DEARBORN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's volleyball team defeated Michigan-Dearborn in straight sets on Wednesday night. Janel Ruhlman (North Branch, Mich.) led the charge with a double-double 16 kills and 10 digs.
THE BASICS
Final Score: Siena Heights 3, UM-Dearborn 0 (25-21, 25-22, 25-19)
Location: Dearborn, Michigan (UM-Dearborn Fieldhouse)
Records: Siena Heights (7-13, 4-9 WHAC), UM-Dearborn (3-20, 2-12 WHAC)
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Wolverines had a 20-19 lead in the first set, but the Saints would rattle off three-straight points to force a timeout on the home sideline. Coming out of the break, Siena scored again to complete a 4-0 run before ending the set with a 25-21 decision and a 1-0 lead.
The second set began with a UM-Dearborn 6-0 run to help the Wolverines build a 10-3 advantage. The Saints kept fighting and rallied back to eventually tie things up at 16 before taking the lead 18-16 with a 6-0 run of their own. The home squad cut the deficit to one point (23-22) but Siena scored two straight points to gain the victory and a 2-0 lead.
The third set was all Saints as the team jumped out to an 18-10 lead and never looked back on the way to a sweep of the Wolverines with a 25-19 set-three win.
TOP SAINTS
• Ruhlman had a team-high .424 hitting percentage to go along with her match-leading 16 kills. She also added a service ace and a block to her stat line.
• Carrigan Gray (Bowling Green, Ohio) set the tone offensively with 28 assists while also contributing on the defensive side with six digs and a block.
• Eriona Chambers (Flint, Mich.) finished with seven kills and three blocks.
• Ally Conly (Linden, Mich.) led the Saints with 14 digs in the game.
THE OPPOSITION
• Gina Giacomini led UMD with 14 kills.
• Sabrina Giacomini and Daniella Barile paced the attack with 17 and 15 assists respectively.
• Mallory Lynch led the Wolverines with 18 digs.
WHAC STANDINGS
• With the win, Siena Heights holds firmly to the eighth spot in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) standings. If the Saints can finish the regular season in that position or better they will qualify for the WHAC tournament in November.
UP NEXT
• Siena will hope to make it three conference wins in a row on Friday, October 25 when they travel to face Lourdes at 7:00 p.m., EST.