DETROIT -- The Wayne State University volleyball program (5-1) began the Warrior Invitational on Friday with two three-set victories over West Virginia Wesleyan (1-4) and Seton Hill (5-1). WSU is hosting its home tournament for the first time since 2009.
Michelle Asiedu (Holland, Ohio / Springfield) led the offense with 22 kills (3.67/set), while hitting .710 for the two matches. and
Brittany Guldan (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Walled Lake Central) tallied 71 assists (11.83/set).
MATCH ONE vs. WEST VIRGINIA WESLEYAN (W, 3-0 / 25-13, 25-11, 25-20)
HOW IT HAPPENED
• The Warriors set the tone early in the opening set, taking a 5-0 lead and eventually pushing the advantage to 11-2. Guldan dumped a ball over the net for a kill, extending WSU's lead to 17-4. A service ace from
Ellie Rodriguez (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Catholic Central) gave WSU 24 points to WVW's 10. The Bobcats rallied for three straight points but
Mikayla Shell (Croswell, Mich. / Croswell-Lexington) won the set with a kill on an assist from Guldan.
• It was more of the same for the Green & Gold in the second set. The momentum and energy never left WSU's bench and the Warriors exploded for the first eight points of the game.
Avery Punches (Rockford, Mich.) netted a kill followed by a point from Moore to make the score 11-2.
Haley Tenelshof (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Jenison) extended WSU's comfortable advantage to 16-3 with an ace. WSU would take four of the last five points to win 25-11.
• Set three started to show flashes of a more competitive contest. The Bobcats trailed by one, 7-6, but WSU take the next three points to distance themselves from the visitors. A WVW attack error gave WSU a six-point lead, 16-10, and a Moore kill gave WSU 20 points. West Virginia Wesleyan mounted a small comeback and cut the deficit to 21-17 but the Warriors would go on to win 25-20 powered two kills from
Christa Raicevich (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North).
MATCH TWO vs. SETON HILL (W, 3-0 / 25-16, 25-12, 25-11)
HOW IT HAPPENED
• In a matchup of the two best record entering the weekend, WSU handled its opponent with relative ease. The Warriors led 8-3 early in the opening set. The strong start was due in part strong ball handling and two kills from
Madelyn Krenz (Chenoa, Ill. / Prairie Central). Seton Hill cut WSU's lead to one at 10-9 before the home squad found its rhythm and stretched its lead to 16-12. WSU won the final seven points to cruise to a 25-16 set victory.
• Head coach
Tim Koth and the Warriors would not let up. They kept the foot on the gas and led 5-0 in the second set. Asiedu and
Hailey Richardson (New Boston, Mich. / Huron) provided the offensive spark during the run. A dual block from Krenz and Asiedu thwarted a SHU attack and gave WSU a 10-4 lead. Another combo block from Guldan and Asiedu kept WSU ahead by six. The Green & Gold were able to finish strong once again and take the final seven points to win 25-12.
• WSU led 4-0 to open the third set and eventually notched a 12-4 advantage. The difference grew to nine after a Griffins' attack error. Seven of the final eight points went to the hosts and WSU won by 14 points, 25-11 to complete its second sweep of the day.
FROM COACH KOTH
"I am very pleased with our serve and pass game today. It let us down a little bit in week one, so it was nice to see that the extra work we put in this week has paid off. It was a couple of very complete matches today with some great individual performances. I'm really proud of their effort today."
UP NEXT
• The Warrior Invitational continues play on Saturday with five more matches beginning at 9 a.m. WSU will meet St. Joseph's at 1:30 p.m. and Northwood at 6 p.m.