MARQUETTE - The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team hit the road and traveled north for the team's opening round quarterfinal matchup of the 2014 GLIAC Tournament. The Cardinals entered the annual postseason tournament as the #5 seed and played #4 Northern Michigan. After a hard-fought battle, SVSU posted a 3-0 victory over the Wildcats on Wednesday night (11/12).
The Cards took a 1-0 lead over NMU after an opening set 25-23 victory. That was followed by a 25-14 decision in the second frame to make the score 2-0. SVSU would continue and post a 27-25 edge in the third set and take the match, 3-0.
The victory over the Wildcats improves the Cardinals' record to 17-10 overall on the season while Northern falls to 14-14 in 2014. It's the second time the teams have met in less than two weeks, as SV posted a 3-2 win on November 1st in Northern as well.
Sophomore Kaylee Schmitt was sensational for the Cardinals on Wednesday night, notching 10 kills while hitting .556, adding three digs and four blocks. She was named the Chili's "Player of the Match" for the performance.
Senior Makenzie Frodle added eight kills with a pair of blocks and fellow senior Kelsey Ferla had a match-high 13 kills and nine digs.
Junior Brooke Tiller posted a team-best 13 digs and freshman Tamara Heller had 12. Sophomore Kelly Vellucci had 12 digs as well to go along with 30 assists.
"NMU played very tough and we had to execute well and play consistently to match their performance," said Cardinal Head Coach Will Stanton. "They served tough again and our passing stood up to their power tonight. Our middles had a great match again and Kaylee was a monster in the middle."
Saginaw Valley advances to the 2014 GLIAC Tournament Semifinals, which will be hosted this weekend by Grand Valley State. The Cardinals face the top-seeded Lakers on Saturday (11/15) in a 4:00 pm matchup. The teams recently met this past Friday, with GVSU recording a 3-0 win.
