UNIVERSITY CENTER -- The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team swept the Lake Superior State University Lakers, 3-0, in GLIAC play. The Cardinals improve to 18-7 overall and 10-4 in GLIAC play and have won the last two games in-a-row.
The Cardinals opened the first set with an evenly matched LSSU team tied, 4-4. Saginaw Valley went on to score six points to the Lakers two and take the lead, 10-6. Scoring continued to be back-and-forth until the Cardinals took a 17-10 lead over the Lakers led by Emily Friesl and Sarah Tabit who scored a combined five points on three kills and two blocks to give SVSU the advantage. Saginaw Valley stepped up defensively and only allowed LSSU to score six more points before closing the opening set, 25-16.
Saginaw Valley opened set two with momentum from the win in set one and took an early 11-5 lead over the visitors. Hannah Tabit was able to spread the ball to three different athletes giving SVSU a 19-10 lead. The Lakers fought back and came within three of the Cardinals, 19-16. Rylee Zimmer went on to record three consecutive kills that would set up the Cardinal win, 25-16, in set two.
Set three was a very competitive set as the Cardinals and lakers found themselves tied, 10-10. LSSU went on to take the lead, 13-11, which the Cardinals would comeback to match and knot the set 15 all. Saginaw Valley would go on to score five unanswered points to give them a, 20-15, advantage over the Lakers. This five point deficit was too much for LSSU to overcome and the Cardinals closed the third set, 25-17, on a kill from Sarah Tabit set up by Rylee Zimmer.
Inside the Box Score
- "Player of the Match" honors go to Emily Friesl who led the team in kills with 10 and blocks with four which adds to her season total of 267 and 96, respectively. She had a team high hitting percentage of .588 and added two service aces in the win over LSSU.
- Hannah Tabit surpassed the 1,000 mark for assists on the season with 28 coming in the sweep of LSSU. Her assist total for the season is now 1,013. Tabit added four kills, seven digs, and a block in the win.
- Sarah Tabit added nine kills in the win bringing her season total to 397, a season high for her as a Cardinal. Tabit also added four digs, two blocks, and a service ace.
From Head Coach Will Stanton...
"Our offense was strong and we had several hitters contributing today. Our serving was also a big factor, with five different players earning an ace. I was happy with our ability to finish three sets tonight."
Up Next...
The Cardinals are back in action Friday (Nov. 15) as they host the Northern Michigan Wildcats set for a 2:00 p.m. start in the Hamilton Gymnasium. You can follow the action live at svsucardinals.com.
