Volleyball Clinches Tourney Spot With 3-2 Win Over Findlay

DETROIT - The Wayne State University volleyball team (13-11, 11-6 GLIAC) clinched a berth in the conference tournament for the third straight season following Tuesday night’s 3-2 victory over the University of Findlay (12-14, 6-11 GLIAC) at the Matthaei.

The Warriors battled back from a 2-1 deficit (23-25, 25-10, 28-30) to take the final two sets (25-20, 15-11) and win their fourth straight match. Wayne State has won the last six meetings against Findlay, including three five-set results.

Katarzyna Sak (Warren, Mich./Cousino) finished with 23 kills, matching the career-high she established Oct. 22 against Tiffin. She hit .333, made three blocks and had four service aces.

Maureen MacDonald (White Lake, Mich./Marian) and Madie Kent (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich./Grosse Pointe North) each posted double-doubles, the fifth of the season for both Warriors. MacDonald collected 14 kills and 12 digs, while Kent racked up 13 kills and 13 digs. Kent also had two aces and a pair of blocks.

Cydney Biessel’s (Ruby, Mich./Yale) 61 assists were the most by a WSU player since Rebecca Hague had 61 at Lake Superior State on Oct. 10, 2003. Biessel also had five digs and three blocks.

In the opening set, the Oilers erased a 20-15 deficit with a 10-3 run. Findlay out-hit WSU, .345 to .200, and took a 1-0 lead.

The Warriors turned the tide in the second, hitting .364 to UF’s .000 mark. Sak had five kills as Wayne State cruised to a 25-10 win.

While the two sides were never separated by more than three points in the third set, Wayne State trailed for the majority of the set as Findlay served to take a 2-1 lead at 24-21. The Warriors fought back with a four-point run to pull ahead 25-24, but the Oilers were finally able to finish it off 30-28.

Wayne State led for the duration of the fourth, and in the fifth WSU clinched the match with a 15-11 triumph.

Others contributing up front were Amanda Wetherill (Forest, Ohio/Riverdale) who had nine kills, Nicole Arends (Ravenna, Mich.) who hit .556 with six kills and three blocks, and Kris Vulaj (Redford, Mich./Union) who finished with five kills. Defensively, Lindsey Graciak (Westland, Mich./Livonia Churchill) led all players with 25 digs.

Wayne State will close out the regular season this weekend, hosting Michigan Tech on Friday and Northern Michigan on Saturday.