INDIANAPOLIS, Ind. - The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team improves its win streak to seven after a win against UIndy in day one action of the Crossover Tournament. The Cardinals were led by senior Sarah Tabit who surpassed 1,000 career kills in the 3-1 victory over the Greyhounds.
The Cardinals were unable to get anything going offensively in the first set and recorded a total of 10 errors. The Greyhounds would go on to win the first set by a score of 25-6.
Saginaw Valley opened set two with much more success as the score knotted early, 4-4. SVSU would go on to take the lead set up by a series of key plays by Addison Bouza and Sarah Tabit to put the Cardinals up, 13-11. SVSU took the lead and never looked back as the Cardinals would win set two 25-20.
Set three would open with back-and-forth scoring knotting the set at 5-5. Emily Friesl would set up a series of blocks and kills to put SVSU up, 10-6. This four point lead quickly grew as Sarah Tabit led the Cardinals on a scoring frenzy to extend the lead, 21-15. UIndy would not go down without a fight and would close the gap in the final points of the match, but the seven point deficit was too much to overcome as the Cardinals would take set three, 25-21.
The Cardnals took an early lead in set four which was quickly overcome by the Greyhounds who knotted the set, 11-11. SVSU would go on to score four unanswered lead by Maria Vukaj who scored half of those points. The Greyhounds responded and would take the lead, 21-20, infront of a home crowd. The Cardinals would go on to tie the score, 23-23, on a kill from Rylee Zimmer set up by Hannah Tabit. The last two points would go to the Cardinals as Hannah Tabit would set up the final kill and end the match with a service ace to give SVSU the win, 25-23.
Inside the Box Score
- Sarah Tabit earned 'Player of the Match' honors as she eclipsed 1,000 career kills with 22 of them coming in the match against UIndy. Tabit also recorded a hitting percentage of .289, two assists, and nine digs.
- Maria Vukaj recorded nine kills and five blocks in the win over the Greyhounds
- Hannah Tabit led the Cardinals in assists with 37, five kills, one assist, and three blocks
- Emily Friesl led the team in blocks with six and also recorded four kills, one ace, and one dig
From Head Coach Will Stanton
"We stumbled early and couldn't really get ourselves back on track in set one, but then figured some things out and got our serving and offense going. Sarah Tabit was very strong hitting and our hitters did a good job of attacking smart against the UIndy block."
Up Next...
The Cardinals are back in action Saturday (Oct. 19) as they compete in day two of the Crossover Tournament. SVSU opens with play against Hillsdale at 10 a.m. and ends play in the tournament with action against Findlay at 4 p.m. You can follow the action live at svsucardinals.com.