Box Score The Valpo volleyball team kicked off both its home schedule at the ARC and its Missouri Valley Conference slate on a winning note Friday evening, taking down visiting Drake by a 3-1 (25-19, 25-19, 14-25, 25-19) final.
 
How It Happened

• Drake held a slim 16-14 lead a little past the halfway mark of a back-and-forth opening set before the Beacons stepped on the gas, scoring 11 of the frame's final 14 points to win the opener going away. Jessica Pickett (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) started the run with a kill and had two more kills during the run, while Ava Helming (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) had three kills during that stretch as well, which ended with a Sam Warren (Kentland, Ind./South Newton) kill.
• The second set played out very similarly to the first, with Drake holding a 15-12 lead past the midway point. Valpo scored four in a row to briefly pull in front before the Bulldogs came back with the next two to lead 17-16. A 6-0 run on the serve of Kadence Brumitt (Niles, Mich./Brandywine) gave the Beacons the lead for good, and Helming and Lilly Merk (Terre Haute, Ind./Terre Haute South Vigo) combined on a block to close out the second set and put Valpo up 2-0 in the match.
• The third set was all Bulldogs, as Valpo used both its timeouts by 10-5 and ended up committing 13 attack errors in the frame as the match advanced to a fourth set.
• Drake claimed the lead early in set four, and the indefatigable Beacons kept at the Bulldogs despite tying the score up five times without taking the lead. On the sixth attempt, they finally broke through, as Helming and Jordyn Gove (Amarillo, Texas/Randall) each had two kills during a 5-1 spurt which made it 18-15 Valpo.
• On the next point, the initial call was point Bulldogs, and head coach Carin Avery challenged there had been a double hit by a Drake player. After a lengthy review, the call was reversed, giving Valpo a 19-15 lead. But then after another lengthy stretch of discussion, the reversal was reversed, slicing the Beacons' lead to 18-16.
• The lengthy delay just served to rile up Valpo and its raucous fanbase in the ARC, however. Coming out of it, the Beacons reeled off the next six points in a row, including three emphatic blocks and two service aces by Mara Thomas (Bogart, Ga./Athens Academy), to gain match point, and Warren eventually closed out the win with a kill.

 
Inside the Match

• Valpo won its home opener for a sixth straight season with Friday's victory.
• The Beacons improved to 14-9 all-time against Drake, but it was their first win in the series in the last six matchups — prior to Friday, the last Valpo win came in five sets at the ARC Sept. 24, 2022.
• Among the top-25 teams nationally in kills/set, Valpo held a massive 58-38 advantage in the category Friday — the third time this year it has tallied at least 20 more kills than its opponent.
• The Beacons also reached double figures in blocks for the sixth time this season with 12 rejections, part of what helped them limit Drake to .087 hitting.
• Helming led the way with a match-best 19 kills, the ninth time she has paced the Beacons this season. She also tied for team-high honors with six blocks.
• Warren and Pickett each posted 11 kills as well — for Pickett, she did so on a .500 hitting percentage as she recorded a season-best kill total, one off her career best.
• Pickett and Merk matched Helming with six blocks apiece as well.
• Addy Kois (Osceola, Ind./Penn) dished out a match-high 25 assists, while Thomas tallied 19 assists to go with 17 digs for her fifth double-double of the year.
• Thomas was one of four Valpo players in double figures in digs, as Emma Hickey (Granger, Ind./Penn) led all players with 27, Gove posted 16 and Brumitt finished with 10.

 
Next Up
Valpo (10-4, 1-0 MVC) looks to make it a perfect opening weekend at home, but faces a formidable test, as three-time defending MVC champion UNI visits the ARC. First serve is set for 6 p.m., with doors opening at 5 p.m. for Kids Night Out, featuring a Kids Zone in the mezzanine. Tickets are available now at https://tickets.valpoathletics.com/event/valpo-volleyball-vs-uni-6t0zya.