KENOSHA, Wis. – The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team completed the season sweep of Parkside with a 3-1 road victory Saturday afternoon at De Simone Arena.
The Cardinals (13-6, 6-4 GLIAC) took the first two sets 25-15 and 25-19 before the Rangers (12-6, 5-5 GLIAC) responded with a 25-20 win in the third. SVSU closed out the match with a 25-23 victory in the fourth.
Parkside jumped ahead 4-1 in the opening set before the Cardinals answered with six consecutive points behind the serve of Kelsey Foster (Oswego, Ill., Oswego HS). Rachel Townsend (Oxford, Mich., Oxford HS) and Jackie Scheiber (Wyandotte, Mich., Riverview Community HS) each recorded kills during the run to put SVSU ahead 7-4. The Rangers later pulled within one at 15-14, but Saginaw Valley took control from there. The Cardinals scored five straight to extend the lead to 20-14 before closing the set on another five-point run, with Foster recording an ace and Scheiber adding a kill for the 25-15 win.
The second set remained tight early with the teams tied at 9-9. SVSU responded with three straight points and eventually built a 17-12 advantage. Parkside cut the deficit to 20-18, but Townsend halted the run with a kill before Scheiber and Marissa Roe (Chesterton, Ind., Chesterton HS) helped the Cardinals score five of the final six points to take the set 25-19.
Parkside answered in the third, using a four-point run to build an 8-4 advantage before extending its lead to 13-6. Saginaw Valley battled back late, cutting a 23-17 deficit to 24-20 behind a block from Chloe Vanwinkle (Clio, Mich., Clio High School) and Ava Decker (Elkhart, Ind., Elkhart HS) and a service ace from Ava Beard (Berkley, Mich., Berkley HS), but the Rangers secured the next point for a 25-20 win.
The Rangers carried the momentum into the fourth and built a 13-8 advantage. SVSU responded with its biggest run of the set behind Foster's serve. The Cardinals scored six consecutive points, including two Foster aces and a block from Decker and Scheiber, to turn a 15-11 deficit into a 17-15 lead.
Parkside fought back to tie the set at 22-22, but Townsend put the Cardinals back in front with a kill. An attack error gave SVSU match point before the Rangers pulled within one. Scheiber then delivered the match-winning kill to secure the 25-23 set and 3-1 victory.
Townsend led the Cardinals with 17 kills on a .308 hitting percentage while adding 14 digs for a double-double. Scheiber was error-free on the attack, finishing with 13 kills on 34 swings for a .382 hitting percentage. Roe added eight kills while hitting .412 and led SVSU with five total blocks, while Decker recorded seven kills at a .462 clip and four blocks.
Taylor Smith (Pewamo, Mich., Pewamo-Westphalia Community Schools) totaled 36 assists, five digs, and three block assists, while Makayla Bruman (Attica, Mich., Imlay City HS) added 10 assists. Kendall White (DeWitt, Mich., St. John's HS) led the Cardinals with 16 digs, and Foster recorded four of SVSU's six service aces.
Saginaw Valley hit .323 for the match with 54 kills and just 11 attack errors. The Cardinals hit above .250 in all four sets, including a blistering .519 in the opening frame, and held a 10-2 advantage in total blocks.
Up Next: SVSU volleyball heads to the Midwest Region Crossover next weekend. The two-day event takes place on Friday, October 16 and Saturday, October 17 at the Hammond Sportsplex in Hammond, Indiana.
