HAMMOND, Ind. – The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team had a jam-packed weekend in Hammond, Indiana for the 2023 Midwest Region Volleyball Crossover. Two games Friday and one Saturday as they lost to McKendree three sets to two Friday morning, then lost to William Jewell 3-0 Friday afternoon before defeating Ursuline 3-0 Saturday morning to finish the weekend.
A close fought match against McKendree started everything as the two teams took sets back-and-forth. SVSU won the first 25-23, then McKendree took the next two 25-15 and 25-16. The Cardinals took the fourth 25-20 to force a fifth set which they dropped 15-10. Madison Thompson led with 16 kills in the match. She was followed up by Makaylah Roberts with 11 and Kendall Ihm with 10. McKenna Sovis had a career high in assists with 46 along with 13 digs for a double-double. Defensively, Kelsey Vittitow had 16 digs with three other Cardinals in double digits. Sovis with her 13, followed by Sarah Veale with 11 and Natalie Siler with 10.
The second match against William Jewell was a tougher one. SVSU dropped the first three sets 25-22, 25-16, and 25-19. Thompson was the lone Cardinal with double digit kills with 12 while Vittitow had 13 digs for the team high. Ava Beard led with assists with 17 followed by Sovis's 10.
After a night of rest, Saginaw Valley got back to it early Saturday and got to business. They defeated Ursuline in three sets winning 25-13, 25-23, and 25-19. The third match saw Thompson lead with 10 kills, Vittitow lead with 17 digs, and Sovis had 35 assists running the offense again.
After taking a 9-8 lead in set one, the Cardinals had one of their best stretches of volleyball. A 5-0 run, followed by a 6-0 run, then a 2-0 run and a 3-0 run to close it out where Saginaw Valley took 16 of the last 21 points. A multitude of Cardinals got in on the scoring with aces coming from Siler and Veale, while Nocole Sisk, Alena Whittaker, and Thompson added kills. In set two, SVSU was trailing 16-11 before going on a 6-0 run to take the lead. They would never trail adding a 3-0 run before winning the final point and taking a firm grasp of the match. The final set, Saginaw Valley had a commanding 14-4 lead. Ursuline battled their way back and chipped away as the set tied up at 19-19, but SVSU closed out on a 6-0 run to win the set and the match.
Cardinal volleyball finally returns home after nearly a month away from the Hamilton Gymnasium. They host Michigan Tech Friday, October 20 at 7:00 PM. It is also the Breast Cancer Awareness Event.