Tulsa, Okla. �€" Jessi Novak had 15 kills and Lauren Moulton added 13 to lead top-seeded Valparaiso to a 3-0 (30-24, 30-28, 30-20) victory over No.-2 seed and host Oral Roberts in the Mid-Continent Conference Volleyball Tournament Championship at the Cooper Aerobics Center here Saturday afternoon.

Valpo (29-4), who went a perfect 14-0 against league foes during the regular season, earned its second consecutive Mid-Con crown and NCAA Tournament berth as a result of the victory. Last season, the Crusaders snapped ORU's string of six consecutive Mid-Con Tournament titles with a 3-2 (30-27, 30-25, 19-30, 22-30, 15-13) victory at Valparaiso.

ORU (19-14) had never lost a Mid-Con Tournament match at home until today. A slow start didn't help matters, as the Golden Eagles fell behind early in the first game and never recovered in falling 30-24. The visitors hit a blistering .438 as a team, with just three errors in 32 attempts, in game one.

ORU earned the momentum with an early lead in game two, only to see Valpo rally for a 30-28 victory. The Crusaders dominated game three, building a double-figure lead early and hanging on to the decisive win.

For the match, Valpo hit .302, with 54 kills and just 16 errors in 126 attacks. Valpo also had 9.0 team blocks, including one solo and six assisted blocks by Liz Mikos, who hit .583 (7 kills, 0 errors, 12 total attacks) for the Crusaders as well.

Ori Zuzic, who led ORU with 18 kills, was named to the All-Mid-Con Tournament Team along with teammate Maura Cicala, who contributed 37 assists. Senior Becky Dreher, who along with classmate Becky Brunelle was playing in her final home match, added 25 digs. Maja Devic hit a team-best .412 (8 kills, one error, 17 total attacks), but the Golden Eagles managed to hit just .130 as a team.

Valpo's Katie Bova, who joined teammates Novak and Mikos, ORU's Zuzic and Cicala, Western Illinois' Jenna Yurs and IUPUI's Katie Hahn on the All-Tournament team, was named the Most Valuable Player of the tournament. Bova had 45 assists, 13 digs, five kills and six block assists in the championship game.

ORU will conclude its season Tuesday when the Golden Eagles renew their rivalry with crosstown foe Tulsa (7 p.m. at the Reynolds Center on the Tulsa campus). The two teams haven't played since 1998. ORU leads the all-time series, 56-10.

2004 Mid-Continent Conference All-Tournament Team

Katie Hahn, IUPUI

Jenna Yurs, Western Illinois

Katie Bova, Valparaiso

Ori Zuzic, ORU

Jessie Novak, Valparaiso

Maura Cicala, ORU

Liz Mikos, Valparaiso

Tournament MVP: Katie Bova, Valparaiso

--ORU--