Valparaiso (11-9, 3-5 MVC)
Thursday, Oct. 22 - at UIC (8-12, 4-4 MVC) - 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 24 - Indiana State (7-12, 1-7 MVC) - 6 p.m.

Next Up For Valpo Volleyball: It's the second split week of the regular season for the Beacons, as they make the short trip to Chicago Thursday evening to face UIC before returning home to the ARC Saturday to take on Indiana State.

Previously: Valpo dropped both halves of its trip through the state of Iowa last week, falling in straight sets to MVC-leading UNI before dropping a four-set match at Drake.

Looking Ahead: The Beacons face the central Illinois road trip next week, taking on Illinois State Friday, Oct. 30 before facing Bradley the next evening.

Following the Beacons: Thursday's match at UIC will be broadcast on linear television on Marquee Sports Network and will be carried on ESPN+ as well, while Saturday's match will be broadcast on ESPN+ as part of The Valley on ESPN. Live stats will also be available for both matches via ValpoAthletics.com.

Series History: UIC - The most common opponent in program history, Valpo and UIC have split 66 all-time matchups, as the Beacons evened the series with a four-set win at the ARC in the first meeting this season. While UIC is 8-2 against Valpo since joining the Valley, the Beacons' two wins have come in the last three meetings. In that win earlier this year, Ava Helming had 16 kills and 13 digs, while Jordyn Gove added 14 kills and 13 digs.

Indiana State - Valpo owns a 21-16 lead in the all-time series, including an 11-4 mark since joining the MVC. The Beacons have won the last five matchups, including a 3-0 sweep on Halloween last season in Terre Haute.

Scouting the Opposition: UIC - The Flames sit at 8-12 overall and at 4-4 in MVC play entering Thursday's match, most recently splitting last weekend with a 3-1 win at Drake and a 3-0 loss at UNI. Robyn Ward ranks second in the MVC in hitting percentage (.368) and fourth in blocks (1.13/set), while Ava Young is seventh in the conference with 3.68 digs/set.

Indiana State - The Sycamores enter the week at 7-12 overall and with a 1-7 record in Valley action, with a Friday night match at UIC on the docket before their visit to the ARC. Curry Kendall ranks seventh in the MVC with an even 3.00 kills/set, while Corinne Knapp is second among Valley players with 0.43 service aces/set.

Seven Out of Eight: Saturday's home matchup with Indiana State is the Beacons' lone match at the ARC between October 9 and November 13. While it's not unusual for the program to play its entire nonconference schedule away from home, as it has done as so as recently as last year, this is the first time in program history that it will play seven road matches in an eight-match stretch within conference action.

Approaching Milestones: A pair of Beacons are approaching some nice round numbers worthy of recognition for their production throughout their careers. Junior Jessica Pickett enters the week with 297 career blocks, just three shy of becoming the 16th player in program history with 300 career blocks. Fellow junior Ava Helming sits at 944 career kills, just 56 away from becoming the 21st person in Valpo's 1,000-kill club.

National Rankings: Valpo ranks 40th nationally in service aces, delivering 1.80 aces/set. Individually, Ava Helming sits 36th nationally in total kills (287), while Maggie Uhwat is 50th nationally in total aces (32).

Hoosier State Crown: Saturday's match against Indiana State is the second for Valpo this season in the unofficial MVC Hoosier State crown series, as the Beacons already own a win over Evansville. Valpo has dominated the series against both Evansville and Indiana State since joining the Valley, posting the best record against the other two Indiana-based programs six times in the nine seasons it has been in the conference, including each of the last three years. UE and INS have posted the best record once apiece in that span, while all three teams were 2-2 against each other in the spring of 2021. Valpo is 25-8 against UE and INS since joining the Valley.

Doubling Up: If you took the court for Valpo in its win over Evansville, there was a 50/50 chance you ended the night with a double-double. Incredibly, five different Beacons posted double-doubles in the win against the Purple Aces. Jordyn Gove (24/11) and Ava Helming (13/12) did it with kills and digs, while Mia McCall (27/10), Mara Thomas (21/18) and Keira Lucas (10/23) did it with assists and digs.

Career Highs: Also prevalent in the box score in the win over Evansville was the number of career highs posted by the Beacons. Jordyn Gove (24) and Sarah Pippin (9) recorded career bests in the kills department, with 10 of Gove's kills coming in the third set alone, making her the first Valpo player since March 2021 with a 10-kill set. Mia McCall (27 A/10 D) and Keira Lucas (10 A/23 D) set career highs in both assists and digs, while Ava Helming recorded five service aces after entering the match with a career high of one.

Play That Ace: This year's Valpo squad has been among the best in program history in terms of service aces. The Beacons currently rank 40th nationally with 1.85 aces/set, a mark which is on pace to easily smash the program's best average in the 25-point era, which sits at 1.46 aces/set. In fact, it would almost better the program's best from the 30-point era as well (1.87 aces/set). Already this season, four individual performances and four team performances have cracked the single match top-five charts for aces, while Maggie Uhwat has already breached the program's single-season top-10 for aces in the 25-point era.

One-Two Punch: The combination of junior outside Jordyn Gove and junior right side Ava Helming has consistently paced the Beacons' attack this year. Helming currently ranks third in the MVC with 3.73 kills/set, with Gove close behind her in fifth with 3.45 kills/set. Gove, who entered the season with a career high of 16 kills, has surpassed 20 kills five times already this season, including a career-best 24 kills against Evansville. Meanwhile, Helming has had four matches with at least 20 kills, including a career-best 28 kills against Cleveland State - a mark which ties the most by a Valpo player in the 25-point era.

Player of the Week: Helming was named the MVC Player of the Week Sept. 14 following a weekend in northeastern Ohio where she averaged an MVC-best 4.62 kills/set on .261 hitting, highlighted by her career-high 28-kill effort in the win over Cleveland State. It is the third MVC Player of the Week honor of Helming's career, as she had one apiece as well in each of her first two seasons.

Capturing Crowns: Part of the volleyball program's winning tradition has been a penchant for capturing tournament titles, and that continued in 2026, as the Beacons claimed the Chattanooga Classic on opening weekend and the WNY Invitational in the season's fourth weekend. Valpo has won 38 in-season tournament titles since the start of the 2002 campaign. The team has won at least one tournament in 19 of those 25 seasons, and multiple tournaments 12 times. Those tournament titles have come in 14 different states. 

All-Tournament Honors: The Beacons had four players receive All-Tournament Team accolades over their two tournaments which presented an All-Tournament Team:
Valpo - Jordyn Gove
Chattanooga - Gove (MVP), Ava Helming, Maggie Uhwat