DETROIT -- The Wayne State University volleyball program (7-1) continued its strong start to the season by winning the 2016 Warrior Invitational on Saturday.  WSU won matches over St. Joseph's (2-6) and Northwood (6-2) to go 4-0 for the weekend.

Following the match Hailey Richardson (New Boston, Mich. / Huron), Hannah Moore (Louisville, Ky. / Assumption) and Brittany Guldan (West Bloomfield, Mich. / Walled Lake Central) were named to the All-Tournament Team.  In addition, Guldan earned Most Outstanding Player honors.  Guldan finished with 165 assists (11.79/set). 

MATCH ONE vs. ST. JOSEPH'S (W, 3-1 / 23-25, 25-10, 25-22, 25-19)
HOW IT HAPPENED
•  The teams traded 3-0 runs to open the match and SJC answered with a 5-0 run to take an 8-3 lead.  The Warriors would pull within two at 15-13 following a kill from Madelyn Krenz (Chenoa, Ill. / Prairie Central) and eventually tie the set at 17-17 with a Mikayla Shell (Croswell, Mich. / Croswell-Lexington) kill.  WSU would trail by one on two occasions down the stretch but the Pumas were able to win the game 25-23.

•  With a new energy, the Warriors busted out of the gates with an 8-1 lead in the second set.  The deficit grew to 11 at 15-4 after a Richardson point.  Guldan and Richardson teamed up for back-to-back kills to end the set and push the Green & Gold to a decisive 25-10 victory.

•  Moore put Wayne State up 6-3 with a kill and the back-and-forth contest continued as WSU led by one, 10-9.  An Avery Punches (Rockford, Mich.) kill extended the Warriors' lead to 17-12.  SJC cut the deficit to two at 24-22 but Moore delivered the game-winning kill.

•  Following a poor set by St. Joseph's, WSU led the fourth set 9-4.  Another SJC error extended the home lead to 15-7.  The Pumas rallied for a 5-0 run to pull within three before WSU would take six of the final nine points to improve to 3-0 on the weekend.

MATCH TWO vs. NORTHWOOD (W, 3-1 / 25-20, 21-25, 25-18, 25-13)
HOW IT HAPPENED
•  In a non-GLIAC match, WSU met league member Northwood in the tournament finale.  A block from Moore and Shell helped WSU take a 6-3 lead.  The Timberwolves came back to tie the set at 10-10 and 15-15.  However, WSU collected the next four points to lead 19-15 and eventually won the set 25-20.  

•  Northwood stayed very close in the second set and trailed 13-11.  NU took a 17-14 and a 19-15 lead later in the game.  The Warriors cut NU's lead to three (24-21) after a Richardson kill.  

•  The third set was tied at 8-8 after a Michelle Asiedu (Holland, Ohio / Springfield) kill.  A service ace from Moore and a Guldan kill gave WSU a 16-13 advantage.  A 5-0 run propelled Wayne State to a 24-16 lead and a dual block from Krenz and Shell ended the set with WSU winning 25-18.

•  WSU led the fourth set 10-2 after a kill from Richardson and 17-6 following a point from Moore.  Consecutive attack errors by Northwood gave WSU a 21-9 lead.  The Warriors would cruise to a 25-13 win and collect their fourth straight win.

FROM COACH KOTH
"This was a very enjoyable weekend.  Bringing back the Warrior Invitational and winning all four matches was a great sense of pride for our team.  Today, we did a really nice job of adjusting to two very competitive opponents.  St. Joseph's was engaged and extremely ready to play. We did a nice job of adjusting our compete level and responding to their challenge.  Against Northwood, we also adjusted a bit tactically to the challenge they presented. They played very well and are much improved over last season.  I'm proud of the way we performed.  We got great contributions all weekend from the entire team and I'm very happy for the three players who received All-Tournament recognition."

UP NEXT
•  Wayne State continues its nine-match home stand against Tiffin on Friday night.