SAN MARCOS, Calif. – The 2022 season opened for the Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team with two matches at the Cal State San Marcos Cougar Classic on Friday.

The Cardinals fell to No. 4 MSU-Denver in three sets (25-17, 25-21, 25-15) in the opener before topping the host team, CSUSM in four sets (23-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-22).

The split starts the season 1-1 for the Cardinals.

Against MSU-Denver:

• SVSU was led by Rylee Zimmer with 11 kills, six digs, and two total blocks.
• Peyton Gerstacker recorded 22 assists and six digs.
• Madison Thompson added eight kills.
• The Cardinals finished with .066 hitting percentage.
• Rylee Hladky led MSU-Denver with 11 kills, while Mikayla McClinton added nine kills.
• MSU-Denver finished with .272 hitting percentage.

Against Cal State San Marcos:

• Thompson led the SVSU offense with 13 kills.
• Zimmer finished with 12 kills, and a team-high 18 digs, to go along with six total blocks.
• Gerstacker recorded 44 assists, nine digs, and four kills.
• Sarah Veale and Makaylah Roberts each added nine kills.
• Kelsey Vittitow finished with 13 digs, while Elizabeth Bruschuk added 11.
• The Cardinals closed the match with a .197 hitting percentage.
• Sofia Hedqvist led CSUSM with 13 kills.

The Cardinals close play in California with two matches on Saturday starting against Biola University at 3 pm EST on Saturday.