DETROIT -- The Wayne State University volleyball program (8-5 overall, 3-2 GLIAC) hosted Saginaw Valley State (9-4 overall, 3-2 GLIAC) on Saturday afternoon and the Warriors won the first set 25-13 before dropping the next three sets to fall 3-1. The match concludes a nine-match home stand for WSU.
HOW IT HAPPENED
Olivia Fike (North Branch, Mich.) gave WSU a 4-0 lead with a kill early in the first set. The home advantage reached 10-5 after a point from
Grace Frazee (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Grand Rapids Christian). A
Hailey Richardson (New Boston, Mich. / Huron) kill and a SVSU attacking error gave the Warriors an 18-10 lead. A
Madelyn Krenz (Chenoa, Ill. / Prairie Central) kill and a
Haley Tenelshof (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Jenison) service ace pushed Wayne State to a 21-13 lead before
Taylor Wagner (St. Joseph, Mich. / Lakeshore) collected three kills down the stretch to power the Green & Gold to a 25-13 victory.
The Warriors led the second set 5-1 and 10-7 before the Cardinals tied the set 17-17. SVSU led 21-19 and 22-20 before Frazee cut the deficit to one at 22-21. SVSU won the final three points to win 25-21.
Saginaw Valley State led the third set 6-3 and eventually 12-7. The Warriors trailed 21-14 before a kill from Frazee and an ace from Wagner cut the visitors lead to 23-22. After a SVSU timeout, the Cardinals won the next point and the Warriors responded by winning the following point to make it 24-23. However, the Cards used a WSU error to win the set 25-23.
The momentum stayed with SVSU as the visitors led 6-4 to begin the fourth set. The deficit grew to 11-6 and 19-13. WSU trailed 23-17 before a 4-0 run brought the Warriors within two at 23-21. The Cardinals won the next point to take a 24-21 lead followed by three straight home points to tie the set at 24-24. Back-to-back WSU errors ended the set and the match.
LEADING THE WARRIORS
Richardson paced the offense with 16 kills and 14 digs for her eighth straight double-double. Wagner added 12 kills, while
Kamryn Duffield (Romeo, Mich.) dished out 40 assists.
Ellie Rodriguez (Grand Rapids, Mich. / Catholic Central) dug 23 balls to anchor the defense.
UP NEXT
The Warriors will play at Parkside (8:00 p.m. ET) on Friday night and Purdue Northwest on Saturday (3:00 p.m. ET).