The Valpo volleyball team claimed its second in-season tournament championship of the year on Saturday, winning the Lehigh Steel Classic title as the Beacons swept Sacred Heart (25-20, 25-14, 25-17) before taking down the host Mountain Hawks in four sets (22-25, 25-15, 25-15, 25-20).
 
How It Happened – Sacred Heart

• Valpo took the lead for good at the midway point of the first set, going on a five-point spurt to turn a 12-10 deficit into a 15-12 lead. The Beacons' edge was still just two points later in the frame at 18-16 before a 4-0 run created separation as they claimed the opener.
• The story of the second set was the Beacons' attack, as they hit at a .577 clip for the set — a season-best for a single set. Valpo scored five of the set's first six points and never trailed in pushing its match advantage to 2-0.
• Valpo used a 6-1 run early in the third set to take an 11-7 lead and never trailed from there, extending its lead to as many as nine points in closing out the sweep.

 
How It Happened – Lehigh

• The Beacons suffered their first setback of the weekend in the opening set against the hosts, as Lehigh used a four-point spurt to go up 19-15 approaching the late stages. Valpo got back to within one point twice, but was unable to get over the hump.
• Valpo bounced back emphatically in the second set, holding Lehigh to a negative hitting percentage and recording six blocks in evening the match. The frame was tied as late as 11-11 before the Beacons scored 14 of the set's final 18 points.
• The Beacons' attack took center stage in the third set, as Valpo hit .394 with 15 kills. Valpo opened the set by jumping out to a 12-4 lead and allowed the Mountain Hawks to score consecutive points just twice in the frame on the way to a 2-1 lead in the match.
• Valpo took the lead for good in the final set with a 6-0 run on the serve of Kadence Brumitt (Niles, Mich./Brandywine) to pull ahead 14-9. Lehigh got back to within one late at 19-18 before the Beacons scored four in a row to keep the hosts at bay.

 
Inside the Matches

• Valpo won the tournament title with a perfect 3-0 record for the weekend, winning nine of 10 sets.
• For the Beacons, it is their second tournament title of the season, as they also shared the title at the USI Invitational on opening weekend.
• Under head coach Carin Avery, Valpo has won 36 in-season tournaments. This marks the 12^th time Valpo has captured multiple in-season titles in the same season with Avery at the helm.
• Valpo won a tournament title in the state of Pennsylvania for the second time, as it also took home the crown the last time it was in the Keystone State for the 2009 La Salle Invitational.
• Brumitt enjoyed a strong day on both sides of the ball to close out the tournament. The sophomore matched her career high with 13 kills on .522 hitting in the win over Sacred Heart, and then followed with eight kills on .333 hitting and a career-best 17 digs in the win over Lehigh.
• Brumitt led the way on the attack as the Beacons hit .375 in the morning sweep of Sacred Heart, the program's best hitting percentage since hitting .396 against Central Michigan Sept. 1, 2018.
• Valpo also was strong defensively at the net against SHU, recording 12 blocks as a team — just shy of the top-five in a three-set match in the 25-point era.
• Ava Helming (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) needed just 10 swings to tally eight kills in Saturday's opener, and then followed with a team-best 11 kills against Lehigh.
• Addy Kois (Osceola, Ind./Penn) broke the .500 mark with her setting percentage for the fifth time this year against Sacred Heart, tallying 20 assists with a .526 setting percentage. The senior followed with 25 assists in the win over Lehigh.
• Emma Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) moved into fourth in program history in career digs with her sixth dig of the match against Sacred Heart. Hickey finished the day with 2,278 digs, recording a team-best 11 versus Sacred Heart and a match-high 23 versus Lehigh.
• Freshman Keira Lucas (Brazil, Ind./Northview) was strong in both of Saturday's wins, delivering five kills and eight digs versus Sacred Heart and then coming off the bench with nine kills and five digs against Lehigh.

 
Next Up
Valpo (7-3) has one more weekend of tournament action on the docket, as it heads to Western Illinois' Leatherneck Classic next weekend.