UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- The Saginaw Valley State University women's volleyball team opened up its 2011 home schedule by defeating the Northwood Timberwolves on Friday night (9/16) by a score of 3-1.  The victory improves the Cardinals' record to 4-3 overall on the season and 3-0 in the GLIAC while the Timberwolves fall to 4-4 overall and 2-1 in conference play.

The Cardinals got off to a quick start, going on an 8-1 run to finish out the first set, 25-18. Northwood bounced back in a back-and-forth second set to win 26-24. Saginaw Valley found themselves down 9-4 in the third set, before making a momentous comeback to win 25-21. The Cardinals closed out the match in the fourth by a count of 25-18.

Senior Becky Schroeder (Owosso, Mich./Northwood University) earned Chili's "Player of the Match" honors, hitting .353 while posting nine kills and a match-high nine blocks.  Annie Buxton (Aurora, Ont./Aurora SS) tallied a team-high 12 kills, four service aces and 11 digs for the Cardinals in the victory. Libero Laura Ward (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland HS) had a match-high 18 digs, while Sam Breault (Bad Axe, Mich.) posted a match-high 41 assists on the evening. Senior Katie Fitzgerald (Whitby, Ont./Sinclair SS) added 11 kills and had a .400 hitting percentage for the match.

The Cardinals are back in action again on Sunday (9/10) when they host Lake Superior State University for a 2:00 pm contest.