#HLVB Weekend Recap: Valpo Wins Third Consecutive Tournament

Valparaiso improved to 13-1 on the season, winning their third consecutive tournament in the process, to highlight the final weekend of non-conference play in Horizon League volleyball.

Below is a school-by-school recap of how the weekend went for every Horizon League school.

Cleveland State at the Jayhawk Classic
Sept. 19: Lost to Arkansas, 3-0 (25-14, 25-23, 25-22)
Sept. 19: Lost to #24 Kansas, 3-1 (25-14, 18-25, 25-14, 25-19)
Sept. 20: Defeated North Texas, 3-2 (22-25, 20-25, 25-21, 25-21, 15-11)

The Vikings finished the Jayhawk Classic with a come-from-behind 3-2 win over North Texas. CSU spotted North Texas the first two sets of the match, but rebounded to win the final three to capture the match. Sophomore Grace Kauth led the Vikings throughout the weekend and earned All-Tournament honors. She had 30 kills and 40 digs and notched double-doubles in the matches versus Kansas and North Texas. Christina Toth had 16 kills and hit .402 in the win over North Texas. She had 32 kills overall in the tournament.

Green Bay at the Wildcat Challenge
Sept. 19: Lost to Ohio, 3-0 (25-18, 25-12, 25-23)
Sept. 21: Lost to Northwestern, 3-0 (25-12, 25-14, 25-18)

Green Bay spent the weekend in Evanston, Ill., playing at Northwestern’s Freshman Abby Jeffcoat tallied her second career double-double with 10 kills and 11 digs in the match versus Ohio. She hit .357 in the match and did not commit an error. Freshman Taylor Totka led the Phoenix in the match versus Northwestern, recording five kills. Junior setter Emily Riese directed the offense with 17 assists.

UIC at the Penn State Alumni Classic
Sept. 19: Defeated East Carolina, 3-2 (25-19, 25-14, 20-25, 25-27, 15-7)
Sept. 20: Lost to #3 Penn State, 3-0 (25-18, 25-13, 25-16)
Sept. 20: Defeated Eastern Illinois, 3-1 (25-21, 25-23, 21-25, 25-17)

Behind Stephenee Yancy UIC won two of three matches at the Penn State Alumni Classic. Yancy finished the three matches with 57 kills and a .381 attack percentage and was named to the All-Tournament team. She had 21 kills in UIC’s four-set win over Eastern Illinois and 22 kills in the Flames five-set win over East Carolina. Kara Johnson added 35 kills in the tournament for UIC, while Molly McCoy had 23 kills and a hitting percentage of .327. Maggie Strus added 45 digs in the tournament.

Milwaukee at the Auto-Owners Insurance Spartan Invitational
Sept. 19: Lost to Western Kentucky, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-17)
Sept. 19: Defeated LIU Brooklyn, 3-0 (25-22, 25-12, 25-21)
Sept. 20: Lost to #25 Michigan State, 3-0 (25-19, 25-8, 25-16)

The Panthers swept LIU Brooklyn to record a win at the Spartan Invitational. In the win over the Blackhawks, sophomore Myanna Ruiz had a triple-double finishing with 11 kills, 17 assists and 10 digs. Senior Julie Kolinske led UWM with 13 kills in the win and moved over 1,000 career kills during the match. Taylor Golabowksi was named to the All-Tournament team after finishing with 43 digs (4.78/set) in the three matches. Kaisa Mattson led a stellar UWM defense, finishing the weekend with 11 blocks in nine sets of play.

Oakland hosted the Golden Grizzlies Invitational
Sept. 19: Defeated Bowling Green, 3-0 (25-22, 25-20, 25-21)
Sept. 20: Defeated Robert Morris, 3-1 (25-14, 25-22, 24-26, 25-19)
Sept. 20: Lost to UC Irvine, 3-0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-19)

Oakland won the first two match of its invitational before falling to UC Irvine in the tournament finale. Jessia Dood (14 kills, .524 hitting percentage) and Melissa Deatsch (15 kills, .440 hitting percentage) led the Golden Grizzlies in their sweep of Bowling Green to open the tournament. Cassie Pelloni paced the offense in Oakland’s four-set win over Robert Morris, collecting 21 kills on a .462 attack percentage. Deatsch added 17 kills in the win.  Deatsch and Dood garnered all-tournament team accolades for their solid performances on the weekend. Deatsch finished with 37 kills over three matches, notching 3.7 kills per set, while Dood led Oakland with a .328 attack percentage with 29 kills in three matches.

Valparaiso hosted the Crusader Crossroads of America Classic
Sept. 19: Defeated Murray State, 3-1 (18-25, 25-19, 25-22, 25-18)
Sept. 20: Defeated Sacramento State, 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-15)
Sept. 20: Defeated George Washington, 3-0 (25-22, 25-17, 25-21)

The Crusaders picked up their third consecutive tournament title over the weekend with three wins at their Crusader Crossroads of America Classic. Valpo opened the tournament with a four-set win over previously undefeated Murray State. On Saturday, the Crusaders won the tournament with two straight sweeps. Valpo has now won 12 consecutive matches. Freshman Allison Ketcham was named tournament MVP after a solid performance on the offensive and defensive end. She averaged a team-high 5.5 digs per set, while also registering 51 service receptions without an error. She also ranked second on the team with 2.9 kills per set and a .253 hitting percentage. Seniors Morgan Beil and Kelsey Victor joined Ketcham on the All-Tournament team. Beil hit a team-best .269 on 2.40 kills/set, while Victor chipped in 1.90 kills/set on .242 hitting and paced the Crusaders with 11 blocks.

Wright State at the Bruin Classic
Sept. 19: Lost to Belmont, 3-1 (25-17, 16-25, 25-17, 25-22)
Sept. 20: Lost to Liberty, 3-2 (17-25, 25-19, 25-12, 25-27, 15-11)
Sept. 20: Lost to Northern Kentucky, 3-0 (25-18, 25-19, 25-19)

The Raiders were led by freshman Katie Klusman and Megan Hopkins at Belmont’s Bruin Classic. Klusman had a team-high 31 kills, while Hopkins contributed 30 kills. Another freshman, Maddie Lohmeier, had a team-best 104 assists in the three matches, while a fourth freshman, Jessie Thornton, led the team with 63 digs in three appearances.

Youngstown State at Michigan Invitational
Sept. 19: Lost to Michigan, 3-0 (25-23, 26-24, 25-23)
Sept. 19: Lost to Eastern Michigan, 3-0 (25-19, 25-19, 25-23)
Sept. 20: Lost to Kansas State, 3-1 (18-25, 27-25, 25-17, 25-17)

The Penguins had a tough weekend at the Michigan Invitational, dropping all three matches to fall to 9-6 on the season. Four different YSU players recorded over 20 kills for the tournament, led by Lexi Egler who finished with 28. All-Tournament selection, Val Jeffery, finished the tournament with 103 assists, 26 digs and five blocks.