Eight wins to go.
That’s the mantra Valparaiso is living by after completing a perfect 14-0 Duneland Athletic Conference season by beating visiting Lake Central 25-22, 25-20, 25-19 on Tuesday night to run its record-breaking streak to 31 straight wins to start a season.
The undefeated DAC season also earned the Vikings their second straight conference title. Valpo is 27-1 the past two seasons in conference play.
The next goal is a perfect regular season, and Valpo can accomplish that feat with a win over Bishop Noll on the road Wednesday.
Eight more wins will give Valparaiso an undefeated state championship season.
“We had never won our pool at the Dig Pink Tournament,” setter Dani Suiter said of the Vikings; 4-0 record over the weekend in LaPorte. “We know we have a lot to lose compared to the rest of the teams around here because of the perfect record.
“And no one is going to hand us a game. We have the biggest targets on our backs.”
The Vikings looked like a team on a mission against the Indians, making fewer mistakes and being more aggressive with their serving and hitting at the net.
That helped Valpo earn the sweep against LC, which took them to five games in St. John in their last meeting.
“We need to learn to get a jump on it quickly,” Indians coach Tina Tinberg said. “We were digging out of a hole all night. I definitely think Valpo was sharper on their home court; they were in another gear and I think we were a little gun shy and tentative.”
Lake Central (24-4, 12-2) had a chance to gain a share of the DAC with a win. The Indians won the conference title in 2013.
But Suiter and her teammates had a different plan.
“As I was leaving LC, one of the parents I’ve known growing up gave me a high-five and said, ‘Next time, we have you guys.'” Suiter said. “It was a big goal of ours to win in three. We were hyped the entire day and we didn’t want to mess around.”
Notre Dame recruit Monroe Olsen (6 kills, 2 aces, 10 assists) only played in the front row for the Vikings because of soreness in her hip.
But Valpo’s depth is one of its biggest strengths.
Junior Rachel Bontrager led the way with 19 kills, while Suiter finished with 23 assists and nine digs, and Lauren Mack had 23 digs.
“It was for conference and the undefeated record and it was senior night,” Vikings coach Katie Lenard said. “There was a lot of emotion. We wanted to win in three and we tried something new with taking Monroe out of the back row.
“Front row wasn’t bothering her but the back row was starting to. I thought it would work just as well so I decided to go with it.”
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LC was led by senior Tori Gardenhire, who finished with nine kills and 18 digs. Sam Anderson contributed six kills and 12 digs, Stephanie Spigolon tallied 25 assists and 14 digs, and Jackie Eader had four kills, three digs and two block kills.
VU’s Peters, Purdue’s Swanigan on Malone watch list: Valparaiso University junior Alec Peters and Purdue’s Caleb Swanigan are one of 20 players on the preseason watch list for the Karl Malone Award. The award is given to the nation’s top power forward by the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
VU women’s golf takes ninth: Valparaiso’s women’s golf team shot a closing 354 to finish last in the nine-team Whispering Straits Intercollegiate at Sheboygan, Wis., with a 54-hole total of 1,045. Sibil Gill paced the Crusaders, tying for 23rd at 39-over-par 255.
PUC’s Ribeiro earns league honor: Purdue Calumet’s Tulio Ribeiro was named Chicagoland Collegiate Athletic Conference Men’s Soccer Offensive Player of the Week after getting three goals and two assists in two wins.
PUC women’s soccer shut out: Purdue Calumet lost 8-0 to host Cardinal Stritch (Wis.) in CCAC women’s soccer. Kelley Sharp had eight saves for the Peregrines (1-11, 0-7).
Sroczynski returning to Oilmen: Dyer native Tyler Sroczynski will return to the Northwest Indiana Oilmen summer college baseball team for a second season. He was the Midwest Ciollegiate League MVP last summer, batting .397 with 31 RBIs.
Calumet’s Hayes picks IUN: Calumet’s Symone Hayes signed a letter of intent join the women’s golf program at Indiana Northwest.
Four-star safety commits to Notre Dame: Donte Vaughn gave Notre Dame some good news on his birthday. “Today, 10/12/15 I’m verbally committing to the University of Notre Dame,” the four-star defensive back from Memphis wrote in a message posted on Twitter on Monday. Rivals.com ranks the 6-2, 195-pound Vaughn No. 18 nationally for safeties in the Class of 2016.
Ryan Haskell is a freelance writer for the Post-Tribune.
Post-Tribune staff contributed to this story.