Oct. 12, 2007

Box Score

Erie, Pa. - The Mercyhurst women's volleyball team suffered its fifth-consecutive defeat Friday evening, falling in three games to Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference foe Saginaw Valley State.

The loos drops the Lakers' record to 14-10 overall and 2-9 in conference play. The five-straight losses is a season-long skid, and the Lakers have now lost three in a row at home after opening the season 10-0 inside the Mercyhurst Athletic Center.

Saginaw Valley (16-8, 5-6 GLIAC) were opportunistic, making Mercyhurst pay for their 28 hitting errors. Meanwhile, the Cardinals pounded out 41 kills and committed just nine errors in the match. In game two alone, the Cardinals recorded 16 kills and one error, and committed just four in the other two games.

In the opening game, Mercyhurst held a late 27-24 lead, but the Cardinals scored five unanswered points before putting the game away 30-28. Saginaw Valley dominated game two with its accuracy, hitting .536, outdueling the Lakers, who totaled 16 kills and a .306 hitting percentage in the game.

The Cardinals were able to come away with a 30-27 win in the clincher despite 17 kills from the Lakers.

While no Saginaw Valley player tallied double figure kills and the team's assist leader, Amy Howard, totaled just 15, the Lakers had three players reach double figures in the kills column, and sophomore Julia Butler totaled 40 assists.

Junior Lauren Kubinski led the Mercyhurst effort with 17 kills. Junior Jenna Matson and sophomore Katie Fritz each tallied 10 kills. Freshman Kendall Ashworth totaled a match-high 13 digs.

The Lakers will look to stop their skid on Saturday afternoon against visiting Northwood. Match time is scheduled for 2 p.m. Action can be watched online through the B2 Network.