NOTEBOOK (PDF)
After completing four weeks of non-conference action, a full slate of league play begins this weekend. Nine conference matches will be played this weekend as all 10 schools will kick off the 2017 MVC schedule.
.500 or Better
Seven Valley teams – Drake, UNI, Missouri State, Valparaiso, Illinois State, Bradley and Evansville – will head into the first full weekend of conference play with a non-conference record at or above the .500 mark.
Streaking!
Four teams will enter MVC play this weekend riding win streaks of three or more matches. Valpo is riding a league-high five-match win streak, their longest since opening the 2015 campaign with nine consecutive victories. Bradley has won four in a row, while Drake and Illinois State enter league play on three match win streaks.
AVCA Top-25
UNI leaped into the AVCA Top 25 poll and sits No. 22 this week (Sept. 18) following wins over Iowa State and Nebraska last week. The Panthers have been ranked in 111 polls in the history of the AVCA Top 25. Missouri State continues to receive votes, sitting No. 35 nationally with seven votes.
Top-25 Victories
The Valley has five wins over Top 25 teams this season and currently holds a 5-8 record against teams ranked in the AVCA Top 25 at the time of the match.
UNI claimed four Top 25 wins during non-conference play. The last time UNI recorded four or more wins in the same season over ranked foes came in 2002 (#8 Pepperdine, #7 UCLA, #20 Minnesota, #3 Florida, #20 Missouri).
MVC Wins Over Top 25 Teams
Aug. 25: UNI beat #19 Missouri, 3-2
Sept. 1: UNI beat #18 USC, 3-1
Sept. 1: Missouri State beat #20 Ohio State, 3-1
Sept. 12: UNI beat #19 Iowa State, 3-2
Sept. 16: UNI beat #10 Nebraska, 3-1
Power Conference
Over the past decade (20017-2016), the MVC joins the Pac-12, Big Ten, Big 12, SEC and ACC as the only conferences to place three or more teams into the NCAA Tournament at least seven times during that span. The MVC earned four bids in 2007, 2010 & 2015 and three bids in 2008, 2011, 2012 & 2016.
Conf. More than 2 Bids Total Bids
Pac-12 10 times 73
Big Ten 10 times 71
Big 12 10 times 53
SEC 10 times 49
ACC 9 times 38
MVC 7 times 28
Against the Field
The MVC holds a winning record against 14 leagues in non-conference play (America East, American Athletic, A-10, Big Sky, Conference USA, Ivy League, MEAC, Northeast, Ohio Valley, Southern, Southland, Summit, SWAC and West Coast), and at least a .500 record against another four (Big West, Colonial, Metro Atlantic and Mountain West).
Can’t Hang
The MVC holds an unblemished record in non-conference action against 10 other leagues, including America East (1-0), American Athletic (3-0), Big Sky (1-0), Ivy League (2-0), MEAC (2-0), Northeast (2-0), Southern (2-0), Southland (2-0), SWAC (1-0) and West Coast (1-0).
Wins Over Power Five
The MVC earned a win over a school from each of the Power 5 conferences during non-conference play. The Valley posted a combined record of 8-17 over the ACC (1-3), Big Ten (3-6), Big 12 (1-3), Pac 12 (2-3) and SEC (1-2).
Against 2016 NCAA Field
The Valley won 11 matches against 2016 NCAA Tournament teams. UNI led the league with five wins against the 2016 NCAA field (Iowa State, Missouri, Nebraska, Northern Illinois & USC), while Illinois State claimed three (Arizona, Cincinnati & Dayton). Bradley (Murray State), Loyola (Samford) and Missouri State (Ohio State) each claimed one win agaisnt the field.
Improved Braves
After going 4-0 over the weekend, Bradley’s 7-7 record in non-conference play matches their overall win total from the entire 2016 season. The last time Bradley won at least seven non-conference matches was (2011) and the Braves finished the non-conference slate with a .500 record or better for the first time since 2013 (6-3).
Top Non-Con Mark in MVC
Drake ended the bulk of its non-conference season with a 10-3 record, the program’s most non-conference win since the 2010 season. Additionally, the Bulldogs are now 34-17 in non-conference tournaments since 2013 after going 2-0 in the WIU Buffalo Wild Wings Invitational.
Break Out the Brooms
Illinois State won all three of its matches at Arizona’s Wildcat Classic in Tucson, Arizona, over the weekend, winning all three matches in straight sets. Six of Illinois State’s seven wins this season have come via sweeps.
Milestone For Weber
Junior outside hitter Bri Weber became the 17th UNI Panther player to reach the 1,000 dig mark in her career. Weber has totaled 1,046 digs to rank No. 14 on UNI’s all-time digs chart.
Johnson Sets MSU Kills Mark
Lily Johnson became Missouri State’s all-time leader in kills Saturday afternoon, breaking Michelle Witzke’s record of 1,919 in the third set of a 27-kill performance against Illinois. Johnson finished the weekend with 1,945 career kills, three shy of the record held by Lindsay Stalzer of Bradley, and also established a new MSU record with her 38th and 39th career matches with at least 20 kills.
MVC Career Kills Watch
Missouri State senior Lily Johnson moved into second place on the all-time MVC career kills list. Johnson pounded out 75 kills in matches vs. Chattanooga, Washington State, Illinois and Tennessee State over the weekend. Johnson is four kills away from breaking the MVC record held by Bradley’s Lindsay Stalzer (2002-05)
Career Kills
1. 1,948 - Lindsay Stalzer, Bradley 2002-05
2. 1,945 - Lily Johnson, Missouri State 2014-pres.
3. 1,919 - Michelle Witzke, Missouri State 1994-97
4. 1,779 - Molly O’Brien, UNI 2000-03
5. 1,773 - Chris Rehor, Illinois State 1985-88
This week's Missouri Valley Conference Players of the Week are Missouri State's Lily Johnson, Bradley's Yavianliz Rosado and Valparaiso's Brittany Anderson.
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Lily Johnson, Sr., OH, Missouri State
Lily Johnson broke Missouri State’s career kills record last week, amassing 75 kills in four matches with averages of 4.69 kills, 2.81 digs and 5.19 points per set. Johnson set the MSU record in the third set of a 27-kill performance Saturday against Illinois in which she also had 12 digs and three blocks. Friday versus Washington State, Johnson tallied 23 kills and 22 digs, the second 20-20 match of her career, which are the only two such matches at Missouri State since 2006. She completed her weekend with 16 kills and a .366 hitting percentage Saturday evening in a sweep of Tennessee State, and posted nine kills without an error Thursday versus Chattanooga, adding eight digs, two aces and two blocks. This is Johnson’s 11th career MVC Player of the Week honor which surpasses UNI’s Molly O’Brien (2000-03) for the most in league history.
Other Notable Performances: Erica Haslag (BRAD); Kyla Inderski (DU); Lexi Wallen (ILS); Laura Gross (INS); Elle Van Grinsven (LUC); Bri Weber (UNI); Kolby Meeks (SIU); Sydney Bronner (VALPO)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE DEFENSIVE PLAYER OF THE WEEK:
Yavianliz Rosado, Jr., Libero, Bradley
Rosado was named co-MVP of Bradley’s CEFCU Invitational, helping Bradley to a perfect 4-0 record over the weekend. She averaged an impressive 6.31 digs per set for the weekend, while boasting a 97 percent serve receive percentage and also tallied 1.31 assists per set as she helped Bradley limit opponents to a .153 hitting percentage. Rosado opened the week with a team-high 12 digs in a sweep of South Dakota State and had a match-high 23 digs, three assists and one ace in a sweep of UConn later that night to break the school record for digs in a three-set match. In Saturday’s sweep of UMKC, Rosado tallied 19 digs and four assists and capped the weekend with 28 digs and seven assists in a four-set win against Grand Canyon.
Other Notable Performances: Kylee Macke (UD); Courtney Pence (ILS); Maddy Moser (LUC); Emily Butters (MSU); Kendyl Sorge (UNI): Ashley Edelen (SIU); Taylor Graboski (VALPO)
MISSOURI VALLEY CONFERENCE FRESHMAN OF THE WEEK:
Brittany Anderson, Fr., S, Valparaiso
Valpo’s Brittany Anderson earned All-Tournament Team accolades at Western Illinois, her second All-Tournament Team honor of the year, as she continued to set all six rotations for the Crusaders last week. She opened the week with 47 assists, 11 digs and three blocks in a home win over Eastern Illinois. Anderson delivered 31 assists and nine digs to narrowly miss a double-double in a sweep of Western Illinois, and then closed the Buffalo Wild Wings Invitational with season-high totals of 57 assists and 19 digs in a four-set victory over McNeese State. For the week, Anderson averaged 12.27 assists and 3.55 digs per set and also chipped in eight kills on .320 hitting.
Other Notable Performances: Natalie Fry (DU); Adeline Payne (UE); Stef Jankiewicz (ILS); Nikkie White (INS); Elle Van Grinsven (LUC); Jaydlin Seehase (UNI); Maggie Nedoma (SIU)