HILLSDALE, Mich. – Saginaw Valley State volleyball dropped both matches in the final day of the 2017 Hillsdale College Season Opener Volleyball Tournament. The Cardinals dropped the the first game of the day to Indianapolis, 0-3 and the second game to tournament hosts, Hillsdale, 0-3.
SVSU moves to 1-3 on the season. Indianapolis improves to 1-3 while Hillsdale improves to 4-0
Game One - Indianapolis (L, 0-3)
With an eight point run early in the first set, the Greyhounds pulled ahead of the Cardinals and later edged out a victory, 25-15. SVSU and UI battled in the second set, but Indianapolis pulled ahead with a seven point run to end the set, 25-16. With UI up 2-0 in sets, set three was fairly back and fourth between the teams. Although, at 23-23 the Greyhounds pullout out a victory against the Cardinals 25-23, earning Indianapolis the match victory.
Inside the Boxscore
• McKenzie Schuster recorded 15 kills, six digs and one ace for the Cardinals, earning her the "Player of the Match."
• Emily Nieman and Abbie Toland led the team with eight digs.
• Haley Clum contributed four kills with no errors, earning the highest hitting percentage, .667.
• Hannah Tabit recorded 12 assists and two digs.
• Lindsey Jacobs contributed 10 assists in her SVSU debut.
From Head Coach Will Stanton
"We worked pretty hard and we played well in stretches, but we weren't able to get the consistency that we were looking for yet. We had some very early offensive opportunities and then we would let our focus slip for an extended period an let too many points go the other way. We blocked well, but our serving and passing need to be tougher to help our other areas more."
Game Two - Hillsdale (L, 0-3)
Saginaw Valley and Hillsdale had a fairly point for point first set until the Chargers jumped a lead from 8-8 to 18-8. HC won set one 25-13, going up 1-0 in the match. The Chargers came out in front of the Cardinals early in set two, with a 12-2 start to the match. Saginaw Valley tried to get back into the set, but service errors cost them the set, 25-12. Hillsdale created a large lead early on in the third set, 7-15 and later edged out the set 15-25.
Inside the Boxscore
• Emily Friesl hit .444 with 10 kills, the teams highest in both categories, earning herself the "Player of the Match," and her career high in kills.
• Lindsey Jacobs recorded her career high of 14 assists and three block assists.
• Emily Nieman contributed 11 digs.
From Head Coach Will Stanton
"We battled better in this match and we made some good things happen. But we weren't able to keep up the offensive intensity as much as we need to. We did some good things with our block, and played better defense, but need to step up our serving and serve receive to get better swings on the ball."
The Cardinals will hit the road on Sept. 8 for the UIndy Invitational held by the University of Indianapolis where they will play two matches Friday, one against Indianapolis at 9 a.m. and the second versus Winona State at 3 p.m. SVSU will finish the weekend on Saturday playing Clarion at 10 a.m. and GLIAC member, Davenport , at 4 p.m.