The Valpo volleyball team kept its stranglehold on second place in the MVC standings and remained perfect on the road in Valley play as the Beacons took down in-state foe Indiana State in Terre Haute Friday evening, 3-0 (25-14, 25-21, 25-16).
 
How It Happened

• Fittingly, playing in her hometown, Lilly Merk (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute South Vigo) got off to a quick start Friday, tallying kills for four of Valpo's first five points.
• The first set score was tied three times early, the latest coming at 8-8, but the Beacons never let the Sycamores pull ahead. At that 8-8 juncture, Valpo went on an 8-1 run which included four blocks to pull away from ISU on its way to eventually claiming the opener.
• A four-point spurt which included consecutive kills from Jordyn Gove (Amarillo, Texas/Randall) forced an early Indiana State timeout with the Beacons leading 7-2. The Sycamores closed to within three points a number of times throughout the rest of the set, but never any closer, and Valpo closed the frame on its third opportunity thanks to a Sam Warren (Kentland, Ind./South Newton) kill.
• The third set featured the only time Valpo trailed in the match – the Beacons surrendered the first point and promptly scored six in a row, capped by back-to-back Gove kills to force another early ISU timeout at 6-1. The lead never fell under four the rest of the way and reached as high as nine, which proved to be the winning margin to finish the sweep as Drew Glaser (Edwardsburg, Mich./Edwardsburg) ended the night with a kill.

 
Inside the Match

• Valpo is now 5-0 on the road in MVC action this year following Friday's win. The Beacons have won seven consecutive true road matches overall, the program's longest road winning streak since 2013.
• Going back further, the 2008 team was the last Valpo squad to win eight straight true road matches.
• Friday's victory improves Valpo's record in MVC play to 9-2, maintaining a one-game lead over Drake and UIC for second place in the conference standings. Notably, one more win would secure the Beacons' berth in the MVC Tournament, while the combination of two Valpo wins and/or Belmont losses would clinch hosting a tournament match.
• Friday's win was the Beacons' 18^th of the season, leaving them just two wins shy of reaching the 20-win milestone for the 19^th time in Carin Avery's 24 seasons at the helm of the program.
• Valpo's attack had another stellar performance Friday, as the Beacons hit at a .327 clip — their second-best hitting percentage within MVC play.
• Valpo finished the match with a 49-31 advantage in kills over the Sycamores.
• Leading the way on the attack was Kadence Brumitt (Niles, Mich./Brandywine), who was just one shy of her career high with 12 kills on .320 hitting. It is the third time Brumitt has led the Beacons in kills this year and her sixth double-digit effort of the season in the category.
• Friday was the first time since Sept. 19 against Western Illinois that a Valpo outside hitter paced the team in kills.
• Playing in her hometown, Merk reached double figures in kills for the fifth time this season as she hit .500 with 10 terminations.
• The balanced attack also saw Warren finish with nine kills, Gove tally seven kills to go with 10 digs and Jessica Pickett (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) need just nine swings to pick up six kills.
• Addy Kois (Osceola, Ind./Penn) handed out a match-best 21 assists, leaving her just 38 shy of cracking the program's career top-10 chart in the category, while Mara Thomas (Bogart, Ga./Athens Academy) registered her ninth double-double of the year with 18 assists and 11 digs.
• Emma Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) led all players with 20 digs, boosting her career total to 2,566 digs — in the process moving up two more spots on the NCAA D-I career digs chart to 22^nd position.
• Playing at the closest Division I school to her hometown, less than a half hour down the road, Keira Lucas (Brazil, Ind./Northview) saw action in Friday's third set, tallying a kill and a dig.
• Friday's win is the Beacons' fifth consecutive in the series with the Sycamores and is the third straight time Valpo has swept ISU in Terre Haute.

 
Next Up
Valpo (18-6, 9-2 MVC) looks to continue its success on the road Saturday evening at Evansville, with first serve at 5 p.m.