Valparaiso University

The Valpo volleyball team combined for 25 service aces over its two matches Friday to open the WNY Invitational, propelling the Beacons to a pair of sweeps as they took down Le Moyne (25-23, 25-16, 25-13) and Niagara (25-16, 25-18, 25-16).
 
How It Happened – Le Moyne

• Valpo led from the outset in the opening set and jumped out to a 9-2 lead, buoyed by five early service aces.
• The Dolphins rallied to tie the set on three occasions, the latest coming at 23-23 and creating a race to two. Jordyn Gove (Amarillo, Texas/Randall) came up with a kill to give the Beacons set point, and an ace from Ava Helming (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston) closed the opener in Valpo's favor.
• Once again, the Beacons never trailed in set two and used a 9-2 spurt mid-set to turn a 10-8 lead into a 19-10 advantage — Maggie Uhwat (Spring Grove, Ill./Richmond Burton Community [Central Michigan]) posted four kills during that run, while Maddie Steele (Cincinnati, Ohio/Turpin) had a pair as well. Another Uhwat kill eventually gave Valpo the second set and a 2-0 lead in the match.
• A service run with Uhwat back at the line turned a slight 5-4 edge into a 13-4 lead in the third set — the run featured three aces from Uhwat. The Beacons pulled away from there, with an Uhwat kill closing out the sweep.

 
How It Happened – Niagara

• A tight opening set saw Valpo pull away late, as it scored 10 of the final 13 points of the set — three of which came courtesy of kills from Helming. A kill by Jessica Pickett (Carmel, Ind./Carmel) gave the Beacons the opening frame.
• The Beacons faced adversity early in set two and were forced to take a timeout trailing 6-1, but came out of that stoppage and scored 13 of the next 16 points, the final six coming on a service run by Rylee Bumgardner (Danville, Ind./Danville) to turn the tables and lead 14-9.
• Niagara closed back to within 16-15 before Valpo went on a 7-1 spurt, including three consecutive service aces from Danica Goch (Baroda, Mich./Lakeshore), to pull away again. The Beacons ended the set on a kill from Gove to make it a 2-0 lead in the match.
• Valpo scored the first four points of the third set and led all the way, gaining some breathing room with a five-point spurt to pull out to a 15-8 lead. On their third match point chance, Gove came up with a kill to complete the Beacons sweep.

 
Inside the Matches

• The Beacons' ace totals at the service line stood out from the box scores on Friday. Valpo opened the day with 14 aces in the sweep of Le Moyne, led by three from Uhwat to match her career best.
• 10 different players had at least one ace against the Dolphins.
• The 14 aces are the most by a Valpo squad in a three-set match in the 25-point era and are tied for second-most in any length match in the 25-point era.
• Valpo followed with 11 aces in the sweep of Niagara, tied for fifth-most in a three-set match in the 25-point era.
• For the second time on the day, Uhwat tied her career high with three aces, while Goch also matched her career best with a trio of aces.
• The Beacons also held significant advantages on the attack in both matches as well. In the day's opener, Valpo tallied 44 kills on .277 hitting, while Le Moyne registered just 18 kills on .087 hitting.
• The 18 kills marked the fewest by a Valpo opponent since Sept. 1, 2007, when St. Francis (N.Y.) posted just 17 kills — notably, that match was also part of this same tournament.
• In their win over Niagara, the Beacons hit .272 with 41 kills, while the hosts hit just .103 with 27 kills.
• Uhwat set a career high with 14 kills while hitting at a .478 clip in the win over Le Moyne, while Helming tallied 10 kills on .381 hitting.
• Helming also recorded 10 kills in the Niagara match as well, doing so on .474 hitting as she needed just 19 swings. The junior also picked up 10 digs against the hosts for her second double-double of the season.
• Gove racked up a team-best 13 kills on .314 hitting versus Niagara and added 12 digs for her seventh double-double this year.
• Mia McCall (St. Charles, Ill./St. Charles North) led all players with 22 assists in the Le Moyne victory after entering the match with a season high of six assists, while Olivia Wagner (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South) paced Valpo with 14 assists in the Niagara win.
• Bumgardner led the Beacons in the back row in both matches, registering 13 digs against Le Moyne and 14 digs versus Niagara.

 
Next Up
Valpo (7-4) goes after the WNY Invitational championship on Saturday afternoon as it plays at Canisius. First serve is set for 1 p.m. CT.