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2005 Volleyball Seeding Release
Valparaiso earns top seed for 2005 Mid-Con Volleyball Championship
Valparaiso's Liz Mikos |
Oral Roberts' Ori Zuzic |
Western Illinois' Amy Sauerwein |
IUPUI's Casey Chrzastowski |
It came down to the final day of conference play, but Valparaiso earned the top seed for the 2005 Mid-Continent Conference Volleyball Championship with a 3-1 win over Oral Roberts. The Crusaders will be joined by the Golden Eagles, Western Illinois and IUPUI in the single-elimination tournament, which will be held at the Athletics-Recreation Center Nov. 19-20 on the campus of Valparaiso University in Valparaiso, Ind.
Valpo, the two-time defending Mid-Con Tournament champions, is the top seed for the third time in school history since the end of divisional play. The Crusaders will face #4 seed IUPUI at 7:30 p.m., Saturday. The Jaguars clinched a postseason berth on the final weekend of conference play with a 3-1 win over UMKC. Valparaiso swept the season series against IUPUI with a 3-0 win on Oct. 1 and a 3-1 victory on Oct. 28. The other semifinal match-up pits second-seeded Oral Roberts and third-seeded Western Illinois at 5 p.m. The season series was split as the Westerwinds won in Tulsa, Okla., on Sept. 30, 3-2, and the Golden Eagles returned the favor with a 3-1 win in Macomb, Ill., on Oct. 30. The tournament champion receives the Mid-Con’s automatic bid into the 2005 NCAA Volleyball Championship.
Valparaiso (24-6, 13-1 Mid-Con), the two-time defending Tournament champion, will look to add a sixth title to its collection. Head Coach Carin Avery, the all-time winningest coach in Crusaders history, will look to veterans Jessie Fox (260 kills, 124 blocks), Katie Bova (1,198 assists, 180 kills) and Liz Mikos (261 kills, 139 blocks) for leadership. Valpo is the top defensive team in the Mid-Con as it leads the league in opponent hitting percentage (.118), blocks per game (2.89) and digs per game (18.72). As of Nov. 6, the Crusaders are also ranked 13th in the NCAA in digs per game (18.67), 28th in kills per game (16.27) and 27th in blocks per game (2.95).
Oral Roberts (21-10, 12-2) is the winningest team in Championship history with 14 victories and six titles. Head coach Sheera Sirola’s squad is led by Ori Zuzic and Cris Alves, two talented players who can turn a match in ORU’s favor at any time. Zuzic ranks second the Mid-Con in kills with 4.34 per game and tops the leaderboard in aces with 0.83 per game. As of Nov. 6, she also ranks third in the NCAA in aces per game. Alves has been effective on the defensive end as she leads conference play in digs per game with 5.18. As a team, the Golden Eagles lead the Mid-Con in hitting percentage (.221), aces per game (2.39) and rank second in kills (15.12).
Western Illinois (17-12, 11-3) will look to become the first team other than Oral Roberts and Valparaiso to take home the tourney title since 1993. The Westerwinds’ second-consecutive postseason run is fueled by Amy Sauerwein (472 digs, 291 kills), Jennifer Alexander (573 digs) and Jenna Yurs (277 kills, 171 blocks). Alexander leads the Mid-Con and ranks 29th in the NCAA with 5.24 digs per game. Yurs is also a league leader as she tops the Mid-Con in blocks per game with 1.57. Also as of Nov. 6, she ranks 18th in the NCAA in blocks per game.
IUPUI (14-16, 7-7) is in the postseason fold for the seventh consecutive season and is looking for its first-ever title. The Jaguars are led by Tracy Bailey (338 kills, 291 digs), Erin Jones (596 digs) and Casey Chrzastowski (429 kills, 258 digs). Jones ranks second in the Mid-Con in digs per game (5.05), while Chrzastowski is third on the Mid-Con leaderboard in kills per game (3.58). Lauren Konopka (278 kills) has been steady all season for IUPUI and ranks fifth in the Mid-Con with a .271 hitting percentage. Earlier this season, Jones became the 15th player in Division I history to surpass the 2,000 career digs mark, she now has 2,051.
 
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