The Basics
Score: Saginaw Valley 3, Ashland 2
Records: SVSU (7-8, 3-4 GLIAC) | AU (10-6, 4-3 GLIAC)
Location: Hamilton Gymnasium - University Center, Mich.
UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team bounced-back from a tough 3-1 loss on Friday with an impressive five-set victory over the Ashland University Eagles on Saturday (Oct. 1) afternoon at the Hamilton Gymnasium
The Cardinals started hot, posting a .520 hitting percentage in the 25-16 opening set victory to take the 1-0 advantage.
Ashland responded to claim the second and third sets, posting 25-21 and 25-23 advantages to take the 2-1 lead.
SVSU knotted the score at 2-2 after a 25-21 victory over the Eagles, forcing a fifth and final set.
SV finished hot as well, hitting at a .409 clip in the fifth frame, jumping out to a 10-3 lead and sealing the deal with a 15-10 win.
Inside the Boxscore
- Leze Vukaj had her best outing in a Cardinal uniform, claiming Chili's "Player of the Match" plaudits after hitting .538 with eight kills, three blocks and three digs.
- Kaylee Schmitt tied a career-best with 18 kills, adding a season-high eight blocks in the match.
- McKenzie Schuster had a solid match offensively as well, hitting .435 with 13 kills with four blocks and a trio of digs.
- Kelly Vellucci registered 53 assists against the Eagles. She posted six kills to help out offensively as well.
- Emily Nieman led defensively, notching a match-best 22 digs for the Cards.
- Andrea Brigham and Tamara Heller added 11 digs for SV, with Heller posting seven kills.
- The Cards had a decisive 21-4 edge in overall blocks in the match and hit .269 compared to AU's .223.
From Head Coach Will Stanton
"Our offense and blocking was quite a bit stronger today and that was the difference in the match. Ashland has some very strong hitters and we had to make quite a few adjustments to try and manage them, and our players did a nice job on that. We also had some good help from the bench with Leze having a nice impact today!"
Up Next...
The Cards hit the road to Ohio this upcoming weekend for a pair of matches against GLIAC South Division opponents. Saginaw Valley plays at Ohio Dominican Friday (Oct. 7) night in a 7:00 p.m. contest before playing at Lake Erie on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m.
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