DETROIT -- The Wayne State University volleyball team (7-7 overall, 2-4 GLIAC) hosted Saginaw Valley State (10-4 overall, 4-2 GLIAC) on Friday night and the Warriors fell in an exciting five-set match.  WSU won set one (25-21) and set three (25-19) and dropped set two (26-24) and set four (26-24) before falling 17-15 in the fifth set.

HOW IT HAPPENED
The Cardinals led the opening set 6-3 but the Warriors tied the set at 9-9 on a kill from Madelyn Krenz (Chenoa, Ill. / Prairie Central).  A 4-0 run gave WSU a 12-9 advantage and a second 4-0 rally pushed the home lead to 16-10.  A block by Taylor Wagner (St. Joseph, Mich. / Lakeshore) capped the run.  Kills from Krenz and Lauren VanderWal (Caledonia, Mich.) gave the Green & Gold a 21-17 lead and Wayne State won 25-21 on a point by Wagner.

A combo block from Julia Malewicz (Macomb, Mich. / Utica Academy for International Studies / Henry Ford II) and Krenz trimmed SVSU's lead to 9-5. The teams traded punches but the visitors led 20-17.  The set was tied at 22-22 after a block from VanderWal.  The set stayed deadlocked at 23-23 and 24-24 before Saginaw Valley State won the final two points to take the set 26-24.

SVSU led 4-3 to begin the third set but the Warriors ued a 5-0 rally to take an 8-4 advantage.  A kill from Olivia Fike (North Branch, Mich.) made it 11-8 in favor of the home team and a point by Wagner gave WSU a 15-14 lead after thr Cardinals tied the game at 14-14.  Wayne State held onto a one-point advantage before a 4-0 run gave the Warriors a 22-17 lead.  The rally was powered by kills from Krenz, Fike snd VanderWal.  Wayne State took the final three points to win 25-19.

The fourth set was a thriller from start to finish.  Wayne State trailed 4-2 but eventually tied the set at 7-7 on a point by VanderWal.  The game remained tied at 11-11 and 18-18.  The Warriors used a kill from Krenz, an ace by Wagner and a kill from Malewicz gave WSU a 22-19 lead.  However, SVSU won seven of the final nine points to take the set 26-24 and force a fifth set.

WSU led the race to 15, 4-1 after a block by Wagner and Krenz.  A point by Malewicz made it 6-3 and WSU led 10-8 after a kill from VanderWal.  The set was tied down the stretch at 13-13, 14-14 and 15-15.  The Cardinals ended the match on a 3-0 eun to win 17-15 and take the matchup 3-2.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
VanderWal paced the offensive attack with 18 kills, while Malewicz tallied 15 kills and Wagner finished with 12.  Kamryn Duffield (Romeo, Mich.) dished out 51 assists, while Maddy Benoit (Farmington, Mich. / Mercy) anchored the defense with 23 digs.  

UP NEXT
Wayne State will meet Lake Superior State inside the Matthaei on Saturday afternoon, with first serve scheduled for 2:00 p.m.