CLARION, Pa. – Junior Kelsey Vittitow (Bay City, Mich.) achieved a career benchmark with 1,000 digs as the Saginaw Valley State University women's volleyball team began 2023 with a 3-1 (25-21, 22-25, 25-22, 26-24) win over Shippensburg on the first day of the Clarion tournament in Pennsylvania.

Sedona Coon (Livonia, Mich.) led the way offensively with 15 kills and 10 digs as she completed a double-double. She added an ace and two block assists to her stat line as well. Madison Thompson (Reese, Mich.) finished with 14 kills. She was two digs shy of completing a double-double of her own. Nicole Sisk (Lake Fenton, Mich.) finished with 11 kills and four digs to contribute to the win. Ava Beard (Berkley, Mich.) paced play with 37 assists on the evening. She added six digs, four kills, and two aces as well. Vittitow was the defensive leader with 19 digs. Elizabeth Bruschuk (Villa Park, Ill.) registered 11 digs to be the final of the trio to achieve double digits in that category.

The Cardinals battled through the first set as the Raiders held a slim lead through most of the first frame before SVSU took control in the waning moments to snag a 25-21 decision to obtain the 1-0 lead.

The second set remained close as the Cardinals held a slim lead in the middle before the score tied at 20. Shippensburg scored the final three points to tie the score at one set each with a 25-22 set win.

SVSU had the best showing in the third set after they had a match-high .289 hitting percentage in the 25-22 victory that gave the team a 2-1 edge.

The Raiders jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the fourth but runs of three and four for the Cardinals knotted the score at 10. SVSU built a 21-13 advantage but Shippensburg rallied to tie things at 24 and force extra points, however, an attack error gave the Cardinals match point and Coon put it away with a kill on the final play.

"We did a good job of fighting in some tough moments, and did some good things under pressure," said head coach Will Stanton. "I was very happy with our energy and effort."

The SVSU volleyball team returns to the court tomorrow to face host Clarion at 1:00 p.m., before ending the day against Lake Erie at 5:00 p.m.