Sept. 20, 2008

Stats

DETROIT - The Wayne State volleyball team (8-5, 3-2 GLIAC) won its third straight conference match Saturday at the Matthaei, a 3-1 victory over 19th-ranked Hillsdale (11-4, 3-2 GLIAC).

The Warriors earned their first win against the Chargers since Nov. 7, 2003, and moved into a tie with Hillsdale for first place in the GLIAC South Division.

Lauren Mallast (Chesterfield, Mich./Anchor Bay) guided the Warriors with 14 kills, a .440 hitting percentage and seven blocks. Meg Leone (Troy, Mich.) posted a double-double with a season-high 13 kills and 11 digs, Kim Gear (Benton Harbor, Mich./Watervliet) totaled 12 kills (.407) and four blocks, and Sarha Gosselin (Harrison Twp., Mich./Warren Lincoln) collected a team-best 18 digs along with nine kills.

With the score tied at 8-8 in the opening set, Wayne State took eight of the next 12 points for a 16-12 advantage. They never led by less than three on their way to a 25-21 win.

Wayne State never trailed in the second set and cruised to a 25-16 triumph, but momentum would shift to the visitors in the third. The Warriors built an early 9-3 lead until the Chargers grabbed eight straight points to start a 16-5 run. Hillsdale held on to win, 25-20, and force a fourth set.

A 5-1 lead for Hillsdale in the fourth quickly turned into a 10-7 advantage for Wayne State. The Warriors led by as many as five points before the Chargers battled back to knot the score at 24 apiece. Wayne State would hold on against two match points and win the match on a 29-27 decision.

Mayssa Bazzi (Dearborn, Mich.) contributed 12 digs for the Warriors, and Ashley Penny (New Hudson, Mich./South Lyon) tallied three kills and five blocks. Katy Westenberg (Milford, Mich.) had 42 assists along with five digs and a pair of blocks.

Wayne State will head to Ohio next weekend to face Tiffin on Friday at 7:00 p.m. and Ashland on Saturday at 1:00 p.m.

NOTES
Wayne State had lost its last eight meetings with Hillsdale ... the Warriors had a hitting percentage of .519 in the second set and .315 overall for the match ... Leone fell just two shy of her career-high for kills ... Gosselin, who narrowly missed her fourth straight double-double Saturday, matched Gear and Mallast with 35 kills in WSU's three matches this week.