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2005 Mid-Con Volleyball Championship Release
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#1 Valparaiso 3, #2 Oral Roberts 1 (30-26, 30-28, 28-30, 30-15)
Valparaiso wins third-straight Mid-Con Volleyball Championship
2005 Mid-Con Championship MVP - Liz Mikos |
2005 Mid-Con Championship All-Tournament team (not pictured: Casey Chrzastowski, IUPUI; Jenna Yurs, WIU) |
Top-seeded Valparaiso won its third consecutive Mid-Continent Conference Volleyball Championship with a 3-1 victory over second-seeded Oral Roberts at the Athletics-Recreation Center on the campus of Valparaiso University. The victory clinched the third-straight trip to the NCAA Tournament for the Crusaders and was also the sixth overall Mid-Con Tournament titles for Valpo, which ties Oral Roberts for the most in league history.
The Crusaders, who own a 26-6 overall record and a 13-1 effort in Mid-Con play, will now set their sights on the NCAA Tournament with the 64-team bracket begin announced on Sunday, Nov. 27 between 2:30-3 p.m. (Eastern) on ESPNews. Valpo will participate in the Battle of the Bird, an NCAA tune-up tournament hosted by Marquette, next weekend.
The Crusaders used strong defense and timely hitting to carry them to the win over ORU. Valpo held the Golden Eagles to just a .132 hitting percentage and picked up 96 digs to ORU’s 79. The Crusaders tied the Mid-Con Tournament record for blocks in a four-game match with 19 against ORU. They also broke the conference tourney record with 33 rejections in two matches this weekend.
Junior middle blocker Jessie Fox and senior middle blocker Liz Mikos led the Valpo effort with record-breaking performances. Fox set the Mid-Con Championship mark for most blocks in a tournament with 20 blocks, eight of which came in the Championship match. Mikos recorded a team-high 13 kills to go along with her nine blocks. Along the way, she set the career Mid-Con Championship record for blocks with 44. Additionally, senior Katie Bova finished her career fourth on the Mid-Con Tournament’s all-time digs chart with 91.
Oral Roberts was led by Mid-Con Player of the Year Ori Zuzic, who had 23 kills and 17 digs. In just three tourney appearances, she sits atop the career Mid-Con Tournament list in kills (135) and attempts (351) and is second in service aces (11). Zuzic also passed former ORU star Patricia Menezes to become the Mid-Con career leader in kills during Saturday’s semifinal victory over Western Illinois. She now has 1,693 in just three seasons of play. Freshman rightside hitter Jackie Oliveira added 17 kills and 16 digs in the loss for the Golden Eagles, who end the season with a 22-11 overall record and 12-2 mark in conference play.
Mikos was named the Tournament MVP and was joined on the All-Tournament team by teammates Fox and sophomore outside hitter Tiffany Meikle. Oral Roberts placed two on the All-Tournament team in Oliveira and junior middle blocker Kim Snow. IUPUI sophomore outside hitter Casey Chrzastowski and Western Illinois senior middle hitter Jenna Yurs round out the All-Tournament selections.
2005 Mid-Con Volleyball Championship All-Tournament Team
Casey Chrzastowski, IUPUI, So., OH
Jessie Fox, Valparaiso, Jr., MB
Tiffany Meikle, Valparaiso, So., OH
Liz Mikos, Valparaiso, Sr., MB (MVP)
Jackie Oliveira, Oral Roberts, Fr., RS
Kim Snow, Oral Roberts, Jr., MB
Jenna Yurs, Western Illinois, Sr., MH
 
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