HAMMOND, Ind. – The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team played two matches at the Midwest Regional Crossover Tournament Friday at the Hammond Sportsplex.
The Cardinals rallied from two sets down against Missouri S&T in the first match of the day to send the contest to a fifth set before falling, 25-20, 25-23, 13-25, 22-25, 15-13. SVSU dropped its second match of the day to Missouri-St. Louis in three sets, 25-20, 25-18, 25-20.
The losses drop SVSU to 12-6 overall this season.
Against Missouri S&T, Haley Clum led the Cardinals with 14 kills, to go along with two solo blocks and six block assists. Madison Thompson finished with 13 kills and four block assists, while Maria Vukaj and Rylee Zimmer added nine kills each.
Peyton Gerstacker recorded 36 assists and 11 digs. Kelsey Vittitow recorded a team-high with 15 kills.
"We struggled to pass early in the match and were playing from behind too much," SVSU Head Coach Will Stanton said. "They did a good job with their serve and their offense and it took us too long to get into the match. Once our passing and block got going we had a chance but couldn't sustain the effort."
In the match against, Missouri-St. Louis Vukaj had a team-high nine kills, while Zimmer and Sarah Veale added seven kills each. Gerstacker added 29 assists and Vittitow recorded 17 digs.
"We never got our offense going vs Missouri-St. Louis and they had too many good swings for us to defend," Stanton said. "We played tough in short bursts but couldn't keep the pressure on them to take a set. Our defense put up some good effort but we were not disciplined enough for that match."
The Cardinals close play at the Regional Crossover against Quincy University at 1:45 pm EST on Saturday at the Hammond Sportsplex.
