UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University women's volleyball program honored three seniors, Kelsey Vittitow, McKenna Sovis, and Madison Thompson, in their match against Purdue Northwest Saturday afternoon. The Cardinals fell in straight sets to end the 2023 season.
Thompson led SVSU with 11 kills, Sovis led with 17 assists and added seven digs, while Vittitow led with 16 digs. Cardinals also got production from Sage Schumacher who hit .500 with six kills on 12 attacks along with seven kills by Sedona Coon. Ava Beard added 10 assists playing in set three.
The match started with a 5-0 run for the Pride before a kill for Thompson got SVSU on the board. The Cardinals and Pride traded points before a 3-0 run for PNW pushed the lead to 12-5. Out of an SVSU timeout, the Cardinals scored the next two points before really cutting into the lead. A 4-0 run and a 5-0 run forced a timeout by Purdue Northwest and tied the set at 18-18. SVSU got two kills from Schumacher and Thompson and three straight aces by Sarah Veale during the runs. The Pride responded with a 3-0 run and forced a timeout before SVSU had two 2-0 runs to tie the set at 23-23 forcing the final timeout by PNW. Purdue Northwest picked up the final two points though claiming set one 25-23.
Another quick start for PNW in set two as they took a 5-1 lead. SVSU chipped away and brought the set within two with kills by Schumacher, Thompson, and Emily Foster. A 4-0 run by PNW pushed their lead to 13-7 and forced a Cardinal timeout. Coon got back-to-back kills and an ace by Schumacher forced a timeout by PNW before a Foster kill finished off the 4-0 run and cut the PNW lead to three. After a trade of points, the Pride were up 20-17 and closed out on a 5-0 run claiming a two-set advantage.
Set three started with a story of matching runs. The set was tied nearly every other point as there were 10 ties and the score sat at 13-13. A 4-0 run for PNW put them ahead by three before both teams traded points moving the final set to 22-19. A 3-0 run with two kills by Thompson and an ace by Beard tied the set at 22-22 before the Pride finished it with a 3-0 run of their own claiming the set and match.
That ends the season for the Cardinals finishing 5-24 overall and 2-16 in the conference. Team captains Madison Thompson and Kelsey Vittitow end their four- and five-year careers with SVSU volleyball and McKenna Sovis wraps up her two-year stint with the program. All three played major roles in the comeback victory the night before. SVSU volleyball will return in the fall of 2024.
