DETROIT -- The Wayne State University volleyball team (3-6 overall, 1-1 GLIAC) is back on the road for league play this week. The Warriors will play at Saginaw Valley State (3-7 overall, 1-1 GLIAC) on Friday night at 7 p.m. before seeing Lake Superior State (5-5 overall, 2-0 GLIAC) on Saturday afternoon at 3:30 p.m.
Coach Tim Koth's Corner
"The road is always challenging in the GLIAC, and this weekend is no exception. We've worked hard this week, hopefully have gotten a bit better, and will carry that over to the matches against Saginaw Valley and Lake State."
About Last Week
Wayne State played its first home conference matches of the season hosting Davenport on Friday and No. 9 Ferris State on Saturday. In a 3-0 victory over the Panthers, the Warriors' offense hit .363, their highest clip of the season and best output against a conference opponent since Oct. 8, 2021 (Davenport - .414). Wayne State snapped a four-match skid against Davenport and each of the Warriors' last three victories over the Panthers have come in Detroit. The next day, nationally-ranked Ferris State defeated Wayne State in straight sets. The Warriors hit .273 as a team, but didn't record a service ace for the first time since Sept. 11, 2021 at Southern Indiana.
Wayne State's Weapons
The Warriors' offensive attack has featured a three-headed dragon in
Kayla Giroux,
Molly Miller and
Kayla Dulgar. Giroux is first in the GLIAC and ninth nationally for hitting percentage (.455), Miller is second in the league for kills (143) and Dulgar is fourth in the conference for assists (332). Not to mention that Giroux has racked up 116 kills to just 21 errors on her 209 total attacks. Defensively,
Kendyl Andrews' 119 digs and Giroux's 47 total blocks (first in the GLIAC and 38th in Division II) are at the top for Wayne State. Also among the country's leaders, Miller is 31st in kills per set (3.97) and 38th in points per set (4.46).
Scouting Saginaw Valley State
Saginaw Valley State opened the season at 2-1 before dropping six of their next seven matches entering this week. The Cardinals are led by first-year head coach and eighth head coach in program history, Lana Rybkowski. Rybkowski was appointed to the position just 52 days ago (August 5) as of Sept. 26. She joined SVSU after seven years as an assistant coach at Northwood, the school that she also played at for four seasons from 2004-07. This season, Rybkowski's efforts have been paced by Sarah Veale (124 kills, 10 service aces), Ava Beard (172 assists), Sedona Coon (83 digs) and Makaylah Roberts (21 total blocks). In the all-time series, Wayne State has defeated Saginaw Valley State eight matches in a row.
Scouting Lake Superior State
Under third-year head coach Zac Rambo (18-52 overall, 11-27 GLIAC), Lake Superior State is off to a 2-0 start in GLIAC play for the first time since at least 2007. This fall, the Lakers won just one of their first six matches, but have since turned it around a bit with victories in four consecutive outings. In those four performances, LSSU didn't drop a single set against the likes of Christian Brothers, West Alabama, Saginaw Valley State and Roosevelt. Statistically for the Lakers, student-athletes at the top include Mariana Velasque (82 kills), Ally Lasley (13 aces, 93 digs), Venessa Swerdon (275 assists) and Morgan Deming (31 blocks).
