UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. -- The Saginaw Valley State University women's volleyball team defeated the Wayne State Warriors today (9/24) 3-1.  With the defeat the Cardinals improve to 6-4 overall on the season and 5-1 in the GLIAC while the Warriors fall to 5-5 on the season and 4-2 in conference play.

The Cardinals used a .370 team hitting percentage to run away with the first set 25-16. Saginaw Valley jumped out to a quick 18-8 lead the in second but had to hold on to a close 25-23 victory. The Warriors found life and won the third set by a 25-21 count. The fourth set featured seven ties and a clutch Cardinal win coming from 20-17 down late in the set to win the match, 30-28.

The Cardinals were led by senior Laura Ward (White Lake, Mich./Lakeland HS) who earned Chili's "Player of the Match" honors with a match-high 22 digs and a team-high three service aces. Fellow senior senior Annie Buxton (Aurora, Ont./Aurora SS) recorded a match-high 19 kills, 13 digs and three blocks, while Laurel Mattson (Lake Odessa, Mich./Lakewood HS) finished with 13 digs in the contest. Katie Fitzgerald (Whitby, Ont./Sinclair SS) posted 12 kills including a .321 hitting percentage and four blocks. Junior Sam Breault (Bad Axe, Mich.) tallied 45 assists, nine digs and six kills, while Becky Schroeder (Owosso, Mich./Northwood University) added seven kills with a .385 hitting percentage for the Cardinals in the victory.

Saginaw Valley will attempt to bounce back tomorrow (Sunday) when they host the University of Findlay Oilers for a 2:00 pm match-up.