By Anthony Fontana
The Cardinals volleyball team’s record-setting season came to an end yesterday after losing to Grand Valley in the NCAA Midwest Regional finals.
The Cardinals got things started off taking game one from the Lakers by a score of 26-24. In a game that saw neither team get more than a three point advantage, SVSU used a late rally to seal the game. Grand Valley took game two after rolling out to a 22-10 advantage. The Cardinals did manage to close out the game on a 9-3 run to bring the score to 25-19. The Lakers kept the pressure on the Cardinals in game three, with a 25-19 win. Grand Valley closed out the match with a 25-12 win in game four to advance to the 2008 NCAA Championships.
The Cardinals offense was led by senior outside-hitter Sarah Redoute (Clinton Township, Mich.) who notched her 12th double-double on the evening with 16 kills and 10 digs, while freshman outside-hitter Annie Buxton (Aurora, Ont.) chipped in with nine kills. Junior setter Kait Harris (Essexville, Mich.) dished out 24 assists. Senior Carmen Schacher (Flint, Mich.) had a team-high 16 digs.
After falling to Grand Valley State last week in the finals of the GLIAC tournament, the Cards got little rest before having to face off against Michigan Tech in the opening round of the NCAA Midwest Regional, which took place at Grand Valley. Making the task even more daunting was the fact that the Cards had squared off against the Huskies a week earlier.
The Cardinals had no problem advancing past the Huskies, winning in straight sets by scores of 25-17, 25-23 and 25-20.
In the first game, the Cards got off to a torrid start, leading by as many as 10 points before Michigan Tech was able to make a mini-run at the end of the game to bring the score closer, although the Cards were never in any real danger of dropping the game.
The second game was an up hill battle for the lady Cards who fell behind early. They were able to pull out the come-from-behind victory in a tightly contested match that saw many lead changes.
The third game was a back-and-forth battle. Michigan Tech took their last lead of the game at 8-7 although the Cards were able to score the next three points and take a 10-8 lead. They would not trail for the remainder of the game, finishing off the Huskies 25-20, and capping off the first round victory.
Next up for the Cards was Northern Kentucky, whom the Cardinals had already lost to earlier in the season, dropping a 3-2 decision.
The Cards gained revenge, as they won the match with scores of 19-25, 25-11, 25-17, 19-25 and 15-13.
After dropping the first match, the Cards rebounded and won three out of the last four games to pick up the
3-2 victory.
The first game was close through out, with the score tied at 17 before Northern Kentucky was able to score the next three points to take a 20-17 lead that the Cards could not overcome.
The Cardinals dominated the second game, leading by as many as 13 points before finishing off Northern Kentucky 25-11.
The third game was close until the Cards scored five straight points midway through to take a 14-8 lead, which they would not relinquish.With their season on the line, Northern Kentucky came out in the fourth game determined not to have it come to an end. In what was a close game throughout, Northern Kentucky used mini three-and-four run scoring sprees to take the game 25-19.
SVSU got off to a quick lead in the fifth and final game. They scored the first two points to take an early lead. After Northern Kentucky got on the scoreboard, the Cardinals responded by scoring three of the next four points to take a 6-2 lead. The biggest lead of the game belonged to the Cardinals at 9-4. Northern Kentucky had one final last ditch effort in order to continue their season although it was not enough. They cut the Cardinal lead to 14-13, although the Cardinals were able to get the final point they needed to secure the victory.
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