ROCHESTER, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's volleyball team defeated Rochester in straight sets on the road on Wednesday evening inside Garth Pleasant Arena. The Saints (16-6, 11-5 WHAC) are three games back from league-leader Madonna in the Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) standings.
SHU finished the match with 45 kills, 79 digs, eight blocks, and a team hitting percentage of .165 while holding the Warriors to just 27 kills (.108) in the winning effort.
Janel Ruhlman hit for .278 to lead the team in kills with 14. She also contributed two service aces, eight digs, and two blocks. Autumn Anderson totaled ten kills (.167), three digs, and one block. Aubrey Bates paced the Saints' attack with 32 assists while also helping defensively with eight digs. Payton Osborne and Alli Conly led the back row with 21 and 14 digs, respectively.
The Saints cut down a 6-3 lead early in the opening frame to build an 11-7 with a 6-0 run and would never look back. A 7-0 run extended the lead to 20-12, and a 3-0 run ended the first with a 25-16 win and a 1-0 lead for the visitors.
Rochester built another lead in the second, this time a 12-8 advantage. A 4-0 run from SHU tied things up as the team then traded points up to a 22-22 deadlock. Conly registered a service ace, and Ruhlman put the set away with back-to-back kills for the 25-22 win and a 2-0 lead.
The third was all Siena Heights as the score jumped to a 5-3 lead early as the Saints tallied 18 kills and never trailed in the third. The Warriors kept things close, but the match was ended with a 25-22 decision.
Up Next
The Saints return home for a match against Concordia (Mich.) on Friday at 7:00 p.m.
