After completing four weeks of non-conference action, a full slate of league play begins this weekend. Nine conference matches will be played this weekend as all 10 schools will kick off the 2021 MVC schedule.
Solid in Non-Con
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 went 66-47 (.584) in non-league play in 2021, which ranks as the fifth-best during that span.
Against the Field
The MVC held a winning record against 14 leagues in non-conference play this season. The Valley was 13-3 vs. the Ohio Valley, 12-4 vs. the Horizon League, 8-3 vs. the MAC, 6-4 vs. the Summit, 4-0 vs. the SWAC, 4-1 vs. the Sun Belt, 3-2 vs. the Atlantic Sun, 3-1 vs. the Big South, 2-1 vs. the Big Sky, 2-0 vs. the Big West and 1-0 vs. the America East, Mountain West, Southland and West Coast.
MVC Digs Record Watch
Valpo’s Rylee Cookerly is on the brink of becoming The Valley’s all-time career digs leader. With 2,743 career digs, Cookerly sits second on the MVC all-time list entering this weekend. The fifth-year player is the NCAA active leader in career digs and is nine digs shy of Taylor Root’s Valpo school record and 35 away from Courtney Pence’s (Illinois State 2015-18) MVC record.
Individual Career Digs (MVC History)
2,778 Courtney Pence, Illinois State, 2015-18
2,743 Rylee Cookerly, Valparaiso, 2017-pres
BU: All Tourney Honors
Senior outside hitter Rachel Pranger earned all-tournament honors at the CEFCU Classic, helping Bradley earn a share of the tournament title. Pranger, who entered the CEFCU Classic averaging 1.5 kills and 2.55 digs per set while hitting .183 on the year after missing the entire 2020-21 season, collected 2.31 kills, 0.92 assists, 0.38 aces, 3.38 digs and 0.54 blocks per set at the CEFCU Classic and attacked at a .324 clip in the three contests. In fact, she turned in double-doubles in each of the final two matches. Pranger had a season-best 15 kills and 14 digs, while boasting a .464 attack percentage in Saturday’s five-set win over Northern Colorado. Junior Karagan Coggin joined Pranger on the CEFCU Classic All-Tournament team, averaging 2.15 kills and 1.00 blocks per set.
DU: Tourney Title
Drake closed its non-conference season by winning the Jackrabbit Classic with a pair of three-set wins over Idaho and South Dakota State and a five-set triumph over Southeastern Louisiana … Drake’s defense held opponents to just .109 hitting and Idaho to just .029 … meanwhile, Drake had its three-best hitting performances of the season at .304, .198 and .327.
UE: One Hot Start
A 3-0 week saw the Purple Aces improve their season mark to 10-1 entering the MVC portion of the schedule. It is the best start for the Aces since 2010 when Evansville opened the season with 11 wins in its first 12 matches.
ILS: SEC Win
Illinois State’s win over the Missouri Tigers this weekend marks their first victory over an SEC opponent since the 2018 season when they beat Auburn (3-1) at the Top Dawg Challenge in Indianapolis.
INS: Trees On Fire
Indiana State’s 8-2 start is the best start for the Sycamores since the 2014 campaign when they also began 8-2. With the pair of victories over Eastern Illinois over the weekend, the Trees are also on a seven-match winning streak, the second-longest in school history and the longest since the 1982 season when ISU won 14-straight and finished the year 37-10.
LUC: Perfect in Openers
Loyola opens Missouri Valley Conference play this weekend with matches at Missouri State and Southern Illinois. The Ramblers are a perfect 3-0 in Valley openers under fourth-year head coach Amanda Berkley. The last time Loyola won four straight conference lid-lifters was 1999 through 2002 as a member of the Horizon League.
MSU: Strong in Non-Con
Missouri State wrapped up non-conference play with a 9-3 record and will enter the MVC schedule with nine victories for the first time since 2016. The Bears’ .750 winning percentage against non-league schools is the best since an 11-3 (.786) mark in 2007, excluding MSU’s 4-1 mark in an abbreviated non-conference slate last season.
UNI: Home Sweet Home
UNI opens Missouri Valley Conference action with three consecutive home matches (Bradley, Illinois State, Drake). 2021 is the first year that the Panthers will play each of their first three MVC contests at home since 2001.
UNI hosted 4,123 fans for Wednesday’s contest with Iowa State in the McLeod Center. It was the best attendance for any Panther match since a sellout crowd of 6,415 watched UNI play Iowa State in 2018.
SIU: Fresh Pilot
Anna Jaworkski continues to pilot SIU’s 5-1 offense in her first collegiate volleyball season. The Naperville, Ill. native currently ranks third nationally, and first among DI freshmen, in total assists (504) and her 10.68 assists per set average ranks fifth nationally amongst NCAA DI first years. Jaworski’s career-high 71 assists in SIU’s win over UT Martin on Sept. 3 continues to hold the top spot as far as most assists in a DI match this season and her 504 assists through SIU’s first 13 matches are the fourth-most by a freshman in program history. Jaworski joins Holly Marita (2003), Hannah Kaminsky (2013) and Debbie Barr (1996) as the only freshmen setters in school history to dish out 500-plus assists in their first season.
VU: Winning Titles
The SIUE Cougar Classic title was Valpo’s second championship of the season, as the trophy joins one previously earned at the Tennessee Tech Golden Eagle Invitational. Valpo has now claimed 27 in-season tournament titles in head coach Carin Avery’s tenure at the helm of the program. This is the 11th time under Avery that Valpo has won multiple in-season tournaments in the same year.
Friday’s pair of sweeps make this title the first earned by Valpo without dropping a set since the 2014 team put together three straight sweeps at UT Martin’s Skyhawk Invitational.
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Players of the Week are Evansville's Alondra Vazquez, Loyola Chicago's Taylor Venuto and Drake's Ashlynn Kuhn.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Alondra Vazquez, Sr., OH, Evansville
Another monster week saw Alondra Vazquez lead the Purple Aces with 4.88 kills and 3.63 digs per set while winning all three matches by 3-0 sweeps. On Tuesday, UE faced undefeated Tennessee State with Vazquez accumulating 11 kills, 12 digs, two block assists and an ace. Friday’s home opener saw Vazquez add nine kills, three digs and two aces versus Cleveland State. This came in just two sets as Evansville gave some of its younger players extended playing time in the third set. In the finale against Murray State, she led all players with 19 kills and 14 digs while adding four block assists and two aces while hitting an unbelievable .643. For the week, her hitting percentage finished at .407.
Other Notable Performances: Mariana Rodrigues (DU); Sarah Kushner (ILS); Kaitlyn Hamilton (INS); Taylor Venuto (LUC); Amelia Flynn (MSU); Jenna Brandt (UNI); Tatum Tornatta (SIU); Bella Ravotto (VU)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Taylor Venuto, Jr., MH, Loyola Chicago
Venuto had another huge weekend, earning All-Tournament Team recognition at the Chicago Cup hosted by Northwestern. The junior middle hitter averaged 3.11 kills and 1.56 blocks per set, while hitting a scorching .423 (28-6-52) at the Chicago Cup. After blasting 11 kills and hitting .381 (11-3-21) in a loss to DePaul on September 17, Venuto ripped eight kills and posted 12 blocks, tying for the fourth-highest, single-match total in program history, in a three-set sweep of UIC one day later. Venuto concluded the tournament with nine kills, while hitting .500 (9-12-14) versus Northwestern. For the season, she is hitting at a .393 clip (122-32-229) with 2.84 kills and 0.93 blocks per set.
Other Notable Performances: Ashlynn Kuhn (DU); Kate Tsironis (UE); Kaity Weimerskirch (ILS); Madeline Williams (INS); Azyah Green (MSU); Kaylee Donner (UNI); Katy Kluge (SIU); Rylee Cookerly (VU)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK:
Ashlynn Kuhn, Fr., MB, Drake
Freshman middle blocker Ashlynn Kuhn led Drake at the net with 14 total blocks for a 1.27 blocks per set average to lead the Bulldogs to the Jackrabbit Classic title. Kuhn earned a spot on the all-tournament team. She had 22 kills and hit .436 during the 3-0 weekend, averaging 2.00 kills per set and 1.27 blocks per set. The freshman had seven blocks in the five-set win over Southeastern Louisiana and closed the weekend with three blocks in three sets against South Dakota State, while adding 11 kills in the win over Southeastern Louisiana. Her efforts at the net held Drake’s opponents to .109 hitting on the weekend.
Other Notable Performances: Giulia Cardona (UE); Aliyah Moore (ILS); Emma Kaelin (INS); Lane Jenkins (LUC); Maddy Bushnell (MSU); Kira Fallert (UNI); Anna Jaworski (SIU); Elise Swistek (VU)