NOTEBOOK (PDF)
Valley teams combined to post a, 8-5 record in non-conference matches during the opening weekend of play as volleyball returned to The Valley for the first time since November of 2019. League play also opened during the first weekend, as Drake, Evansville, Loyola and Illinois State each opened conference play with a win.
Marquee Redbird Win
Illinois State picked up a win over No. 20 Marquette in five sets, for its fourth top-25 win in four years. The Redbirds’ five-set thriller over the Golden Eagles marks ISU’s first victory over Marquette since the NCAA Tournament in 2014 and first ever on Marquette’s home court. Kaylee Martin led the Redbirds with 22 kills in the win.
McBroom’s 100th Career Win
Drake’s win over WIU was head coach Darrin McBroom’s 100th career win at Drake. The eighth-year head coach ranks second all-time at Drake in wins with 101 wins for the Bulldogs. He has averaged 17.5 wins per season the last four years.
On the Brink of History
UNI head coach Bobbi Petersen is tied for the MVC lead for most all-time coaching wins with 509. With her first win of the season, Petersen will surpass former Missouri State head coach Melissa Stokes on the all-time MVC wins chart and become the all-time career coaching wins leader in MVC history.
AVCA Top-25
Illinois State is receiving votes in the latest AVCA Top 25 poll, tallying five votes in this week’s poll (Jan. 26). This week, the Redbirds host Cincinnati for a pair of matches, while the Bearcats are also receiving votes in the poll.
UNI and Drake will both face No. 25 Marquette in Cedar Falls this weekend, while Evansville will travel to No. 24 Western Kentucky Sunday.
BU: Picking Up Where She Left Off
After collecting a Bradley season record 24 double-doubles in 2019, junior Hannah Thompson picked up right where she left off; notching a double-double in BU’s season opener at Illinois State. Thompson, who had match highs of 11 kills and 15 digs against the Redbirds, has 45 career double-doubles to rank fourth in school history and most by a Brave since Stephanie Behrns wrapped up her time on The Hilltop in 2002 with 46 double-doubles.
DU: Hot Start
Drake’s 3-0 start marks the fifth time in the last seven seasons Drake has started a season 3-0. Drake’s win over UNI snapped a 25-year, 47-match streak against the Panthers that dated to Nov. 23, 1996. The win was also the sixth time in the last seven years the Bulldogs have started MVC play with a win.
UE: Another Double-Double
Evansville’s leader in double-doubles in 2019 picked up right where she left off in Monday’s opener at Indiana State. After posting 17 such efforts as a sophomore, Alondra Vazquez opened the season with a team-best 13 kills and 15 digs in a 3-0 sweep at Indiana State. She also posted a block assist in the contest.
ILS: Breaking B(R)AD(LEY)
Illinois State ended a three-match slump against Bradley on Monday. Prior to 2018, the Braves had only won one match in 26 tries dating back to the 2005 season, before sweeping the Redbirds on Nov. 16, 2018, and then taking both matches in five sets in 2019. In the Redbirds’ sweep of the Braves, ISU out-blocked Bradley, 13-3, as redshirt freshman Nicole Lund turned in a career-high and team-leading 10 blocks.
INS: Streak Extended
With 15 digs on Monday evening against Evansville, Melina Tedrow increased her streak of recording 10+ digs to 14 games. The junior led the Sycamore defensive effort in the season-opener against Evansville and is now just 195 digs away from entering the Sycamore top-10 for most career digs. She’s chasing Kylee Osborne who tallied 1005 career digs from 2000-2003.
LUC: Winning in Five
Loyola’s five-set victory over Valparaiso on Monday was its first in a season opener since 2015 when it knocked off New Hampshire. Dating back to last season, the Ramblers are 6-2 in their last eight matches that have gone the distance. Monday’s victory over Valpo gave Loyola its third straight win in Valley openers.
MSU: Aces Away
The Bears have 45 aces through five contests, including three matches in double figures. Not since the 2007 has Missouri State had at least three matches with 10-plus aces for the full season (four that year), while MSU’s 2.14 per set average is on pace for the best figure since 1987 and well ahead of the 2003 club’s 1.47 average that ranks as the best in the rally scoring era.
UNI: Near Triple Double
UNI’s Tayler Alden finished just one kill shy of a triple-double in her first career match as a Panther, recording 26 assists, 11 digs, and nine kills. Alden is the first true freshman to start at setter for the Panthers Kara Galer made her Panther debut in 1992.
SIU: Split in Memphis
The Salukis split with the Memphis Tigers to open the 2020-21 season. In Southern’s 3-2 win over Memphis on Saturday, the Salukis used a balanced attack and a tenacious defensive effort to defeat the Tigers for the first time since 2012. Southern had five attackers- Tatum Tornatta (13), Emma Baalman (12), Hannah Becker (12), Imani Hartfield (12) and Savannah Sheridan (10) - record double-digit kills, which marked the first time since 2016 that Southern has had five reach double figures in the same match.
VU: Playing Out of System
With no true setter in uniform for Monday’s season opener at Loyola, head coach Carin Avery had to fall back on a system she last ran with Valpo back in 2016. Valpo rallied from down two sets to force a fifth set while playing with libero Rylee Cookerly as its primary setter and its back row defensive specialist as its secondary setter. When forced to use their libero as their primary setter in 2016 over the season’s final 13 matches, the Crusaders posted a 7-6 record.
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Volleyball Players of the Week are Illinois State's Kaylee Martin, Missouri State's Teagan Polcovich and Drake's Jada Wills.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Kaylee Martin, Sr., OH, Illinois State
Kaylee Martin boasted a .205 hitting percentage, with 45 kills to average 4.09 kills per set this weekend for the Redbirds, as Illinois State went 2-1. The senior turned in three double-digit kill performances, including a weekend-best 22 kills in an upset win over No. 20 Marquette on Saturday. NCAA Volleyball recognized Martin as the Performer of the Match via its social media channels Saturday night, as Martin hit .271 and added 12 digs and four blocks. Martin finished the weekend with a team-best 50.5 points, accounting for 28% of ISU’s scoring.
Other Notable Performances: Caitlyn Smith (DU); Alondra Vazquez (UE); Madeline Williams (INS); Sarah Murczek (LUC); Brooklyn Cink (MSU); Emily Holterhaus (UNI); Emma Baalman (SIU); Rylee Cookerly (VALPO)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Teagan Polcovich, Fr., L, Missouri State
Teagan Polcovich took over libero duties for the Bears in their opening spring weekend and helped the MSU defense limit opponents to a .145 hitting efficiency. Polcovich led the team with 43 digs and a 3.58 per set average to go with a .947 service reception percentage. The freshman had 19 digs in Saturday’s win against Summit League favorite South Dakota and 18 more against Wichita State Sunday. She entered Friday’s match with Oral Roberts in the third set and tallied six digs, adding 13 assists on the weekend to rank second on the club.
Other Notable Performances: Gillian Gergen (DU); Hannah Watkins (UE); Sarah Kushner (ILS); Melina Tedrow (INS); Grace Hinchman (LUC); Melissa Flynders (VALPO)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK:
Jada Wills, Fr., OH, Drake
Drake freshman outside hitter Jada Wills was second on the team in kills on the opening weekend with 34 kills for a 3.09 kills per set average. She also added 3.27 digs per set and had four total blocks and a pair of aces, while hitting .223 in her first weekend of collegiate action. Wills opened the week with 16 kills on 47 attempts with 13 digs as the Bulldogs snapped a 47-match losing streak vs. UNI. She had 11 kills, 14 digs and three blocks against Western Illinois and closed the weekend with seven kills and nine digs against South Dakota State.
Other Notable Performances: Elise Moeller (UE); Nicole Lund (ILS); Kaitlyn Hamilton (INS); Emily Banitt (LUC); Teagan Polcovich (MSU); Tayler Alden (UNI); Imani Hartfield (SIU)