HILLSDALE, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team has advanced to the 2009 GLIAC Volleyball Championship match following a 3-0 victory over Northern Michigan University in the tournament semifinals.  The Cardinals swept the match with scores of 25-20, 25-17, and 25-15 to claim the victory.

SVSU was led offensively by junior Jessica Treiber (Sebewaing, Mich./USA HS), who was the only player in the match to reach double-digit kills.  She had 10 kills while hitting at a .444 clip on the afternoon.  Sophomore Katie Fitzgerald (Whitby, Ont.) also had a good match offensively, hitting .600 while recording six kills and no attack errors.  Senior Kait Harris (Essexville, Mich./Garber HS) had 25 assists, as the Cardinals ended hitting .277 as a team.  Senior
Allison Schlinkert (Marysville, Mich.) and sophomore Laura Ward (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland HS) each had double-digit digs defensively for SVSU, with Schlinkert posting 12 and Ward adding 10.  The Cardinals had six total blocks as well while holding the Wildcats to a .037 hitting percentage for the match.

After the match, several Cardinals were honored with their respective All-GLIAC awards.  Harris received her 2009 GLIAC Volleyball "Player of the Year" award as well as her All-GLIAC First Team plaque.  Sophomore Annie Buxton (Aurora, Ont.) also received her First-Team award.  Treiber and senior Jaclyn Carnago (St. Clair, Mich.) were called-up to receive their Second Team All-GLIAC awards and Schlinkert received her All-GLIAC Honorable Mention award.

The win over the Wildcats moves the Cardinals' record to 21-8 on the season while Northern falls to 19-11 overall.  SVSU will compete in the championship match tomorrow (Nov. 15) at 2:00 pm against Hillsdale College.  Hillsdale defeated Ashland University, 3-1 in the second semifinal match.