RENSSELAER, Ind. - The Saginaw Valley State University women's volleyball program went 2-0 on the second and final day of the St. Joseph's (Ind.) Puma Invitational. The Cardinals won their opening match against Edinboro by a 3-1 tally while also taking down Illinois-Springfield in straight sets, 3-0. The two victories move the Cardinals to 4-5 on the season as they enter GLIAC play next weekend.
Game 1: SVSU 3, Edinboro 1 (22-25, 25-13, 25-19, 25-13)
The Lady Cardinals started off slowly on Saturday morning as the Fighting Scots grabbed the early edge with a 25-22 first set victory. From there, Saginaw Valley forced 42 errors by the Scots compared to just 16 for the Cardinals in the match en route to a 3-1 victory.
The final three sets were dominated largely by SVSU, highlighted by the Cardinals hitting .300 in the third set (25-13).
Saginaw Valley was led by Chili's 'Player of the Match' freshman Brooke Tiller (Maumee, Ohio) who posted a team-high 13 digs, including two service aces. Sophomore Kelsey Ferla (Lincoln Park, Mich. / Gabriel Richard HS) recorded eight kills along with ten digs, while Makenzie Frodle (Fraser, Mich.) also notched eight kills (.300) as well as three blocks.
Kate Czopek (Sterling Heights, Mich. / Sterling Heights HS) tallied eight kills of her own along with nine digs. Laurel Mattson (Lake Odessa, Mich. / Lakewood HS) finished with 11 digs and Sam Breault (Bad Axe, Mich.) accumulated 24 assists and nine digs.
Game 2: SVSU 3, Illinois-Springfield (25-15, 25-23, 25-23)
SVSU came out hot in the first set hitting .323 to take the quick 25-15 advantage over the Prairie Stars. The next two sets were both closely contested battles that went right down to the wire. Fortunately, the Cardinals managed to pull out narrow 25-23 victories in both the second and third sets for the 3-0 sweep of UIS.
Sam Breault earned Chili's 'Player of the Match' honors in game two as she setup the Cardinal offense to the tune of 29 assists along with ten digs and three kills.
Makenzie Frodle converted on a team-high nine of her 15 attacks (.600), while Kelsey Ferla produced eight kills on a match-high 38 attacks with 11 digs.
Brooke Tiller gathered up 13 digs in the victory, while Kate Czopek tacked on five kills, four aces and 11 digs in an all-around effort. Junior Lyndsay Reynolds (Saline, Mich.) also totaled three service aces and five kills as the Cardinals won extended their winning streak to three matches.
All-Tournament Team: Sam Breault (121 assists, 11 kills, 47 digs) and Makenzie Frodle (43 kills, .444 hitting percentage, 7 blocks)
Saginaw Valley will look to continue their strong play next weekend as GLIAC play begins on Friday (Sept. 14) as SVSU plays host to Northern Michigan University for a 7:00 PM start.