Semifinal, Dec. 10: Valpo vs. UConn

VALPO 3, UCONN 0 (28-26, 27-25, 26-24)
 
VALPARAISO, IN – Valparaiso came out on top of three highly-contested sets over UConn to advance to the championship of the 2021 NIVC on Friday night. The Beacons will host the UNLV Rebels in the championship match on Sunday, Dec. 12th at 8 p.m. ET.
 
Peyton McCarthy and Maddy Boyer paced the attack for Valparaiso with 12 kills each, but Valpo’s offense was limited to just .179 hitting as UConn racked up 14 blocks in the three sets. Valpo’s floor defense was strong, though, registering 76 digs for the match. Elise Swistek led the way with 19 digs for the Beacons, while Bella Ravotto had 18 digs and Rylee Cookerly had 14. Cookerly needs just 11 digs in the championship match to set the all-time NCAA Division I record for career digs.
 
Caylee Parker kept UConn in the match all night with 19 kills on .400 hitting and 10 digs for her ninth double-double of the season. As a team, UConn outhit Valpo, .243-.179, and out-blocked the Beacons 14-7, but the Huskies had eight service errors in the match and had no answer for Valparaiso’s floor defense.