CHICAGO, Ill. – The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team battled through five sets on the road Friday night before falling to Roosevelt University 3–2 (20–25, 25–19, 25–19, 25–27, 11–15) at the Goodman Center.

The Cardinals (7–14, 1–9 GLIAC) were led by Rachel Townsend (Oxford, Mich. / Oxford HS), who dominated offensively with a match-high 21 kills on a .529 hitting percentage while adding nine digs, four aces, and three blocks. Finley Helm (Mount Pleasant, Mich. / Mount Pleasant HS) followed with 10 kills, two aces, and three blocks, and Marissa Roe (Valparaiso, Ind. / Chesterton HS) recorded seven kills and a team-high nine total blocks.

SVSU finished with 50 kills on .163 hitting, 10 service aces, and 15.0 team blocks while holding Roosevelt to .162 hitting.

Set One (20–25)

Roosevelt's front line took early control with five blocks and three aces, using an 8-0 run to pull ahead 21–13. SVSU made a late push with kills from Townsend and Chloe Vanwinkle (Clio, Mich. / Clio HS). The comeback fell short as the Lakers held on for the 25–20 win.

Set Two (25–19)

SVSU responded with its most efficient frame of the night, hitting .310 with 13 kills. Townsend tallied five in the set, and Helm added three. The Cardinals used a 7–1 mid-set surge fueled by Helm's serving run and two blocks by Ava Decker (Elkhart, Ind. / Elkhart HS). Helm and Townsend combined for six of the last eight kills for SVSU.

Set Three (25–19)

The Cardinals continued to roll behind balanced offense, with Decker and Roe combining for five kills and Jackie Scheiber (Wyandotte, Mich. / Riverview Community HS) controlling the tempo. SVSU used a 10-3 run to jump ahead 15-10 before breaking a 17-17 tie and taking eight of the last 10 points of the set as Townsend and Roe both had back-to-back kills.

Set Four (25–27)

In a back-and-forth set that featured six ties, the Cardinals soared ahead with a 13-2 run to take a 22-13 lead. Roosevelt rallied back, using a string of kills and a string of Cardinal attack errors to tie the set at 24-24, later winning three straight points to claim the 27-25 set victory.

Set Five (11–15)

The final frame saw the teams trade points early until Roosevelt used a 5–1 run. Townsend's kill and a block from Roe and Ruby Earl (Howell, Mich. / Howell HS) pulled SVSU within two, but the Lakers closed out the match 15–11.

Up Next: Saginaw Valley continues its weekend road trip on Saturday, October 25, traveling to Parkside. First serve is set for 3:00 PM from De Simone Arena in Kenosha, Wis.