UNIVERSITY CENTER, Mich.- The Saginaw Valley State volleyball team fell in a five-set battle with #17 Grand Valley State on Tuesday night at Hamilton Gymnasium. The Cardinals (12-6, 5-4 GLIAC) and Lakers (14-3, 8-1 GLIAC) were never separated by more than eight points in any set.
Grand Valley State scored the first two points of the first set before a service error put Saginaw Valley State on the board. The teams traded blows until two separate three-point runs put GVSU ahead 10-4. The Cardinals battled back and brought the lead down to three on a kill from Taylor Smith (Pewamo, Mich., Pewamo-Westphalia Community Schools). After the Lakers went on another run, kills from
Marissa Roe (Chesterton, Ind., Chesterton HS) and
Jackie Scheiber (Wyandotte, Mich., Riverview Community HS) made it 22-19. GVSU scored the final three points of the set to take it, 25-19.
Trailing 1-0, SVSU came out firing in the second set. The Cardinals scored the first two points of the set and then jumped out to an 8-3 lead. This was highlighted by a run of four straight points, led by two kills by Chloe Vanwinkle (Clio, Mich., Clio High School). The teams traded side-outs for the next ten points. A run of four straight points for the Lakers later in the set brought them within one, 16-15. SVSU responded again, capitalizing off of a service error and an attack error from GVSU as well as a service ace from
Ava Decker (Elkhart, Ind., Elkhart HS) put them back up by four, 19-15. Smith and Decker picked up a block to win the set for Saginaw Valley State, 25-22.
SVSU rode their momentum, winning the first point of set three. However, Grand Valley State found a groove and ended up taking a 7-3 lead. The Cardinals battled back, winning four of the next five points to pull within one. Later in the set, SVSU went on a run of four points to take the lead on an ace from Kelsey Foster (Oswego, Ill., Oswego HS), 14-13. Another ace from Foster gave the Cardinals set point. GVSU scored one more point before Scheiber ended the set, giving SVSU the 25-22 win.
With the Cardinals leading the match 2-1, Grand Valley State scored the first four points of the fourth set. The Lakers controlled the set, taking the largest lead of the night, 15-7. SVSU stormed back, rattling off five straight points, led by two kills from Scheiber and another from Vanwinkle. GVSU pulled ahead again, holding an eight point lead with set point. SVSU scored three straight points to extend the set before the Lakers scored again to knot the match at 2-2, 25-19.
Set five went back-and-forth. Grand Valley State took a 8-5 lead, but a series of Laker errors and a kill from Rachel Townsend (Oxford, Mich., Oxford HS) put the Cardinals ahead 9-8. The teams traded side-outs for the next five points before Roe and Townsend recorded back-to-back kills to take a 13-11 lead. The Lakers scored five of the final six points of the set to win, 16-14, taking the match, 3-2.
GVSU finished with a slightly higher hitting percentage than the SVSU; .252-.222. Townsend recorded a double-double, finishing the match with 15 kills and a team-high 19 digs. Scheiber led the Cardinals with 20 kills. Roe recorded a match-high eight blocks.
Up Next: SVSU will play their next match on the road. They face Wisconsin-Parkside on Saturday, October 10, at 4 PM.
