Volleyball Quarterfinals (Nov. 21)
(3) Valparaiso 3, (6) UIC 0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-22)
(4) Youngstown State 3, (5) Cleveland State 0 (25-23, 25-17, 25-16)
Volleyball Semifinals (Nov. 22 Schedule)
2:30 p.m. ET - (4) Youngstown State vs. (1) Oakland
5:00 p.m. ET - (3) Valparaiso vs. (2) Milwaukee
(3) Valparaiso 3, (6) UIC 0
The third-seeded Crusaders swept sixth-seeded UIC for the second time in six days to advance to the semifinals. The semifinals berth is the eighth consecutive season Valparaiso has made it that far in the League Championship.
The Crusaders won all three sets by identical 25-22 scores as they held the Flames to a .184 hitting percentage.The Horizon League co-Player of the Year Emily Campbell led the Crusaders with a match-high 12 kills. She led all players with seven kills and five digs in the first set. She finished the match with a team-high 12 digs as well for a double-double. Kelsey Berrington also had a double-double for the Crusaders with 33 assists and 11 digs.
Allison Ketcham also had a strong day offensively for the Crusaders finishing with 10 kills on a .450 hitting percentage.
UIC's Stephenee Yancy, who shared Co-Player of the Year honors with Campbell, led the Flames with 11 kills and six blocks. Molly McCoy and Kara Johnson also reached double figures with 10 kills each.
(4) Youngstown State 3, (5) Cleveland State 0
The Penguins swept fifth-seed Cleveland State to advance to the semifinals of the tournament for the second consecutive season.It was a tight, back-and-forth first set that saw 15 ties before the Penguins scored the final two points to win, 25-23. Youngstown State did not need late heroics in the final two sets though as the Penguins scored seven of the final eight points in the second set to win and in the third set scored 15 of the first 20 points to put the Vikings away.
For the match, Youngstown State hit .319, while Cleveland State hit .385 in the opening set, but just .143 in the second set and .000 in the third set to finish with a .154 attack percentage for the match.Freshman Sam Brown led the Penguins with a match-high 14 kills, while senior Shannon Watson had 12 kills on a .524 hitting percentage and added three blocks. Lexi Egler and Nikki Thompson both had 10 digs for YSU.
Christina Toth had nine kills to lead the Vikings.
