Indianapolis, Ind. – The SVSU Volleyball team defeats the Minnesota St. Moorhead Dragons, 3-1, and the Illinois-Springfield Prarie Stars, 3-0, improving the Cardinals record to 6-0 on the season, matching the beginning of the 2018 season.
Game One: SVSU 3 - MSU Moorhead - 1
The Dragons claimed the first set of the match by a 25-23 count in match one. Sarah Tabit led the Cardinals with six kills and one block produced by a spectacular performance from Hannah Tabit who racked up 14 assists to start the match. The Cardinals fought back in the second set winning 25-22 with 13 kills. The Cardinals recorded 13 kills in the third set with the final kill coming from Olivia Dean to beat the Dragons 25-18. The fourth set went to SVSU as the Cardinals won a nail biter, 25-23, to close out the set.
Inside the Box Score:
- Maria Vukaj recorded 13 kills, led the team in digs with 26, and three assists earning her "Player of the Match" honors
- Sarah Tabit led the Cardinals with 20 kills, seven digs, and one block
- Hannah Tabit led the Cardinals in assists with 46, three kills, and one service ace
- Olivia Dean recorded 7 kills, 3 service aces, and assisted on one block
From Head Coach Will Stanton
"We got off to a slow start in set one and fought our way back, but didn't get the momentum we needed to finish. MSU Moorhead served very tough and that gave us issues the whole match. Our serve receive stepped up as the match went on, but it was still a struggle to get our offense going. Our block and defense really gave us some key points late in the match."
Game Two: SVSU 3 - Illinois-Springfield - 0
Saginaw Valley State opened the first set against the Prarie Stars with a kill percentage of .480 and only three errors earning a 25-20 win. The Cardinals struggled in the second set but still earned the win, 28-26 with 19 kills. The Cardinals came out in the third set to win 25-19 to end the match.
Inside the Box Score:
- Senior Sarah Tabit led the team in kills with 12 and a hitting percentage of .429, she also earned three blocks and two digs which earned her "Player of the Match" honors
- Hannah Tabit led the Cardinals in assists with 41 and recorded seven digs and two blocks
- Emily Friesl earned 10 kills and five blocks for the Cardinals
- Olivia Dean recorded nine kills, nine digs, one assist, one service ace, and one block
From Head Coach Will Stanton
"UIS had a pretty quick offense, and our block did a good job of tracking hitters and funneling to our defense. Our serve receive was better and we were able to attack at a high percentage and that gave us the momentum we needed to finish strong."
Up Next...
The Cardinals will finish up play at the University of Indianapolis tomorrow against host team Indianapolis at 1:00 p.m. and Saint Leo (Fla.) at 6 p.m. Live stats and video links are available on the volleyball schedule page.