Sept. 18, 2004

DETROIT - It was much of the same for the WSU volleyball team Saturday afternoon as the Warriors recorded a 3-0 win (30-20, 30-16, 30-25) over visiting Mercyhurst College. Persistent blocking along accurate hitting and serving led Wayne State to the victory as the squad improved to 7-4 overall and 2-1 in the GLIAC. The Lakers fell to 4-10, 0-3 in the GLIAC.

Game one was close early on until junior Megan Smolen (Grosse Ile, Mich.) broke a 6-6 tied and served nine consecutive points that included three aces. The Warriors took a 21-10 lead after middle blocker Elisa Joris (Walled Lake, Mich.) push landed in the far back corner for a kill. Play went back and forth until the Warriors finished the game off, 30-20.

Once again it was Smolen serving a pair of aces early in game two as WSU led 10-4. Another Warrior ace, this one by Kristi Pieper (Roseville, Mich.) increased the lead to 18-9. Smolen's first seven attacks of the second game all went for kills as she had half of the team's kills in the game. Wayne State's defense then took control and forced MC to a negative .062 hitting percentage for the game two victory.

Tied at 18 in the third game, WSU went on a six-point rally with Sei Hee Hwang (Toronto, Ont.) serving. The Lakers came with three at 28-25, but Pieper had the last say with the match-winning kill on the back line.

Pieper led all hitters with 13 kills while Smolen and Joris added 11 apiece. Smolen also recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 12 digs. Hwang had a team-best 15 digs and setter Kerri Royer (Lawton, Mich.) tallied a match-high 41 assists on the day.

WSU outblocked Mercyhurst, 10-3, and outhit the Lakers, .287-.054, with 14 more kills overall.

Wayne State, who has won four of its last five contests, will host the 18th-ranked Northwood Timberwolves on Friday, Sept. 24 at 7:00 p.m.