Box Score Going the distance for the second straight night, the Valpo volleyball team again came together with a strong fifth set and completed its sweep of the central Illinois road trip with a 3-2 (25-22, 14-25, 25-20, 18-25, 15-8) win at Bradley Saturday evening.
 
How It Happened

• Heading to a fifth set for the second straight day, the Beacons never trailed. After Bradley scored two points to counter Valpo's first two points of the set, the Beacons reeled off five in a row on the serve of Emma Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) to pull out to a 7-2 lead. The advantage never fell below three points the rest of the way.
• Much like Friday night, it was a battle for Valpo to claim the opening set Saturday. After pulling out to a five-point lead at 16-11, the Beacons faced a Braves rally, as the hosts eventually earned a 22-20 edge. But a service error made it a one-point frame and Kadence Brumitt (Niles, Mich./Brandywine) served out the set, with an Ava Helming (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) kill closing the opener in Valpo's favor.
• Bradley led throughout the second set, hitting at a .440 clip to even the match at one set apiece.
• Valpo turned the tables in set three, jumping out to a 9-2 lead thanks in large part to a service run from Lilly Merk (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute South Vigo). The Beacons led by as many as 11 points en route to taking a 2-1 lead in the match.
• The Braves took control of the fourth set at the midway point, stringing together four straight points to turn a 12-12 tie into a 16-12 lead. The Beacons got no closer than two points the rest of the way as the match headed to the fifth set.

 
Inside the Match

• There's not much head coach Carin Avery hasn't accomplished during her tenure at Valpo, but this weekend was a first for her. Combining Friday's five-set win at Illinois State with the win over the Braves, it marks the first time since 1988 that Valpo has won back-to-back five-set matches on consecutive days within conference play.
• Saturday's win extended Valpo's current winning streak over Bradley to seven straight matches, five of which have gone the full five sets.
• The Beacons swept the Illinois State/Bradley road swing for the third consecutive trip (2022, 2023).
• Valpo owns a 3-1 record through four conference matches for the first time since 2021.
• Valpo's right sides dominated at the net offensively on Saturday. Helming matched her career high with 21 kills, while Sam Warren (Kentland, Ind./South Newton) was one shy of her career best with 16 kills.
• Hickey tied for match-high honors with 19 digs and narrowly missed a double-double, handing out nine assists. During Saturday's match, the senior moved past former Drake standout Alana Wittenburg into seventh place in MVC history in career digs, as she now has 2,429 digs for her career.
• Brumitt and Keira Lucas (Brazil, Ind./Northview) chipped in 11 digs apiece.
• Addy Kois (Osceola, Ind./Penn) handed out a team-best 26 assists and notched kills on all three of her attack attempts, including on the match's penultimate point, while Mara Thomas (Bogart, Ga./Athens Academy) dished out 23 assists.
• Jessica Pickett (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) tied for match-high honors with five blocks.

 
Next Up
Valpo (12-5, 3-1 MVC) continues conference play and its current road swing Tuesday evening at 6 p.m. at UIC.