) victory.
 
How It Happened

• The decisive fifth set started with Addy Kois (Osceola, Ind./Penn) on the serve as Valpo won the first three points of the set, starting a frame in which the Beacons would never trail.
• The Redbirds tied the score at 4-4 and 5-5, but at the latter point, Valpo put together another three-point spurt — including an overdig turned killed for Emma Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) and a service ace by Mara Thomas (Bogart, Ga./Athens Academy) — to take an 8-5 lead into the media timeout.
• ISU got back to within one point at 9-8 and 10-9, but both times the Beacons responded, first with a kill from Kadence Brumitt (Niles, Mich./Brandywine) and then a kill from Sam Warren (Kentland, Ind./South Newton). All Valpo had to do from that point was keep the Redbirds from stringing together consecutive points, and the Beacons handled that, with Hickey eventually closing the match with a service ace.
• A back-and-forth opening set which featured 14 ties and four lead changes saw the largest lead come early on with Valpo ahead 5-2. After that point, neither side's lead was largest than two points.
• The Beacons had set point at 24-23, the Redbirds at 25-24, and the Beacons at 26-25 and 27-26, but each time the opposition came up with a point to extend the frame. Finally, on Valpo's fourth set point chance, Lilly Merk (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute South Vigo) came through with a kill to give the Beacons the opener.
• The second set was trending ISU's way with the Redbirds leading 20-15 before a Hickey kill sent the libero back to the service line. The senior proceeded to serve the next eight points — including three kills from Ava Helming (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) — to turn what had been a five-point deficit into a four-point lead.
• Finally, at 24-20, a Valpo attack error snapped the run, but an ISU service error closed the second set in Valpo's favor to give the Beacons a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Valpo was within three points of a sweep after rallying from a six-point deficit in the third set, holding a 22-21 lead, but the Redbirds rallied to earn the first set point chance at 24-23. A Helming kill extended the set, but ISU came up with the next two points.
• The Beacons held a four-point lead at the media timeout in the fourth set at 15-11, but were unable to maintain it, as the Redbirds scored six in a row later in the frame to go up 20-17. Valpo responded with the next three points to briefly even the set before ISU closed the set on a 5-1 run to force the decisive fifth frame.

 
Inside the Match

• Valpo is now 2-1 in MVC play, having played three of the top four teams in the Valley preseason poll in its first three matches.
• After going 1-6 in their first seven matchups against the Redbirds in Normal after joining the MVC, the Beacons have won their last three road meetings with Illinois State.
• The five-set win was Valpo's first victory of the year in a match which goes the distance, as the Beacons had previously dropped five-set matches to Northern Kentucky and Northwestern.
• Valpo's nine-point run in the second set tied its largest run of the year, while the Beacons also won a set they trailed at the 20-point mark for just the third time this year (3-14).
• On the attack, the Beacons' 74 kills and 67 assists both marked season highs. Defensively, their 14 blocks were tied for second-most in a match this year and their 93 digs were second-most.
• Known for her digging prowess, Hickey stood out at the service line Friday. The senior delivered a career-best five service aces, capped by the match-clinching point. Five aces are tied for second-most in a five-set match by a Valpo player in the 25-point era and tied for third-most in any length match in the 25-point era.
• Of course, Hickey also did her normal work in the back row as well, posting a match-best and season-high 37 digs while also contributing a season-best eight assists. Along the way, Hickey surpassed the 2,400-dig mark for her career.
• Jessica Pickett (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) flew past the 200-block milestone for her career, as she was part of a match-high and season-best nine blocks.
• Valpo's attack featured four players in double digits in kills, led by Helming, who recorded 17 terminations to go with four blocks. It marked the 10^th time this year the sophomore has paced the Beacons in kills from the right side.
• Warren easily bested her season high with a 16-kill night, hitting at a .367 clip. Brumitt posted 12 kills and 15 digs, while Jordyn Gove (Amarillo, Texas/Randall) matched her season best with 11 kills.
• Kois registered a double-double with 33 assists and 15 digs — both season highs — while Thomas handed out 24 assists in the win.

 
Next Up
Valpo (11-5, 2-1 MVC) looks to sweep the central Illinois road trip for the third consecutive time on Saturday when it takes on Bradley at 5 p.m.