Valparaiso (11-11, 3-7 MVC)
Friday, Oct. 30 - at Illinois State (16-5, 7-3 MVC) - 6 p.m.
Saturday, Oct. 31 - at Bradley (11-11, 6-4 MVC) - 5 p.m.

Next Up For Valpo Volleyball: It's another weekend on the road for the Valpo volleyball team, as the Beacons head to central Illinois to face Illinois State Friday night and Bradley Saturday evening.

Previously: Valpo dropped a pair of matches last week, falling in straight sets Thursday at UIC before coming up short in a five-set match versus Indiana State Saturday.

Looking Ahead: The Beacons are back on the road next weekend for the in-state trip to Indiana State and Evansville.

Following the Beacons: Both matches this weekend 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: Illinois State - The Redbirds hold a 16-7 advantage in the all-time series, including a 14-5 record since Valpo joined the MVC. Last season saw both teams prevail in five sets on the road, with ISU's win at the ARC snapping a modest three-match winning streak for the Beacons in the series. In this season's first matchup, it was another five-set win at the ARC for the Redbirds despite 21 kills on .362 hitting from Ava Helming and a career-high 17 kills on .577 hitting by Maggie Uhwat.

Bradley - Valpo owns a 20-12 lead in the all-time series, including a 13-5 mark since joining the MVC. The Beacons have won the last eight matchups, six of which have been 3-2 victories - including both matches last year.

Scouting the Opposition: Illinois State - The Redbirds come into Friday's match at 16-5 overall and with a 7-3 record in MVC play, most recently sweeping Southern Illinois on the road and getting swept at home by Belmont last week. Ruth Zeigler leads all MVC players with 0.48 service aces/set, while Samantha Bunch ranks fourth in the conference with 4.14 digs/set.

Bradley - The Braves enter the weekend wtih an 11-11 overall record and a 6-4 mark in MVC action, most recently falling in five sets at Drake and in three sets at UNI last weekend. Bradley takes on Southern Illinois Friday evening before Saturday's matchup. Gracie Furlong is fourth in the Valley with 3.63 kills, while Maria Drapp (9.81 assists/set) and Adeline Goedheer (1.22 blocks/set) rank second in the conference in their respective categories.

Seven Out of Eight: Last Saturday's home matchup with Indiana State was 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 is playing seven road matches in an eight-match stretch within conference action.

One Milestone Hit...: With her third block of the contest last Thursday at UIC, junior Jessica Pickett reached the 300-block milestone for her collegiate career. Pickett became the 16th player in program history to reach that milestone, and with 306 career blocks entering the week, is just 52 away from cracking the program's career top-10 chart.

...and Another Nears: Junior Ava Helming is about to hit a milestone of her own as well. Helming enters this week's action with 971 career kills, just 29 away from becoming the 21st member of Valpo's 1,000-kill club. She also needs just one more block to reach 200 blocks for her career as well.

National Rankings: Valpo ranks 50th nationally in service aces, delivering 1.78 aces/set. Individually, Ava Helming sits 41st nationally in total kills (314), while Maggie Uhwat is 35th nationally in total aces (37).

25-4: It was a set unlike any other played in the rally scoring era at the ARC, as the Beacons held Indiana State to just four points in the second set of Saturday's match. That mark ties the fewest points Valpo has surrendered in a set (excluding fifth sets), as it previously won the opening set 25-4 at Wright State on Oct. 29, 2011. Maggie Uhwat served 16 consecutive points to close the 25-4 win over the Sycamores, a mark which according to the NCAA Record Book is tied for the 10th-most consecutive points served in D-I history.

Perhaps a Record?: Not only did Pickett reach the 300-block milestone for her career last week, she had a pair of strong offensive performances, setting a career high with 14 kills against Indiana State and combining to hit .529 over the two matches. That boosted her season hitting percentage to .369, a mark which if the season ended today would set the program single-season record for hitting percentage. Mallory Januski currently holds the record at .353, a mark which itself is 19 points higher than second place.

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 50th nationally with 1.78 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-five for aces in the 25-point era and is just four away from second position.

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 3.69 kills/set, with Gove close behind her in fifth with 3.27 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