Valley teams continued to play solid volleyball in tournaments over the weekend, going 19-11 overall in non-conference play this past weekend. Indiana State secured its first tournament title since 2015 and Missouri State also won its home event over the weekend as both the Sycamores and Bears have won five-straight matches each.
This week’s schedule features the final 30 non-conference matches of the season. MVC play is scheduled to begin on Friday, September 24.
On the Brink of a Record
Valpo’s Rylee Cookerly and Drake’s Kylee Macke continue to climb The Valley’s all-time career digs list.
Cookerly moved into second on the MVC all-time list over the weekend with 73 total digs. The fifth-year player is the NCAA active leader in career digs and is 39 digs away from the Valpo record and 65 away from the MVC record.
Macke sits third on the active NCAA list and sits 9th on The Valley all-time list.
Individual Career Digs (MVC History)
2,778 Courtney Pence, Illinois State, 2015-18
2,713 Rylee Cookerly, Valparaiso, 2017-pres
2,656 Ellie Blankenship, UNI, 2007-10
2,482 Emily Butters, Missouri State, 2015-18
2,423 Alana Wittenburg, Drake, 2007-10
2,323 Kendyl Sorge, UNI, 2015-18
2,215 Katie Klages, Evansville, 2010-13
2,202 Kelly Broussard, Wichita State, 2005-08
2,157 Kylee Macke, Drake, 2017-pres
2,095 Julie Walroth, Evansville, 2004-07
Non-Con History
Since 2010, the Valley has posted a record above .500 in non-conference play every year except 2014 (55-57), 2017 (61-66) and 2019 (57-69). The MVC currently sits 49-35 (.583) in non-league play so far in 2021, which would rank as the fifth-best during that span.
Year Record Win%
2021 49-35 .583
2020 N/A (COVID-19)
2019 57-69 .452
2018 80-49 .620
2017 61-66 .480
2016 70-57 .551
2015 85-52 .620
2014 55-57 .491
2013 65-54 .546
2012 60-52 .536
2011 73-45 .619
2010 90-29 .756
Against the Field
The MVC holds a winning record against 10 leagues in non-conference play following the first three weeks of the season. The Valley is 8-2 vs. the Ohio Valley, 10-3 vs. the Horizon League, 8-3 vs. the MAC, 4-0 vs. the SWAC, 4-1 vs. the Sun Belt, 3-1 vs. the Atlantic Sun and Big South, 2-0 vs. the Big West and 1-0 vs. the Mountain West and West Coast.
BU: Rare Air
Bradley’s all-time digs leader, senior Hannah Thompson topped 1,500 career digs over the weekend and is now one of 10 players in MVC history with 1,100 career kills and 1,500 or more digs. Thompson is the first active player in the MVC with 1,100 kills and 1,500 or more digs since Missouri State’s Lily Johnson and Kyla Inderski of Drake both wrapped up their careers in 2017. Thompson has six double-doubles on the year and needs just six more double-doubles to break the Bradley career double-double mark of 69 shared by Samantha Hardwick (1998-01) and Jenny Pavlas (1993-97). Owning 1,510 career digs, Thompson currently sits 116 digs from pushing her career total among the top 30 in MVC history.
MVC 1,100 Kills & 1,500 digs
Name (School - Years) Kills Digs
Lily Johnson (MSU - 2014-17) 2293 1615
Chris Rehor (ILS - 1985-88) 1773 1806
Cheryl Berg (INS - 1998-01) 1725 1713
Julie Groves (UE - 1997-00) 1523 2055
Kyla Inderski (DU - 2014-17) 1435 1523
Jennifer Berwanger (SIU - 2006-10) 1374 1571
Samantha Butler (UE - 1998-01) 1318 1734
Amy Braun (UNI - 2009-12) 1202 1672
Susan Ruch (MSU - 1986-89) 1130 1583
Hannah Thompson (BU - 2018-pres.) 1113 1533
DU: Strong Up the Middle
Drake’s middle racked up big numbers at North Dakota as the Bulldogs outblocked their three opponents by seven on the weekend … the team had double-figure blocks in all three matches and opened the weekend with 14 blocks against Green Bay … a pair of newcomers, Maddie Holt and Ashlynn Kuhn, led the way with 24 total blocks on the weekend … sophomore Kacie Rewerts added 23.
UE: Top 15 Ranking
The offensive prowess of Alondra Vazquez continues to be one of the best in the nation. After recording 5.38 kills per set at the Miami Ohio Invitational, the senior now averages 4.74 kills per set. That tally sits atop the MVC and is 11th in the nation. Her average of 5.43 points per set also leads the league and is 9th in the NCAA.
ILS: Rivalry Week
Illinois State hosts the second of three tournaments at Redbird Arena this fall beginning Friday, as the ‘Birds welcome Missouri, North Texas and in-state rivals Illinois to Normal for the Redbird Classic. ISU’s 3-1 victory over the Illini in 2019 remains the Redbirds’ last Power Five win and the series sits at an even 30-30 in all-time meetings.
INS: Championship Weekend
Sycamore volleyball accomplished a feat they hadn’t managed to accomplish since the 2015 season over the weekend: claiming a preseason tournament title. Indiana State defeated IUPUI, Western Michigan and Austin Peay to go 3-0 on the weekend and win the Sycamore Invitational, their first championship since winning the 2015 ISU Classic. The 2021 tournament featured an impressive come-from-behind victory over Western Michigan, a team that finished 45th in RPI during the spring season. In addition to winning the tournament, ISU’s five-match winning streak is also the longest since the 2015 campaign when they won five in-a-row.
LUC: Streaking
Loyola had a five-match winning streak, its longest since a six-match run in 2019, snapped with a five-set loss at Kansas State on September 10. Of the Ramblers’ three losses this season, two have come to teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25 (#16 Western Kentucky and #25 Notre Dame) and the other has come versus a power conference foe (Kansas State).
MSU: On A Hot Streak
Missouri State has won five consecutive matches and 14 straight sets, hitting .296 or better in each of the five victories. The Bears’ 14-set win streak equals the 2017 club for the most consecutive set victories since MSU won 17 in a row early in 2010. Missouri State’s three straight matches above .300 hitting is the longest streak since 2016.
UNI: Challenge Accepted
The Panthers went 2-1 at the Cougar Challenge and finished in second place. UNI started with a sweep of Gonzaga that featured a .444 attack percentage for the program’s best mark in a match since August 25, 2012 versus George Washington (.471). Tayler Alden and Kaylissa Arndorfer earned spots on the Cougar Challenge All-Tournament Team.
UNI hosts its 2021 home opener Wednesday against Iowa State. Across the seven previous meetings inside the McLeod Center, the average attendance has been 6,004 fans including a Panther-record crowd of 6,621 back on September 4, 2013.
SIU: Pair of Sweeps
The Southern Illinois University volleyball team went 2-2 last week, posting back-to-back sweeps of USC Upstate and Alabama State to close out the week. Southern’s win over USC Upstate was the program’s first-ever win over a Big South Conference program and SIU’s victory over Alabama State helped the Salukis improve to 7-0 all-time against SWAC schools. Southern’s back-to-back sweeps were the program’s first since Aug. 26-27, 2016.
VU: Five Stars
For the fifth time this year in the season’s first nine matches, Valpo played a five-set match last weekend versus Toledo, and for the fifth time, it was the Beacons who came out victorious. This continues an amazing run of success in matches which go the distance, as dating back to last season, Valpo has now won eight consecutive five-set matches - the longest streak in program history.
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Players of the Week are Missouri State's Brooklyn Cink, Azyah Green and Morgan Sprague.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Brooklyn Cink, Jr., MH, Missouri State
Brooklyn Cink brought home tournament MVP honors at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational as the Bears rolled through Louisiana Monroe, Tulane and Saint Louis without dropping a set. Cink filled the stat sheet by hitting .411 with averages of 3.38 kills, 0.75 aces, 2.88 digs, 1.00 blocks and 4.69 points per set. Sunday versus Saint Louis, Cink collected a double-double with 12 kills and 10 digs, hitting .522 without an error while adding two aces and two blocks. The junior served four aces to go with six kills on .364 hitting, five digs and a block in Friday’s sweep of ULM, and hit .318 with nine kills, eight digs and five blocks on Saturday versus Tulane.
Other Notable Performances: Hannah Thompson (BU); Haley Bush (DU); Alondra Vazquez (UE); Nicole Lund (ILS); Karinna Gall (INS): Addie Barnes (LUC); Kaylissa Arndorfer (UNI); Nsia Gittens (SIU); Jillie Grant (VU)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Azyah Green, Jr., MB, Missouri State
Azyah Green dominated at the net all weekend to the tune of 2.00 blocks per set, anchoring a Missouri State defense that limited the opposition to .119 hitting in three victories. She also hit .383 with 2.44 kills per set on the offensive side. The middle blocker had six stuffs in each match during her all-tournament performance and went for seven kills on .538 hitting against Saint Louis, 10 kills on .389 hitting versus Tulane, and five kills on .250 hitting against Louisiana Monroe.
Other Notable Performances: Raeann Bergman (BU); Kacie Rewerts (DU); Kaity Weimerskirch (ILS); Melina Tedrow (INS); Grace Hinchman (LUC): Inga Rotto (UNI); Katy Kluge (SIU); Rylee Cookerly (VU)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK:
Morgan Sprague, Fr., S, Missouri State
Morgan Sprague steered the Missouri State offense to a .334 attack efficiency in three weekend sweeps, averaging 10.89 assists, 2.44 digs and 1.00 blocks per set. She also had five kills on .500 hitting and two aces to earn all-tournament honors at the Dr. Mary Jo Wynn Invitational. Friday against Louisiana Monroe, Sprague had 30 assists, five digs, three kills and three blocks while guiding the Bears to a season-high .354 hitting percentage. Saturday, Sprague had 32 assists, three digs and three blocks in a sweep of Tulane, then finished the weekend with 36 assists, 14 digs, three blocks and two aces against Saint Louis on Sunday. The Bears hit .324 against the Billikens, MSU’s third consecutive match above the .300 mark.
Other Notable Performances: Ashlynn Kuhn (DU); Giulia Cardona (UE); Katelyn Lefler (ILS); Storm Suhre (INS); Lane Jenkins (LUC); Kira Fallert (UNI); Anna Jaworski (SIU)