ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's volleyball earned its first two wins of the season with a 3-1 victory over Roosevelt before ending the 2019 Siena Heights Women's Volleyball Invitational with a thrilling 3-2 win over unbeaten Spring Arbor. Freshman Victoria Nerkowski (Madon, Mich.) had a match-high 18 kills in the four-set win over Roosevelt while adding 12 more against Spring Arbor to earn a spot on the all-tournament team.
THE BASICS
Final Scores: SHU 3, Roosevelt 1 (20-25, 25-22, 25-19, 25-15) / SHU 3, SAU 2 (23-25, 25-22, 25-15, 35-37, 15-11)
Location: Adrian, Michigan (SHU Fieldhouse)
Record: Siena Heights (2-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Roosevelt (Ill.) took a 1-0 lead after winning the first set 25-20. That was the last set the Lakers would win in the match as the Saints had three big games to earn the 3-1 win. The second set was a 25-22 (.256) decision for SHU, the third was 25-19 (.375), and 25-15 (.333) in the fourth.
The final match of the tournament was a barn burner with Spring Arbor. The Cougars used an early 10-4 lead in the first set to take the 1-0 lead (25-23). Siena used a three-point run to get the separation needed to pull out the 25-23 decision and tie things 1-1. The Saints jumped out to an 11-3 lead in the third before cruising to the 25-15 win and a 2-1 lead. The fourth set was a marathon as neither team could put the other away in regulation. Spring Arbor would edge Siena 37-35 to force the deciding fifth set. The Saints would knot things up at nine points in the fifth before finishing the match with a 15-11 win in the fifth and a 2-2 overall record.
TOP SAINTS
• Nerkowski added four digs and three blocks to her 30 kill stat line.
• Janel Ruhlman (North Branch, Mich.) tallied a match-high 22 kills against Spring Arbor to bring her total 34 for the day. She also added 29 digs to help on the defensive side of the ball.
• Carrigan Gray (Bowling Green, Ohio) added 100 assists to her season total to pace the Saint offense. She contributed 26 digs on defense.
• Anna Tartarian (Monroe, Mich.) finished with 18 kills and 32 digs.
• Karsyn Wolf (Temperance, Mich.) totaled 24 digs on the afternoon.
THE OPPOSITION
• Roosevelt leaders: Kendra Lee (15 kills), Mackenzie Bell and Mallory Nickelson (17 assists), Mhari McGhee (19 digs).
• Spring Arbor leaders: Sydney Ritz (16 kills & 23 digs) and Sarah Eliason (45 assists).
UP NEXT
Siena Heights will host a tri-match with IU-South Bend and Goshen (Ind.) on Saturday, September 7. The Saints will start with a match against Goshen (Ind.) at 3:30 p.m., EDT and will finish things against IUSB at 7:30 p.m., EDT.
