UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – Saturday was a bounce back game for Saginaw Valley State University volleyball after falling to Ferris State the day before. The Cardinals came out on fire winning the first set but dropped the succeeding three to lose 3-1.
The first set started back and forth as GVSU got to a 20-14 lead. SVSU closed out on a 4-0 and 7-0 run to win the set 25-22 and take a 1-0 lead. Sarah Veale got the kill to start the 4-0 run, she led the Cardinals with 15 in the match. Veale also had 15 digs for a double-double. A kill and a block by Madison Thompson ignited the 7-0 run. Veale added another kill and Kelsey Vittitow had an ace to tie the score at 22-22 and force the Lakers to take a timeout. Two more blocks and a final kill from Thompson capped off the first set.
In the second set, GVSU built an 11-4 lead. Nicole Sisk, Makaylah Roberts, Veale, and Thompson worked the score back to 13-9. SVSU would keep the Laker lead around four but couldn't make the comeback falling in set two 25-19.
After an extended break, Saginaw Valley came out firing using a 4-0 run to take a 4-2 lead which included back-to-back blocks. Madison Smith was a part of both aided by Thompson and Ava Beard. Beard also led the Cardinals with 29 assists. Smith, Thompson, and Beard all had solo blocks; Smith led with seven block assists. The defensive game was major for SVSU. They average 2.10 blocks per set but had 12 team blocks over four sets for an average of 3.00 Saturday night. GVSU took advantage of a 6-0 run and a 4-0 run in the third set to take the lead and push it to 22-12. Saginaw Valley had their own 4-0 run before falling 25-18.
Down 2-1 in sets, the Cardinals fought hard in the fourth set. Back-to-back aces by Elizabeth Brushchuk gave Saginaw Valley an 8-6 lead. Some bunch scoring by both teams pushed it to a 13-12 Laker lead before a 6-0 run forced a Cardinal timeout. Down 20-13, SVSU outscored GVSU 7-3 to bring the game within two, but the Lakers tallied the final three points to win the set 25-20 and the match 3-1.
Saginaw Valley falls to 2-10 and 0-4 in conference play. They will host Wayne State Tuesday night with first serve scheduled for 7:00 p.m.
