CEDARVILLE, Ohio – The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team split another double-header Saturday at the Cedarville Invitational, sweeping D'Youville in the morning before falling to UIndy in the afternoon — the Cardinals' fourth straight split on a two-match day to open the season. Rachel Townsend (Oxford, Mich. / Oxford HS) was named to the All-Tournament team as well.

The Cardinals (4-4) rolled past D'Youville 3–0 (25–14, 25–21, 25–18), riding a sharp .299 attack clip, 11 service aces, and 8.0 total blocks. Townsend and Chloe Vanwinkle (Clio, Mich. / Clio HS) paced the offense with eight kills apiece, while Jackie Scheiber (Wyandotte, Mich. / Riverview Community HS) steered the attack with 24 assists to go with two aces and four block assists, and Ava Decker (Elkhart, Ind. / Elkhart HS) added a team-best five total blocks (1 solo, 4 assists). Liz Bruschuk (Villa Park, Ill. / Willowbrook HS) ignited the service line with five aces as SVSU closed the opening set on a barrage of serves to pull away; set two swung on a mid-frame block/serve surge and set three stayed in control behind balanced side-out offense and net pressure. SVSU finished the sweep with advantages in aces (11–8), blocks (8.0–1.0), and hitting percentage (.299–.057).

In the afternoon, SVSU fell 0–3 to UIndy (23–25, 15–25, 16–25). Ella Lochbiler (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota HS) led the Cardinals with nine kills on .529 hitting, Ruby Earl (Howell, Mich. / Howell HS) added seven kills (.333), and Scheiber posted 28 assists and three block assists. Kendall White (DeWitt, Mich. / St. John's HS) collected a team-high 12 digs and dropped in an ace. After a tight first set that went down to the final points, the second turned on a long opposing service run that featured multiple aces, and the third saw UIndy close on another late push. For the match, SVSU totaled 34 kills and 42 digs with 5.0 total blocks, while UIndy's serve produced 12 aces that tilted the margin.

Up Next: Saginaw Valley volleyball starts GLIAC play on the road. The Cardinals head to Wayne State, who's receiving votes nationally, on Friday, September 19 for a 7:00 PM match at the Matthaei Center in Detroit, Michigan. Afterwards, they'll head to No. 13 Grand Valley State the next day for a 3:00 PM match at the GVSU Fieldhouse in Allendale, Michigan.