AURORA, Ill. - The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team bounced-back from an early 3-1 defeat against Rockhurst University on Saturday morning (10/18) to claim a 3-0 sweep over Missouri S&T to close the 2014 GLIAC/GLVC Challenge with a day two split.
Game One - Rockhurst
Facing a Rockhurst team that came into the match with a stellar 16-2 overall record, SVSU came out swinging and took the opening set by a score of 30-28.
Rockhurst claimed the second frame by 25-19 count to even the contest at 1-1. Despite solid hitting the rest of the way, the Cardinals would fall in the third and fourth sets, respectively, by scores of 25-22 in each.
Makenzie Frodle posted a .500 hitting percentage while registering 15 kills for SVSU with a pair of blocks.
Kelsey Ferla kept her stellar offensive performance going as well, tallying a career-high 24 kills with seven digs and two blocks. She was named the Chili's "Player of the Match" for her efforts.
Setter Kelly Vellucci had a huge game as well, posting a carrer-best 52 assists, topping her mark of 50 she had earlier this season against Hillsdale. Vellucci added nine digs and seven kills to the effort.
Brooke Tiller had 20 digs to anchor the defense while Morgan Eddy added eight kills and a team-high four blocks. Kate Czopek chipped-in with 12 digs as well for SVSU.
Game Two - Missouri S&T
The Cardinals grabbed an early advantage against the Miners after posting a 25-21 victory in the opening game.
SVSU fell behind in the second set and was trailing all the way up until the score was 22-19 in favor of S&T. The Cards would tally three straight points to knot the score at 22-22. After the teams traded points with the score 23-23, SVSU closed-out the match with consecutive points to claim the 25-23 victory and 2-0 lead.
Saginaw Valley would close things out with a solid .268 hitting percentage in the third and final set to claim the the match with a 25-19 win, sealing the sweep.
Morgan Eddy led the offensive attack in the match, posting 13 kills with a .320 hitting percentage. She added a match-high five blocks as well while being named the Chili's "Player of the Match."
Ferla had 13 kills and three blocks while Frodle had another solid performance with nine kills and a .333 percentage, adding a pair of blocks.
Vellucci had 39 assists and 12 digs to go along with two blocks while Tamara Heller added 11 digs and Emily Nieman 10.
Saginaw Valley's record now stands at 11-8 overall on the season and remains at 7-4 in the GLIAC. The Cardinals return to action on Friday (10/24) with a home match against Lake Superior State. First serve is set for 7:00 pm at SVSU's Cardinal Gym.