UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball fell to Ferris State in straight sets on Friday evening. The Cardinals (2-9, 0-2 GLIAC) gave the Bulldogs all they could handle in the opening set but could sustain the momentum in the second and third.

Freshman right side, Nicole Sisk led the way offensively with six kills, three digs, and a pair of blocks. Junior Sedona Coon contributed five kills in the losing effort. Freshman setter Ava Beard set the pace with 17 assists while helping defensively with seven digs. Junior Libero Kelsey Vittitow had a team-high 11 digs on the night.

SVSU hit .229 in the first and battled the Bulldogs throughout, never falling into a deficit higher than five points in a 25-22 decision that went to the visitors. The Cardinals held the lead three times and forced three ties including late in the set when a kill by Madison Thompson tied things at 18 and forced FSU to take a timeout. A 5-0 run was broken up by an SVSU timeout, but Saginaw Valley climbed back within two points, 24-22. A final kill by Ferris State cut the rally short and put the Cardinals down 1-0 after one.

The second and third set belonged to the Bulldogs as a 7-1 lead to start set two turned into a 25-13 decision for the visitors. The third was a tough one for the Cardinals as they struggled to get any offense and Ferris capitalized on mistakes to end the match after three and take the win.

The Cardinals face another tough challenge as Grand Valley State visits Hamilton Gymnasium tomorrow (Saturday, September 23) at 5:00 p.m.