Clarion, Penn. – The SVSU Volleyball team opened up their 2019 campaign with a sweep on day one of the Clarion Tournament, taking game one 3-1 over Lake Erie and 3-1 in game two over the tournament host, Clarion. The victories put the Cardinals at 1-0 to begin the season.
Game One: SVSU 3 - Lake Erie 1
The Storm claimed the first set of the match by a 25-21 count at the Clarion Tournament. Emily Friesl led the Cardinals with three kills and one block produced by a spectacular performance from Hannah Tabit who racked up 11 assists to start the match. The Cardinals fought back in the second set winning 25-21 with 14 kills. The Cardinals got in a groove in the third set recording 18 kills and only two errors beating the Storm 25-13. The fourth set went to SVSU as the Cardinals won 25-15 to close out the set.
Inside the Box Score:
- Emily Friesl recorded 12 kills and a kill percentage of .370. She also had 1 service ace, 5 digs, and 4 blocks leading her to becoming the first "Player of the Match" in 2019
- Sarah Tabit added 13 kills for the Cardinals while Vukaj added 9 and Haley Clum added 8
- Setter Hannah Tabit recorded 36 assists
- Abbie Toland added 18 digs in the libero spot for the Cardinals
From Head Coach Will Stanton
"We got off to a very slow start in set 1, and struggled with our passing and serving. Once we shook off the nerves and got ourselves comfortable and passing better, our offense really picked up."
Game Two: SVSU 3 - Clarion 1
Saginaw Valley State opened the first set against the Golden Eagles with a kill percentage of .444 and only one error earning a 25-23 win. The Cardinals came out strong in the second set to win 25-18 with 13 kills. The third set SVSU fell 22-25. The Cardinals came out in the fourth set to take a commanding win 25-12 to end the match.
Inside the Box Score:
- Hannah Tabit led the Cardinals with a kill percentage of .600, 42 assists, a service ace, 6 digs and 4 blocks earning her "Player of the Match"
- Emily Friesl recorded 15 kills and a kill percentage of .583. She also had 3 service aces, 5 digs, and 2 blocks
- Sarah Tabit earned 11 kills while Haley Clum and Maria Vukaj added 9 and 8, respectively
- Abbie Toland added 14 digs in the libero spot for the Cardinals
From Head Coach Will Stanton
"Clarion served very tough, but we passed their serve pretty well and that allowed our offense to execute at a high percentage. Their hitters were having too much success so we had to make some blocking adjustments and that gave us some easy points and allowed us to build some momentem. We maintained good energy throughout the match and that allowed us to even out their home court advantage."
Up Next...
The Cardinals will finish up play at Clarion University tomorrow against Pitt-Johnstown at 11:00 a.m. and Bellarmine at 5 p.m. Live stats and video links are available on the volleyball schedule page.