UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team returned home to host the first of two Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference contests against Grand Valley State University Friday at the Hamilton Gymnasium.

The match went back and forth throughout, and the Cardinals saved four match points in the fourth to force a deciding fifth set. After SVSU went up 14-12 in the fifth, the Lakers scored the final four points of the match to top the Cardinals 3-2.

The set scores were 25-18, 21-25, 25-14, 27-29, 16-14. The loss drops SVSU to 0-5 overall and 0-5 in the GLIAC.

Maria Vukaj led the SVSU offense with a season-high 19 kills on 67 total attempts, adding 21 digs and two total blocks. Rylee Zimmer recorded nine kills and three blocks, including a solo effort to close out the fourth set for the Cardinals.

Haley Clum added nine kills and six total blocks, while Emily Friesl finished with a team-high seven total blocks. Peyton Gerstacker totaled a team-high 35 assists, adding 16 digs and five total blocks. Libero Kelsey Vittitow finished with a team-high 29 digs for the Cardinals

As a team, SVSU finished with 24 total blocks, including eight solo efforts.

The Lakers were led by 23 kills from Ali Thompson, while Rachel Jacquay finished with 57 assists.

The two teams close the weekend series at 2 pm Saturday at the Hamilton Gymnasium.