FINDLAY, Ohio – The Saginaw Valley State University volleyball team finished play at the Findlay Classic with two matches on Saturday. The first was a 3-1 loss at the hands of Indiana (Pa.) while the Cardinals met up with Hillsdale in the nightcap and fell in straight sets.

Ella Lochbiler led the way offensively in the first match with 12 kills and five digs. Madison Thompson recorded a double-double with 11 kills and 12 digs in the losing effort. McKenna Sovis dished 33 assists in the match to help pace the play. Kelsey Vittitow totaled 11 digs against the Crimson Hawks.

The Cardinals tied things up in set two after dropping the first by a score of 25-16. SVSU fought back from a 9-1 deficit in the third with a 6-0 run to come within two points of knotting things up. The score was tied at 13 and twice more at 15 and 16 before the Crimson Hawks pulled away to gain the 2-1 advantage.

The fourth was close up to a tie at 12 before a 7-0 run by IUP put the score at 19-12 and the Cardinals couldn't recover.

Lochbiler and Thompson registered 13 kills each against Hillsdale in the second match of the day. Thompson finished with another double-double after adding 10 digs to her totals. Sovis registered another 30 assists. Vittitow led defensively with 14 digs.

The Cardinals failed to get much going in the first set as the Chargers pulled away to a 25-15 decision to hop out to a 1-0 lead.

The second set was much of the same early until SVSU rallied to come within two points of tying things up late off a kill from Sovis that put the score at 20-18 in favor of Hillsdale. The scoring was halted there as a 5-0 run ended the second and put the Cards down 2-0.

SVSU gained a lead and held onto it through much of the third as they built an 18-12 edge. The Chargers cut things to 18-17 and battled back from a 24-20 deficit to force extra points and end the match early with a 27-25 decision.

The Cardinals will return to University Center for the home opening match against Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference opponent Parkside on Friday, September 15. The match is scheduled to begin at 5:00 p.m.