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Wayne State University Athletics

Lauren VanderWal
Lauren VanderWal had 25 kills in the two matches on Friday.
0
Daemen Daemen 0-2,0-0 ECC
3
Winner Wayne State WSU 1-0,0-0 GLIAC
Daemen Daemen
0-2,0-0 ECC
0
Final
3
Wayne State WSU
1-0,0-0 GLIAC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
Daemen Daemen 21 13 14 (0)
Wayne State WSU 25 25 25 (3)
0
West Liberty WLU 1-1,0-0 MEC
3
Winner Wayne State WSU 2-0,0-0 GLIAC
West Liberty WLU
1-1,0-0 MEC
0
Final
3
Wayne State WSU
2-0,0-0 GLIAC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
West Liberty WLU 14 17 17 (0)
Wayne State WSU 25 25 25 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | Cameron Weidenthaler, Assistant Media Relations Director

Volleyball Spotless on Day One of Warrior Invitational

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University volleyball program (2-0 overall) started the season with a pair of sweeps in the Warrior Invitational inside the Matthaei on Friday.  The Warriors started the day with a 3-0 victory over Daemen (1-1 overall) before taking care of West Liberty (1-1 overall) in straight sets in the nightcap.

MATCH ONE vs. DAEMEN (W, 3-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Wildcats led early in the first set 6-3 following a block by Taylor Wagner (St. Joseph, Mich. / Lakeshore) attack.  Daemen led 10-5 before the Green & Gold tied the set at 11-11 on a DC ball-handling error.  Daemen led 16-15 prior to a 4-0 Warrior run powered by two kills each from Jenna Kray (Westerville, Ohio / Worthington Christian) and Lauren VanderWal (Caledonia, Mich.).  WSU held onto a 23-19 lead and kills from VanderWal and Wagner pushed the Warriors to a 25-21 set-one win.

The Warriors trailed 7-6 to start the second set but two points from Kray tied the set at 8-8.  With the game deadlocked at 10-10, Wayne State used a 10-0 run to break open the match.  Alexa Withun (Troy, Mich. / Athens) collected a kill before a service ace by Julia Malewicz (Macomb, Mich. / Utica Academy for International Studies / Henry Ford II) pushed the home advantage to 23-11.  WSU used a kill by Within to end the set and win 25-13.

A Wagner and Halle Shell (Port Huron, Mich. / Port Huron Northern) combo block gave the Warriors a 6-1 lead to start the third set.  An ace by Sam Palazzolo (Shelby Twp., Mich. / Utica Eisenhower) gave WSU a 10-3 advantage and another kill from Withun made it 18-8.  Kamryn Duffield (Romeo, Mich.) notched a pair of kills down the stretch to aid in WSU's 25-14 victory.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
VanderWal paced the offense with 13 kills on 20 swings to post a .650 hitting percentage, while Duffield dished out 30 assists.  Duffield also collected 10 digs to tie Maddy Benoit Farmington, Mich. / Mercy) for the team lead in that category.  Shell was a force at the net with seven assisted blocks and two solo stuffs.

ONE BIG THING
The WSU defense was strong, holding DC to a .131 hitting percentage.

MATCH TWO vs. WEST LIBERTY (W, 3-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED
A kill from Withun early in the first set gave WSU a 6-2 lead.  A 3-0 rally propelled the Warriors to a 13-8 advantage.  An ace from Shell made it 17-10 before the lead grew to 21-10 on back-to-back points from Withun.  Two straight kills by VanderWal ended the set and gave WSU a 25-14 triumph.

Maddie Morrison (Flushing, Mich.) got in on the action and her kill early in the second set made it 6-4 in favor of the home team.  The teams traded punches and the margin stayed around two until three straight points, including two kills from Morrison, gave WSU a 15-12 lead.  A service ace by Benoit followed by a kill from Duffield moved the margin to five, 19-14.  The Warriors controlled the rest of the set and won 25-17.

WSU led 8-7 after a point by Morrison early in the third set.  However, West Liberty came back to take a 9-8, 10-9 and 11-10 leads.   Two kills by VanderWal plus a kill by Withun had the Warriors up 14-11.  A service ace by Palazzolo made it 20-14 and WSU would continue to control the temp, winning 25-17 to complete its second sweep of the day.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
VanderWal had 12 kills and Duffield facilitated the offense with 32 assists.  Benoit anchored the defense with 13 digs. 

ONE BIG THING
West Liberty's Madison Clayton had 21 kills in the Hilltoppers first match of the day but WSU held her to just one kill on 17 swings.

HEAD COACH THOUGHTS
"It was a great opening day for the Warriors," said head coach Tim Koth.  "I thought our offense was outstanding in both matches today.  We had relentless service pressure today, which really kept both of our opponents under pressure.  The block and defensive side of our games looks to be dramatically improved.  Kamryn did a nice job running the offense and we had great production out of Lauren and Halle."

UP NEXT
The Warriors will meet East Stroudsburg and Walsh on Saturday to conclude the season-opening weekend.  Live links and results can be found here.

 
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