UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich. - The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team fell to Grand Valley State University tonight (Nov. 2) in a thrilling five setter by scores of 25-17, 26-24, 23-25, 20-25, and 15-9.
Grand Valley took the first two sets by scores of 25-17 and 26-24 for a commanding 2-0 lead in the match. Saginaw Valley was resilient and stayed alive in the match with a 25-23 victory in the third set and evened up the contest in the fourth with a courageous 25-20 effort from the young Cardinal squad.
In the fifth and final set, the Cardinals gained the 7-5 edge midway through the game. However, the Lakers gained momentum off SVSU miscues en route to a 15-9 fifth set win and match for Grand Valley.
Chili's 'Player of the Match' Lyndsay Reynolds (Saline, Mich.) led the Cardinals on offense with a career-high 18 kills on 47 attacks with three aces and three blocks.
Sophomore Kate Czopek (Sterling Heights, Mich.) posted 12 kills on a team-high 54 attacks with 10 digs, while fellow classmate Makenzie Frodle (Fraser, Mich.) added 10 kills and five blocks from the right side.
Sam Breault (Bad Axe, Mich.) had a great overall performance in the match with 45 assists and 15 digs as fellow senior Sarah Robb (Novi, Mich.) was efficient with four kills on six attacks.
Freshman Brooke Tiller (Maumee, Ohio) was influential on the ground for Cardinals as she totaled a team-high 19 digs, while senior libero Laurel Mattson (Lake Odessa, Mich. / Lakewood HS) tacked on 16 digs and three service aces.
SVSU moves to 11-16 overall on the season and 6-9 in the GLIAC, while Grand Valley improves to 21-5 on the year and 11-4 in the conference.
The Cardinals will return to the Cardinal Gym for the final time in 2012 tomorrow (Nov. 3) when they host Ferris State on Senior Day at 2:00 PM.
