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Wayne State University Athletics

Lauren VanderWal
Lauren VanderWal had 28 kills against Walsh on Saturday.
0
East Stroudsburg ESU 0-4,0-0 PSAC
3
Winner Wayne State WSU 3-0,0-0 GLIAC
East Stroudsburg ESU
0-4,0-0 PSAC
0
Final
3
Wayne State WSU
3-0,0-0 GLIAC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 F
East Stroudsburg ESU 16 22 17 (0)
Wayne State WSU 25 25 25 (3)
2
Walsh Walsh 2-2,0-0 G-MAC
3
Winner Wayne State WSU 4-0,0-0 GLIAC
Walsh Walsh
2-2,0-0 G-MAC
2
Final
3
Wayne State WSU
4-0,0-0 GLIAC
Winner
Set Scores
Team 1 2 3 4 5 F
Walsh Walsh 19 26 25 28 11 (2)
Wayne State WSU 25 28 22 26 15 (3)

Game Recap: Volleyball | | Cameron Weidenthaler, Assistant Media Relations Director

Volleyball Begins Season 4-0 at the Warrior Invitational

Lauren VanderWal and Kamryn Duffield named to the All-Tournament Team.

DETROIT -- The Wayne State University volleyball team (4-0 overall) won both matches on day two of the Warrior Invitational on Saturday.  The Warriors collected their third sweep in three matches with a straight sets win over East Stroudsburg (0-4 overall).  The event ended with a five-set thriller, which WSU pulled out to stay unbeaten.

Lauren VanderWal (Caledonia, Mich.) and Kamryn Duffield (Romeo, Mich.) were named to the All-Tournament Team for their excellent performances.  In addition, VanderWal was named Most Outstanding Player after posting 72 kills and a .377 hitting percentage for the weekend.

MATCH ONE vs. EAST STROUDSBURG (W, 3-0)
HOW IT HAPPENED
East Stroudsburg won three of the first four points but WSU would come back and take a 7-5 lead on a kill from Keilyn Carpenter (Vermontville, Mich. / Maple Valley).  Back-to-back kills from VanderWal and a ESU error moved the home advantage to 11-9.  A 6-0 run from the Green & Gold made it 17-11.  Kills from Halle Shell (Port Huron, Mich. / Port Huron Northern) and another tally by Carpenter made it 20-13.  Jenna Kray (Westerville, Ohio / Worthington Christian) collected two kills in the final points to give WSU a 25-16 victory.

The second set was controlled by Wayne State in the early stages as WSU used two aces from Shell to take a 7-4 lead.  The ESU Warriors tied the set at 16-16 but a kill by Carpenter broke the deadlock.  Two kills from VanderWal, a point by Kray and an ace from Carpenter gave the home team a 21-17 advantage.  The visitors pulled within one at 21-20 and 23-22 but WSU answered and won 25-22.

Alexa Withun (Troy, Mich. / Athens) put WSU on top 4-2 early in the third set.  VanderWal made it 10-8 before the Warriors started to gain control of the set.  A kill from Shell moved the margin to 17-12.  The Green & Gold led 21-15, 23-16 and would end the set with a kill from VanderWal plus a ESU attacking error.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
VanderWal finished with a match-high 19 kills, while Carpenter was impressive with 12 kills.  Duffield had 38 assists, while Maddy Benoit (Farmington, Mich. / Mercy) collected 19 digs.

ONE BIG THING
Wayne State had seven service aces compared to three for East Stroudsburg.
 
Gallery: (9-3-2021) Warrior Volleyball vs. East Stroudsburg

MATCH TWO vs. WALSH (W, 3-2)
HOW IT HAPPENED
Taylor Wagner (St. Joseph, Mich. / Lakeshore) gave WSU a 6-3 lead to begin set one.  A solo block by Duffield made it 10-7 and the Warriors would continue to hold onto their slim lead at 16-15.  A kill from VanderWal put WSU on top 19-18 and the Green & Gold would go on to win 25-19 powered by two consecutive kills by Wagner and a point from Withun.

The Cavaliers set the tone early in the second set and led 7-3.  Walsh controlled the middle part of the game and led 16-9 but the Warriors would start to chip away at the deficit.  Wagner trimmed the WU lead to 18-14 and back-to-back kills from Kray brought Wayne State within one, 19-18.  Walsh led 24-21 looking to tie the match at 1-1 but the Green & Gold had other ideas and would tie the game at 24-24 propelled by kills from Shell, Withun and VanderWal.  WSU led 26-25 before Walsh tied the set again at 26-26.  Two straight points by Wagner ended the set and gave WSU a 28-26 win and a 2-0 match lead.

Walsh did not go away and won set three 25-22 and set four 28-26.

In the race to 15, Wayne State won the first two points and eventually led 5-1.  A VanderWal kill made it 10-5 before  the Cavaliers pulled within two, 10-8.  The Warriors won the next three points and would keep the momentum on the home bench, winning 15-11, on another kill by VanderWal.

LEADING THE WARRIORS
VanderWal finished with an eye-popping 28 kills, the most for a Warriors since current assistant coach Hailey Richardson had 29 on Sept. 1, 2018 against Tiffin.  VanderWal posted a .317 hitting percentage.  Wagner balanced out the offense with 19 kills, while Withun contributed 10 kills.  Duffield dished out a season-best 60 helpers, while also collecting a career-high 22 digs.  Also finishing with double-digit digs were Maddie Douglas (Brownstown, Mich. / Trenton), Wagner and Benoit.

ONE BIG THING
WSU hit .241 compared to Walsh's .190 hitting percentage.

HEAD COACH THOUGHTS
"Tonight was a great match for us, said head coach Tim Koth.  Being tested and stressed early in the year by a very good team and executing is a big boost.   For the weekend, it's the best start since 2016 for the Warriors and I am really proud of our group.  We had some great performances this weekend including Lauren, Kamryn, Halle and Alexa among others.  It was just a great start."

UP NEXT
The Green & Gold will hit the road next weekend and play UMSL, Alabama-Huntsville, David & Elkins and Southern Indiana in Evansville, Ind. as part of the USI Invitational.

 
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