Crusaders Rally To Down Westerwinds in Mid-Con Semifinals; Schulz, Hughes, Marks Set School Records in Victory

Trailing two games to none heading into intermission, Valparaiso regrouped with a dramatic comeback to prevail over Western Illinois Friday night in the first Mid-Con semifinal match, 26-30, 20-30, 30-27, 31-29, 15-12. With the victory, the Crusaders advance to their fourth consecutive Mid-Con championship match, looking for their fourth straight tournament title.

Nicole Schulz (Kewaskum, Wis./Kettle Moraine Lutheran) continued her stellar junior season with a record-setting performance. The second team All-Conference performer totaled 32 kills in the match, breaking the record of 30 previously held by Kathy Harrison. She also finished the match with 73 total attacks, second-most in a single match in school history.

Brittany Marks (Elkhart, Ind./Memorial) surpassed Sara Silcox's 2004 campaign, setting a new Valpo record for digs in a season. Marks tallied 34 digs Friday night, fourth-most in a match all-time at Valpo, giving her 612 career digs, passing Silcox's mark of 602.

Sara Hughes (San Antonio, Texas/Perrysburg [Ohio] H.S.) set a new Crusader standard for assists in a match, dishing out 82 helpers, breaking Jenny Rohren's record of 81. 29 of her assists were to Mid-Con Freshman of the Year Angie Porché (Lynwood, Ill./Thornton Fractional South), tying her for the third-most kills in a single match in the Valpo record books.

The individual records helped the Crusaders to accumulate some of their most impressive single-match totals as a team in school history. Valpo dished out 88 total assists, besting the previous mark of 86, while the Crusaders' 93 kills ranks second in program history. The team also tallied 259 attacks, third-most in a match in team history.

Valparaiso (21-11) moves on to face host Oral Roberts, the #1 seed, which defeated IUPUI Friday night in four games to earn the championship game berth. First serve is set for 2 p.m., and all the action can be heard live on WVUR, 95.1 FM Valparaiso, and online at www.valpo.edu/athletics. Eric Brooks and Adam Amin will be on the call.