ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's volleyball team split in its final two matches of the SHU Invitational Tournament on Saturday. The Saints fell to Spring Arbor 3-0 in the morning match before beating Huntington in the final match of the tournament, 3-1. Christine Tylutki (Monroe, Mich.) led the Saints attack with 21 kills on the day.
THE BASICS
Final Scores: Game One: Spring Arbor 3, SHU 0 (25-23, 25-18, 25-23) | Game Two: SHU 3, Huntington 1 (18-25, 27-25, 30-28, 25-19)
Location: Adrian, Michigan (SHU Fieldhouse)
Record: Siena Heights (4-1)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Game One: Spring Arbor 3, SHU 0
The Saints were in every set in a 3-0 loss to Spring Arbor. The Cougars had a combined 10 attack errors in the three sets for attack percentages of .375, .306, and .216.
SAU edged the Saints 25-23 to take a 1-0 lead before the Cougars pulled out a seven-point win in game two that put SHU on the ropes. The Saints continued to fight back and barely missed on set three with another 25-23 defeat.
Game Two: SHU 3, Huntington 1
Siena needed extra points in both the second and third set to pull out the 3-1 victory. After the Foresters took game one 25-18, the Saints eeked out a 27-25 win to tie the score at one game apiece.
Game three ended with a 30-28 decision to SHU before the match was ended in the fourth game with a 25-19 advantage for the Saints.
TOP SAINTS
• Tylutki finished the Spring Arbor contest with a match-high 14 kills along with two assists and seven digs. She finished the day by adding seven kills, 14 digs, and four blocks in the win against Huntington.
• Janel Ruhlman (North Branch, Mich.) contributed seven kills and five digs against the Cougars before leading the Saints with 12 kills in the second match.
• Carrigan Gray (Bowling Green, Ohio) totaled 59 assists to pace the offense for both matches. She tallied 29 against Spring Arbor and 30 against Huntington.
• Alli Conly (Linden, Mich.) tied for a match-high 21 digs against Huntington.
• Bianca Negron (Adrian, Mich.) led the Siena defense against the Cougars with 12 digs. She was also the lone Saint named to the all-tournament team.
THE OPPOSITION
• SAU Leaders: Sydney Ritz (10 kills), Hope Notter (18 assists), Alyssa Walker (10 digs)
• Huntington Leaders: Brandy Michie (20 kills), Jenna Tacosik (33 assists), Ariene Butler (21 digs).
ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
Sydney Ritz, Spring Arbor
Stephaney Fifield, Spring Arbor
Paige Merrick, Campbellsville
Katie Johnson, Campbellsville
Bianca Negron, Siena Heights
Brooklyn Withey, St. Francis (Ill.)
Jenna Tacosik, Huntington
MVP: Sydney Ritz, Spring Arbor & Paige Merrick, Campbellsville
UP NEXT
The Saints open up conference play on Wednesday, September 5, when they host Madonna at 7:00 p.m., EST, in the SHU Fieldhouse.
