UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. – The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team looks to rejoin the top of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference standings in 2021, with the season set to start Sept. 2 in Pennsylvania.
After earning a bid to the 2019 NCAA DII Midwest Regional Tournament, the Cardinals finished the spring 2021 season with a record of 5-12 overall and 4-10 in regular-season conference play. Head Coach Will Stanton, in his 19th season at SVSU, returns all but one member of the roster.
Setter Peyton Gerstacker, a junior, returns to the floor for the Cardinals after recording 375 assists (7.21 per set) and 133 digs (2.56 per set) in 16 matches in the spring. Maria Vukaj will be counted on to lead the offense after being named to the All-GLIAC Second Team in the spring. Vukaj, a senior, recorded a team-high 225 kills (3.52 per set), adding 208 digs (3.25 per set) and 25 total blocks.
Senior middle hitter Haley Clum had a breakout season in the spring and was named an All-GLIAC Honorable Mention. She will be counted on to lead the Cardinals at the net on both sides of the ball after finishing the spring with 104 kills and a team-high 57 blocks.
SVSU opens the 2021 season at the Clarion University Tournament against Adelphi University at 7 pm on Thursday, Sept. 2 in Clarion, Penn.