ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball program started the 2024 Grand Rapids Downtown Classic with matches against Missouri Western State and Tiffin. The Cardinals (2-3) lost 3-0 against the Griffons (4-1) and 3-1 to the Dragons (4-2).

Match One: Missouri Western State 3, Saginaw Valley State 0 (25-20, 25-9, 25-11)

The Cardinals were led in kills by Sarah Veale with nine as she hit .125. Makaylah Roberts totaled six kills on nine attacks for a hitting percentage of .667. Sedona Coon was the lone Cardinal in double digits with digs with 15.

Set One: The Cardinals got ahead early with a 4-0 run after a ball handling error put the Griffons on the board. The team picked up a kill from Coon and a kill from Cola Sisk along with an ace by Veale. SVSU held an 11-8 lead until a 6-0 run for MWS flipped the script and put the Griffons up 14-11. Two kills from Coon, a Sage Schumacher ace, and a kill from Roberts tied the set up 15-15 as the two teams were neck and neck until a 4-0 run put Missouri Western ahead by five. A kill by Ava Beard stopped the run before the final kill by the Griffons sealed the set.

Set Two: Both teams started with 3-0 runs before a 10-0 run for the Griffons took a commanding lead. After kills from Veale and Sisk, a 6-0 run for Missouri Western put them up 21-5. The teams traded points with Veale tallying two more kills before the Griffons took the set 25-9.

Set Three: MWS took a 3-1 lead to start before a 3-0 run by SVSU gave the Cardinals a 4-3 lead. A 7-2 run for Missouri Western put them up 10-6 before they notched four straight kills on a 5-0 run to push their lead to 15-7. The Griffons closed out the set and the match with a 10-3 run.

Match Two: Tiffin 3, Saginaw Valley State 1 (25-10, 25-13, 21-25, 25-17)

Veale led again with 10 kills with Emily Foster totaling nine and Ella Lochbiler posting six kills. Coon racked up nine digs and two aces while Jackie Scheiber had 23 assists for 28 between both games.

Set One: An explosive 8-1 run started the match for the Dragons before Veale and Beard both got a kill to get SVSU some momentum. Tiffin pushed their lead to 14-5 before a 5-1 run and a 6-1 run won the set 25-10.

Set Two: A 6-0 Tiffin run was followed by kills by Ava Decker and Foster, but the heat continued from the Dragons. A 4-1 run made it 10-3 before SVSU had a 5-1 run of their own. A kill by Veale and Roberts along with three aces, one by Elizabeth Bruschuk and back-to-back aces from Coon brought the set within three. A 6-2 TU run extended the lead to 17-10 before they closed it out with an 8-2 run for the 2-0 set lead.

Set Three: The Cardinals responded with a 5-1 run to open the third set as Scheiber, Schumacher, and Foster all got a kill and an ace from Veale. Tiffin tied the set up at 6-6 and took a narrow lead as the two teams battled and tied the set five more times. A 5-2 run for SVSU opened it up giving the Cardinals an 18-15 lead before taking seven of the final 12 points to claim the set.

Set Four: The Dragons had their own response starting the final set with a 7-2 run. Later, SVSU battled to bring it within three as they had a 5-1 run with Veale, Forster, and Schumacher all earning a kill. Points traded back and forth until a kill by Roberts and an attacking error by Tiffin cut their lead to 18-16. However, the Dragons finished the set and the match on a 7-1 run to claim victory.

Up Next: Saginaw Valley volleyball continues the Grand Rapids Downtown Classic hosted by Grand Valley State with matches against Bemidji State (3-2) and Northwood (5-1) on Saturday. Those matches are set for 10:00 AM and 1:00 PM as head coach Lana Rybkowski will have her first match against her former team.