It was a slow week at Valparaiso, at least relative to what is coming in the next several weeks. Football was on a bye and soccer had just one match this week. Volleyball was the only sport with more than one competition while men’s and women’s golf are back in the clubhouse for the fall. Business will pick up starting on Monday with men’s basketball opening the season with Western Illinois before women’s basketball opens the year at Michigan State on Tuesday. The competition for Monday Morning Bell awards next week will be the fiercest it’s been all season. That said, there were still plenty of strong performances last week, headlined by a volleyball team that walked into Peoria and swept Bradley in three sets. - PO