ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's volleyball team bounced back from the previous night's loss with a 3-1 (18-25, 25-15, 25-21, 25-19) win over Michigan-Dearborn on Saturday evening. The Saints (7-2, 3-1 WHAC) started slowly in the first set but picked things up to win three straight sets to defeat the Wolverines (4-8, 2-2 WHAC).
Olivia Norman had herself a day as she led the team in kills with 12 and blocks with four. Janel Ruhlman also had 12 kills in the match along with five digs and three blocks. Aubrey Bates tallied 41 assists, six kills, and six digs in the win. Payton Osborne led in the back with 20 digs while Alli Conly contributed with 12 digs of her own.
The Saints jumped out to an early 4-0 lead in the first set that they eventually built to a 10-3 advantage. The Wolverines battled back and used a 7-0 run to tie things up at 10 before eventually taking a 14-12 lead and never looked back to snag the first set, 25-18, and hop out to a 1-0 lead.
Siena Heights rallied in the second. This time building a lead of 21-11 and maintaining that deficit all the way to a 25-15 decision that tied the match score at one game apiece.
The third set was all Saints as SHU moved to a 14-6 lead quickly. UM-Dearborn cut the deficit to two points (19-17), but Siena Heights held on for the 25-21 victory to take the 2-1 lead.
The fourth began in favor of the visitors as the Wolverines scored five straight to start the set. A 7-0 run by the Saints flipped the score to a 12-10 advantage for the hosts and SHU never trailed again on the way to sealing the 3-1 win with a 25-19 score in the fourth set.
After struggling in the first set, Siena Heights hit .222, .229, and .258 in the final three sets to earn the win. Despite the loss, UM-Dearborn edged the Saints 25-24 in kills. SHU held the advantage in digs, 56-41, and blocks, 8-7.
Up Next
The Saints remain at home for a conference match against Lawrence Tech this Wednesday, September 22. That is the second match in a five-match homestand for SHU and will begin at 7:00 p.m.
