ASHLAND, Ohio – The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team held on to win the first of two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference matches at Ashland University Friday in Ashland, Ohio.
The Cardinals took two narrow sets two open a 2-0 lead over the Eagles, but Ashland rallied to take the third and close the gap. SVSU led the 24-19 in the fourth before the Eagles saved four straight match points to cut the Cardinal lead to one. SVSU took advantage of a bad set by the Eagles and closed out the win.
The set scores were 25-23, 25-21, 13-25, 25-23. The win moves SVSU to 3-8 overall and in the GLIAC.
The SVSU offense was paced by Maria Vukaj with a match-high 19 kills while adding 19 digs and three block assists. Madison Thompson recorded her second-highest total of the year with 11 kills.
Peyton Gerstacker was strong with 40 assists and 17 digs, while Libero Kelsey Vittitow finished with a team-high 23 digs. Rylee Zimmer added nine kills, 22 digs, and three service aces, as Caitlin Pistro recorded 12 digs for the Cardinals.
Brooke Peiffer finished with 17 kills to lead Ashland, followed by Erin Krupar with 16 kills.
The series concludes at 2 pm Saturday in Ashland, Ohio.