ADRIAN, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's volleyball team defeated Cornerstone 3-1 (23-25, 25-18, 25-20, 25-23) inside the SHU Fieldhouse on Saturday evening. The Saints (9-2, 5-1 WHAC) snapped a 12-game losing streak to the Golden Eagles (9-10, 4-2 WHAC) with the victory.
Olivia Norman led the way offensively with a career-high 16 kills in the match. It is her third-straight match recording double-digit kills. Janel Ruhlman helped with 11 kills and Kadie Carsten totaled nine. Aubrey Bates paced the SHU attack with 46 assists and 15 digs for her fifth double-double this season. Payton Osborne had a match-high 24 digs in the win.
Cornerstone hopped out to a quick 5-2 lead in the opening set, but the Saints battled back and eventually tied things up at 22 and again at 23. The Golden Eagles were awarded the final two points of the set to take the 1-0 lead.
The second was all SHU as the home team exploded for a 21-10 lead. Cornerstone rallied and cut the deficit to six points (24-18), but an attack error gave SHU the final point and the 1-1 tie in the set score.
The third started with a 7-0 run by the visitors. The Saints battled back and used a 4-0 run to earn a 10-9 lead before Cornerstone regained a 15-13 advantage. Siena then rattled off six straight points to pull ahead 19-15 before earning the 25-20 decision and taking a 2-1 lead.
Again, the Golden Eagles built an early lead only to have Siena Heights roar back to gain the edge (14-11). Cornerstone retook the lead to 19-13, but Ruhlman and Norman recorded two kills inside of a 6-0 run for the home team and the score was then tied at 19. With a 23-23 deadlock, Bates got a kill and then dished a ball to Aline Marinelo who spiked the third set to a 25-23 conclusion and the Saints picked up their fifth win in league play.
Up Next
Siena Heights will complete its four-game homestand on Wednesday, September 29 with a WHAC match against Rochester at 7:00 p.m., EST.
