TOURNAMENT REIGN ENDS: For the first time in four years, Valparaiso’s season did not end in the NCAA Tournament, as the Crusaders fell to Oral Roberts in a five-game match in the Mid-Con championship. Valpo advanced to the final with a thrilling come-from-behind victory over Western Illinois in the semifinal match. Playing two five-game matches helped the Crusaders set a multitude of Mid-Con Tournament records. As a team, Valpo set new marks for kills in a match (93, WIU), assists in a match (88, WIU), kills in a tournament (178), assists in a tournament (169) and digs in a tournament (197). Individually, Nicole Schulz set a Valpo and Mid-Con Tournament record with 32 kills against WIU, and also set tournament marks for total kills (62) and total attacks (147). Sara Hughes set a Crusader record and tournament record with 82 assists versus WIU, and set a tournament record with 158 assists. Brittany Marks matched the tournament record for total digs with 62.

CHAMPIONSHIP AT MIAMI: The Crusaders closed out their season with back-to-back victories for the first time since 1990, earning the tournament title at the Miami Thanksgiving Invitational. Valpo swept Fairfield in its first match of the tournament before defeating the host Redhawks in four games to win the title. Tournament MVP Nicole Schulz stood out in both matches, tallying 19 kills on .438 hitting against Fairfield and following with a 22-kill, 4-block effort versus Miami. Joining Schulz on the All-Tournament Team were Sara Hughes, who dished out 95 assists and registered 17 digs over the two matches, and Allison Sears, who hit at a .583 clip with 15 kills against the host, the third-best performance in a four-game match alltime at Valpo.

20/5 VISION: Twenty wins. The number is one of those milestones that needs no explanation as to its significance. For the Valpo volleyball program, the win over IUPUI in the final Mid-Con match of the year gave the Crusaders their 20th win of the season, the fifth consecutive year they have reached the milestone.

HOME SWEET HOME: Since Carin Avery took the helm of the Crusader program prior to the 2002 season, Valpo has been a juggernaut on its home court of the Athletics-Recreation Center. Avery’s teams have recorded a 51-7 home record (.879) in her five seasons as head coach. Only two Mid-Con schools have beaten the Crusaders at home over that five-year stretch: IUPUI in five games in 2003, and Oral Roberts in five games earlier this season.

WINNINGEST CLASS: While the 2006 Crusaders boasted just one four-year senior, Jessie Fox, the senior class will go down as the all-time winningest class in Valpo history. Between 2003 and 2006, Valpo won 106 matches while losing just 33, for an incredible .763 winning percentage. The 106 wins breaks the all-time four-year record held by the class of 2005, which accumulated 103 victories.