CEDARVILLE, Ohio – The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team split its matches Friday at the Cedarville Invitational, rallying past West Liberty in five sets before falling to the host Yellow Jackets in the afternoon.

The Cardinals (3-3) opened the day with a hard-fought win over West Liberty and Rachel Townsend (Oxford, Mich. / Oxford HS) led the offense with 16 kills and 26 digs for a double-double. Chloe Vanwinkle (Clio, Mich. / Clio HS) added 17 kills and seven digs, while Jackie Scheiber (Wyandotte, Mich. / Riverview Community HS) posted 52 assists, seven service aces, and eight digs. Elizabeth Bruschuk (Villa Park, Ill. / Willowbrook HS) anchored the defense with 32 digs. At the net, Kendall Ihm (Owosso, Mich. / Owosso HS) finished with eight kills and three blocks.

Match 1: Saginaw Valley 3, West Liberty 2 (25-20, 21-25, 26-24, 18-25, 15-11)Set One: The Cardinals used a mid-set 7-0 run with kills from Vanwinkle and Townsend plus two aces from Bruschuk to take control. Scheiber added an ace later on and Ava Decker (Elkhart, Ind. / Elkhart HS) ended the set with a kill.

Set Two: West Liberty evened the match as SVSU struggled with 11 attack errors. The  Cardinals used a 9-1 rally to take a slim lead, but they couldn't close out and fell 25-21.

Set Three: A 7-0 run to start put SVSU well ahead, taking advantage of seven attack errors to take a 13-3 lead. The Hilltoppers used an 8-0 run to take a lead. Both teams continued to tie the set up until SVSU took five of the final seven points to claim the 2-1 set lead.

Set Four: The two teams traded small runs to go back-and-forth. A 7-1 run for West Liberty State pushed them ahead for good in the fourth set as SVSU totaled 15 attack errors.

Set Five: The Cardinals jumped ahead early behind a 6-0 run fueled by three Vanwinkle kills and one by Marissa Roe (Valparaiso, Ind. / Chesterton HS). The Hilltoppers pushed back but could never tie the set up as SVSU used a 4-1 run to close out for the win.

In the second match, Cedarville swept SVSU 25-14, 25-11, 25-21. The Cardinals finished with 21 kills and a highly competitive third set to split the pair of matches on the day.

Townsend led SVSU again with eight kills and nine points. Ihm and Cola Sisk (Lake Fenton, Mich. / Lake Fenton HS) each recorded three kills, while Scheiber handed out 19 assists. Bruschuk and Kendall White (DeWitt, Mich. / St. John's HS) each had nine digs.

Match 2: Cedarville 3, Saginaw Valley 0 (25-14, 25-11, 25-21)

Set One: Cedarville got ahead early as Roe, Townsend, Ihm, and Scheiber all added kills. Early and late runs for the Yellow Jackets kept the set out of reach for SVSU.

Set Two: The Cardinals started with a 6-3 lead as Townsend, Ihm, and Sisk added kills. However, an 11-0 run for CU flipped the set on its head and Cedarville rode the momentum to a 2-0 set lead.

Set Three: The Yellow Jackets buzzed ahead to a 5-1 run to start but the Cardinals had more fight in them. A 4-0 run topped off by a kill for Townsend brought the set within two. A 4-0 run tied the set at 19-19 for SVSU and forced a timeout from Cedarville, but the timeout helped the hosts as a 5-0 run and six of the final eight points went to CU to win the match.

Up Next: Saginaw Valley continues their competition at the Cedarville Invitational on Saturday, September 13. The Cardinals take on D'Youville at 9:00 AM and Indianapolis at 4:30 PM to finish the weekend at the Callan Athletic Center in Cedarville, Ohio.