Valparaiso (12-5, 3-1 MVC)
Tuesday, Oct. 7 - at UIC (8-6, 2-2 MVC) - 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 11 - at Southern Illinois (8-9, 2-2 MVC) - 5 p.m.

Next Up For Valpo Volleyball: Valpo wraps up a four-match stretch on the road this week, taking a quick trip to Chicago for Tuesday evening action at UIC before heading to Southern Illinois on Saturday.

Previously: The Beacons are coming off a long weekend of volleyball, as they emerged victorious in five sets in both of their matches last weekend - at Illinois State and at Bradley.

Looking Ahead: Valpo returns home to the ARC next week when it hosts Belmont and Murray State Oct. 17 & 18.

Following the Beacons: Both matches this weekend are scheduled to be streamed on ESPN+, while Tuesday's match at UIC can also be seen on the Marquee Sports Network. 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 519 matches (519-262, .665) 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 574-286 (.667) record overall as a head coach.

Series History: UIC - Valpo's most-common opponent in program history, UIC jumped in front in the all-time series last year, 32-31. The Flames have won all eight meetings since they joined the Valley, including three victories last year - 3-0 in Chicago, 3-2 at the ARC and 3-1 in the MVC Tournament. Despite UIC's recent prowess, Coach Avery is still 22-13 against the Flames in her tenure as Valpo head coach.

Southern Illinois - Valpo is 12-6 all-time against the Salukis, including a commanding 12-3 series lead since joining the Valley. The Beacons and Salukis split last season, each winning on the other's home court - SIU in four sets at the ARC and Valpo in straight sets in Carbondale. Valpo has won six of the last seven meetings in the series.

Scouting the Opposition: UIC - The Flames enter Tuesday night's match at 8-6 overall and 2-2 in MVC play, most recently falling at Illinois State in four sets before bouncing back with a sweep of Bradley. Julieta Sandez currently leads the nation with a .483 hitting percentage, while Francesca Venturini ranks third in the Valley with 0.44 service aces/set.

Southern Illinois - The Salukis come into the week with an 8-9 overall record and are 2-2 in MVC action, but fell in four sets to Indiana State and in four sets at Belmont last week. SIU will take on UIC on Friday before Saturday's matchup. SIU boasts two of the top-six in the Valley in hitting percentage in Larissa Seger (3rd, .365) and Kelly Franklin (6th, .327), the latter also ranking 11th in the conference in kills/set.

On the Road Again: The two trips Valpo will take this week have been total opposites in terms of recent results. The Beacons have not taken a set from UIC in Chicago in three matchups since UIC joined the MVC, while SIU has treated Valpo much better - after dropping its first match in Carbondale after joining the Valley in 2017, Valpo has won six straight at SIU.

Go the Distance: It took the full five sets both nights, but the Beacons emerged from last weekend's road trip with wins at Illinois State and at Bradley. It was the first time Valpo has won 3-2 in consecutive matches since Sept. 3 & 4, 2021 versus Tennessee Tech and South Alabama - part of a start to that season which saw Valpo win 3-2 five times in the season's first eight matches. Incredibly, it had been since 1992 since Valpo won 3-2 in back-to-back conference matches (Oct. 17 vs. Green Bay; Oct. 27 at UIC) and since 1988 since it had done so on consecutive days (Oct. 21 vs. Marquette, Oct. 22 vs. Green Bay).

High Five: When it comes to Valpo-Bradley volleyball recently, you can pretty much count on the match going five sets. The Beacons and Braves have gone five sets in five of their last six showdowns, all of which have resulted in Valpo victories as the Beacons have won seven straight overall in the seires.

Error-Free Volleyball: A big part of Valpo claiming both of its five-set wins last weekend was error avoidance in the decisive frames both nights. In the win over Illinois State, the Beacons tallied nine kills without an attack error on 24 swings (.375), and followed the next night with 10 kills without an attack error on 30 swings (.300). In fact, Valpo's only error of any sort in the fifth set either night was a service error early against Illinois State.

3 Out Of 4: Valpo enters the week sitting in a tie for second place in the MVC standings with a 3-1 mark through two weekends of action, its best mark through four matches since opening the 2021 Valley campaign 3-1 en route to a third-place regular season finish. Valpo's only better start since joining the MVC came in 2018, when it won its first four Valley matches of the season.

Conquering Central Illinois: A road trip which treated Valpo very poorly its first few years in the MVC has turned into a happy bus ride of late. In Valpo's first four seasons in the Valley (excluding the COVID spring 2021 season), it went a combined 1-8 in its road matches at Illinois State and Bradley. But, each of the last three times it has made that trip, including last weekend, the Beacons have come away with a sweep of the trip.

Battling the Panthers: Facing a UNI squad which has now won 40 straight regular season matches against MVC opponents and 46 straight overall, Valpo was up to the task on the opening weekend of Valley play, playing point-for-point with the Panthers. While the Beacons dropped the match 3-1, they matched UNI with 92 points over the four sets, becoming the first MVC program to tie or win the total points battle with UNI since Drake in the 2022 MVC title match. This comes one season after the Beacons went up 2-0 against UNI at the ARC before falling in five sets - the only MVC team to push UNI to a fifth set in its current regular season winning streak.

Digging It and Killing It: The Beacons rank among the nation's best on both sides of the ball this season. Valpo currently sits atop the MVC rankings with 17.03 digs/set, a mark which ranks 15th nationally, while it is second in the Valley and 25th nationally with 13.88 kills/set. Notably, that latter mark would be the program's best kills/set average in a season since 2015.

Avoid the Block: A big key to the Beacons' success, or lack thereof, so far this season has been their ability to avoid the opponents' block on the attack. In Valpo's five losses, its opponents have posted an eye-popping 80 blocks (3.64/set), while in Valpo's 10 wins, its opponents have only tallied 84 blocks (1.91/set).

An Eye on the Record Books: With 56 more digs last weekend - including a season-high 37 at Illinois State - Emma Hickey continued her march up various record books. The senior enters this weekend with 2,429 career digs, which at her career pace, it'll be a photo finish for her to perhaps catch Taylor Root for second place in program history. Other charts to keep an eye on include the MVC career leaders - where she is currently 53 shy of former Missouri State standout Emily Butters for 6th - and the NCAA career leaders - where she is 109 away from the top-25 all-time. Hickey leads all active NCAA players (all divisions) in career digs and owns over 600 more digs than any other active Division I player. 

Right Side, Strong Side: Sophomore right side Ava Helming enjoyed a strong rookie season in 2024, earning a spot on the MVC All-Freshman Team, and has taken her game to another level this season. Helming enters the weekend pacing the Beacons and ranked sixth in the Valley with 3.32 kills/set. She has led Valpo in kills in 11 of the season's first 17 matches and has reached double digits 12 times as well. Last time out, Helming matched her career high with 21 kills in the win at Bradley - one night after racking up 17 kills in the win over Illinois State.

Warren Racks Them Up: There was no rest for the opponents last weekend when Helming rotated out, because senior Sam Warren was right there to step in at the right pin. Warren delivered 16 kills on just 30 swings, hitting at a .367 clip, in the win at Illinois State Friday and matched that mark with 16 more kills in the win over Bradley Saturday, her sixth and seventh matches of the season in double figures. Both marks were just one off her career high in the kills department.

A Balanced Attack: As they have over the past few years, the Beacons once again feature a very balanced attack this year. Helming is Valpo's only player in the top-500 in the nation in kills/set. Sophomore outside Jordyn Gove, senior right side Sam Warren and sophomore outside Kadence Brumitt all average between 2.10 and 2.53 kills/set, while sophomore middles Lilly Merk and Jessica Pickett both average better than 1.50 kills/set as well.

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. 77.5% of the team's kills and 79.0% of the team's blocks have come courtesy of the underclassmen.

Players of the Week: Valpo has racked up five weekly awards from the MVC office this season. Most recently, Jessica Pickett was named Player of the Week for the first time in her career and Emma Hickey was tabbed Defensive Player of the Week for the sixth time in her career 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 has 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.

Winning Tradition Continues: The Beacons secured a winning 2024 season as they completed the campaign with an 18-14 record, the 21st winning season in 23 years under head coach Carin Avery. Valpo 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.

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.