Valparaiso University

The Valpo volleyball team got off to a strong start in its tournament finale of the Popcorn Classic Sunday afternoon at the ARC, taking the opening set from a Michigan squad which received votes in the national top-25 poll this week, but the Wolverines regrouped to take the next three sets to earn the tournament title with a 3-1 (23-25, 25-14, 25-16, 25-12) victory. Junior Jordyn Gove (Amarillo, Texas/Randall) represented the Beacons on the All-Tournament Team.
 
How It Happened

• It was Michigan on the front foot early, as the Beacons took a timeout trailing 8-4 and faced as much as a six-point deficit at 11-5.
• The margin was still five points at 14-9 before Valpo flipped the script with an 11-2 run, featuring four kills from Gove, to pull out to a 20-16 lead.
• The Beacons extended the advantage to 23-18, forcing a Michigan timeout, but the Wolverines scored three straight out of the stoppage and Valpo took its second timeout.
• Out of the timeout, Gove came up with another kill to give the Beacons set point. Michigan held off two opportunities, but on its third, Valpo finished off the opener on a kill from Ava Helming (Johnston, Iowa/Johnston).
• It was an even start to the second set, but with the score tied 9-9, Michigan reeled off seven points in a row and pulled away from there to even the match.
• Michigan jumped out to a 12-3 lead approaching the halfway mark of the third set. Valpo did put together a late rally after trailing 20-8, going on a 6-1 spurt to force a Michigan timeout, and got as close as 22-16 before the Wolverines scored three straight to take the set.
• Valpo used a timeout down 10-4 in the fourth set and Michigan pulled away from there to complete the match.

 
Inside the Match

• Gove paced the Beacons with 19 kills on .286 hitting and added a team-best 11 digs for her fourth double-double of the season.
• After entering the season with a career high of 16 kills, Gove has surpassed that mark three times in the season's first six matches.
• Helming added 11 kills for her fourth double-figure effort of the year.
• Olivia Wagner (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville South) dished out a match-best 32 assists.
• Mia Liberti (Chicago, Ill./De La Salle Institute) matched her career best with eight digs.
• Valpo held the edge on the attack on its way to the opening-set win, hitting .217 with 18 kills versus Michigan's 13 kills on .195 hitting. Over the final three sets, however, the Wolverines hit .402 with 43 kills while the Beacons hit .070 with 29 kills.
• Paired with the Cincinnati match on Friday, this was the first time Valpo has hosted two current Power Four programs at the ARC in the same season since Syracuse and Purdue both came to town in 2001.

 
Popcorn Classic Wrapup

• Michigan won the tournament title with a 2-0 record, Cincinnati placed second with a 2-1 record, Valpo finished third at 1-2 and Oakland completed the weekend 0-2.
• In Sunday's first match, Cincinnati swept Oakland. None of the weekend's five matches went to a fifth set.
• Gove was named to the All-Tournament Team, her second straight All-Tournament accolade, as she hit .297 with 4.27 kills/set and 2.82 digs/set over the Beacons' three matches.
• The rest of the All-Tournament Team was comprised of Michigan's Ella Demetrician (MVP), Cymarah Gordon and Meredith Martin; Cincinnati's Sydney Nolan and Kate Lijic; and Oakland's Ella Schomer.

 
Next Up
Valpo (4-2) heads to northeast Ohio next weekend for an invitational hosted jointly by Cleveland State and Akron. The three-day event begins Thursday evening with the Beacons taking on Coppin State at Akron.