ALLENDALE, Mich.— Saginaw Valley State University wrapped up the regular season on Saturday when the Cardinals fell on the road to Grand Valley State University, 24-26, 25-18, 26-24, 25-18, in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference women's volleyball action at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena
The host Lakers improve to 17-12 on the season, including 10-8 in the GLIAC, while the Cardinals dip to 10-19 overall and 5-13 in the conference.
Madison Thompson pounded a match-best 21 kills (.239) to pace SVSU and completed the double-double with 13 digs. She also had four total blocks. Teammate Rylee Zimmer also posted a double-double with 10 kills and 12 digs.
For GVSU, Kendall Stover led the way with 15 kills, followed by Karlie Kucharczyk and Jordyn Gates with 13 apiece and Jaelianna Primus had 10. The offense was directed by Jordyn Gates and Rachel Jacquay who had 32 and 22 assists, respectively.
Saginaw Valley got off to a terrific start with a two-point opening-set lead. The Cardinals overcame set-point against by winning the last three points on Thompson termination and two GVSU attack errors.
The Cardinals' Peyton Gerstacker was two blocks shy of a triple-double after producing 32 assists and 10 digs. Teammate Sage Schumacher was strong at the net with a career-best 11 blocks to lead all student-athletes, while Patricia Pratt had seven and Makaylah Roberts, four. As a team, SVSU recorded 20 team blocks for second-most in NCAA Division II this season.
In the second stanza, SVSU trailed 8-3 before eventually tying it 9-9. A service error enabled the Lakers to retake the lead 10-9 and they went on to even the match 1-set apiece with a seven-point margin.
The teams battled in the third set in which GVSU won by two to go up two-sets-to-one. The Cardinals trailed early 6-1 before moving ahead by leads of 12-11 and 18-17. The two Valley rivals traded points with SVSU managing a pair of two-point advantages at 20-18 and 22-20. The Lakers recorded three consecutive kills to go up 23-22 but an attack error gave SVSU the tie 23-all. With the score tied 24-24, two SVSU attack errors gave GVSU the lead.
In the fourth frame, GVSU outhit SVSU .275 to .172 to clinch the match.
The Lakers' Kendall Stover led all student-athletes with 23 digs, while Kelsey Vittitow led the Cardinals' cause with 21.
Saginaw Valley will compete in the GLIAC Tournament to be held Nov. 9-13 on campus sites. The Cardinals' first-round opponent will be Northern Michigan University in a No. 2 vs No, 7 seed matchup on Wednesday, Nov. 9. Stay tuned to SVSUCardinals.com and GLIAC.org for detailed information.
