BIG RAPIDS, Mich. -- The Wayne State University volleyball program (3-1 overall) played twice on Saturday to finish the season-opening Ferris State Invitational.  The Warriors swept Rollins College (1-2) before ending the weekend with a sweep of 17th-ranked Winona State (1-3).

MATCH ONE vs. ROLLINS (W, 3-0 / 25-13, 26-24, 25-17)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Olivia Fike (North Branch, Mich.) gave Wayne State a 3-2 lead early in the first set with a kill.  WSU continued to play well and led 8-3 after a point from Grace Frazee (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Grand Rapids Christian).  Another kill from Fike pushed the Warriors advantage to 15-9.  Back-to-back kills from Taylor Wagner (St. Joseph, Mich. / Lakeshore) made it 19-11 and a Tars error forced Rollins to take a timeout.  Following a RC point, the Green & Gold won five of the final six points to win 25-13.

- Wayne State jumped out to a 4-0 lead in the second set powered by two kills from Madelyn Krenz (Chenoa, Ill. / Prairie Central).  Consecutive service aces from Ellie Rodriguez (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Catholic Central) kept WSU on top, 7-5.  Rollins answered with four straight points to take a 9-7 lead.  Frazee and Wagner stuffed an RC attack to give WSU a 10-9 lead.  The see-saw contest continued as the Tars responded with a 4-0 rally, taking a 14-11 advantage.  A point away from dropping the set (24-18), Wayne State won six straight points to tie the game at 24-24, forcing RC to use a timeout.  Hailey Richardson (New Boston, Mich. / Huron) completed the comeback and gave WSU a 25-24 lead before Kamryn Duffield (Romeo, Mich.) ended the game with a point, securing a 26-24 victory.

- Another ace from Rodriguez put Wayne State ahead 4-2 early in the third set.  A combo block by Frazee and Richardson extended WSU's lead to 8-4 before Rollins tied the set at 8-8 and 9-9.  The Warriors regained their lead, 11-9, following a spike from Krenz.  Two straight aces from Haley Tenelshof (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Jenison) later in the set pushed WSU's lead to 18-13 and a Richardson kill gave the Warriors a 21-14 advantage.  Rollins trimmed the deficit to four but Wayne State won the final four points, including two points from Richardson, to complete the 3-0 sweep with a 25-17 victory.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
- Richardson led the way with a match-high 13 kills, while Wagner notched her first career double-double with 10 kills and 10 digs.  Duffield totaled 37 assists and Rodriguez anchored the defense with 17 digs.

TEAM STATS
- The Warriors outhit the Tars .267 to .136 and collected nine service aces.

MATCH TWO vs. #17 WINONA STATE (W, 3-0 / 25-22, 25-21, 25-21)
HOW IT HAPPENED
- Winona State led 4-0 to begin the first set but a kill from Frazee gave WSU an 8-6 lead later in the set.  Three straight points, including a block by Fike and Richardson extended the Warriors lead to 15-11.  Another point by Frazee pushed the Green & Gold advantage to 20-16 before leading 24-19.  Winona State pulled within two at 24-22 but a kill from Fike gave the Warriors a 25-22 victory.

- The second set was tied at 5-5 after a poor set by Winona State.  A 5-0 run by Wayne State made it 11-7 and a point by Duffield stopped a Winona State rally to make it 14-12.  Two errors by Winona State gave Wayne State a 21-17 and the Warriors would win 25-21.

- A kill from Krenz put Wayne State on top 5-3 early in the third set and the Warriors would go on to lead 10-8.  The set was tied at 14-14, 15- and 17-17.  An ace from Duffield and a Winona State attack error gave WSU a 20-17 lead.  The Green & Gold would win 25-21 on a one-on-one block by Krenz.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
- Richardson finished with eight kills, while Frazee collected seven.  Duffield tallied 20 assists, while both Tenelshof and Rodriguez collected 10 digs each.

FROM COACH KOTH
- "This was a very nice weekend for Warrior volleyball.  From the start of the weekend to its conclusion, we saw progress in every area of our game and beating a nationally-ranked opponent was a great way to finish."

UP NEXT
- Wayne State will host the Warrior Invitational inside the Matthaei beginning on Friday, Aug. 30th against Kentucky State (2:00 PM) and Illinois-Springfield (7:30 PM).