HAMMOND, Ind. – The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team split on the opening day of the Midwest Regional Crossover on Friday at the Hammond Sportsplex, sweeping Ursuline in the morning before falling in a five-set battle to Tiffin in the afternoon.

The Cardinals (7–12) earned their fourth 3-0 sweep of the season in the opener and pushed the Dragons to the brink in the second match of the day. Marissa Roe (Valparaiso, Ind. / Chesterton HS) dominated at the net with 16 blocks, six solos and 10 assists over the two matches. Rachel Townsend (Oxford, Mich. / Oxford HS) and Jackie Scheiber (Wyandotte, Mich. / Riverview Community HS) posted double-doubles in the second match as Townsend had 20 kills and 11 digs while Scheiber has 39 assists and 12 digs.

Match 1 – SVSU def. Ursuline 3–0 (25–20, 27–25, 25–18)

SVSU hit .248 as a team while totaling 41 kills, 31 digs, and 8.0 blocks in the morning match. Townsend led the Cardinals with 11 kills and four aces. Finley Helm (Mount Pleasant, Mich. / Mount Pleasant HS) added seven kills, and Roe had six blocks, two solos and four assists. Scheiber ran the offense with 34 assists and six digs. Helm matched the six digs for a team-high with Scheiber.

Set One (25–20)

Ursuline jumped out to a 4–0 lead before SVSU found rhythm behind Townsend's serves and back-to-back blocks by Roe. The Cardinals took an 11-7  lead and never trailed again, pulling away late behind kills from Helm and won the set on an ace by Townsend.

Set Two (27–25)

A tight set that featured 12 ties saw Ursuline go ahead 24-22 before SVSU took five of the last six points. A 10-2 run put the Cardinals ahead 18-13 before the Arrows took the lead late. A kill by Roe and two blocks gave the Cardinals the edge before an Ava Decker (Elkhart, Ind. / Elkhart HS) kill ended the set.

Set Three (25–18)

Saginaw Valley used a 7-1 run to go ahead 12-9 in the final set. The teams traded short runs as Roe, Helm, and Kendall Ihm (Owosso, Mich. / Owosso HS) kept SVSU ahead. The Cardinals claimed the final four points with Audrey Ball (Essexville, Mich. / Garber HS) tallying her first two collegiate kills as the final two points of the match.

Match 2 – SVSU falls to Tiffin 2–3 (25–15, 15–25, 17–25, 25–23, 13–15)

In the afternoon, the Cardinals opened strong before falling in a tight five-set decision. SVSU finished with 49 kills, 12 blocks, and 67 digs. Townsend posted her fourth double-double of the year and Scheiber had her second of 2025. Chloe Vanwinkle (Clio, Mich. / Clio HS) was all over the court with 12 kills, eight digs, three aces, two assists, and a block assist.

Set One (25–13)

The Cardinals stormed ahead with an 11-1 run featuring kills by Townsend, Vanwinkle, and Roe while Vanwinkle and Bruschuk both had two aces. Tiffin took four of the next five points before a 7-0 run for SVSU pushed the lead to 24-11 with another pair of aces for Townsend. Saginaw Valley had 10 aces in the match. The Dragons took the next two points before a kill by Vanwinkle won the first set for SVSU.

Set Two (15–25)

The next frame was the opposite as TU used an 8-1 run to go ahead 16-7. Vanwinkle started a 5-0 run to bring the Cardinals back to 21-14, but the Dragons were too much and took four of the next five to even the match at 1-1.

Set Three (17–25)

Both teams rattled off points back-and-forth until Tiffin had the first long run of the set. An 8-2 run pushed the Dragons ahead 17-13, giving TU the foothold in a pivotal third set. Tiffin kept Saginaw Valley out of reach and took the 2-1 lead.

Set Four (25–23)

The comeback was on in the fourth set. Slim leads went both ways until Tiffin led 15-12 and then 20-15. Townsend started the rally as SVSU went on a 6-1 run to tie the set at 21-21. The Dragons took the next two before a 4-0 run with a block by Roe and Cola Sisk (Lake Fenton, Mich. / Lake Fenton HS) along with a kill by Vanwinkle forced a fifth set.

Set Five (13–15)

SVSU held the lead a couple of times in the deciding set but couldn't put TU behind them. A 4-0 run for the Cardinals gave them an 11-9 lead with an ace by Scheiber to cap it off. However, Tiffin took six of the next eight points and earned the victory.

Up Next: Saginaw Valley wraps up the Midwest Regional Crossover on Saturday, October 18. The Cardinals face Lake Erie with the first serve set for 10:00 AM EDT from the Hamilton Sportsplex.