SPRING ARBOR, Mich. – The Spring Arbor University women's volleyball team defeated Mount Vernon Nazarene University in four sets Wednesday night at home, winning 25-22, 25-8, 21-25, 25-18.
The Cougars improved to 17-10 overall and 9-7 in the Crossroads League while MVNU fell to 21-11 and 10-6 in conference play.
Iyla Weeks led SAU with career-best 15 kills while hitting .448.
Keely Hinzman added 10 kills and five blocks, and
Isabelle Kirkendall contributed eight kills, 14 digs and five blocks.
Alexis Remtema finished with eight kills without an error on 16 attempts and matched Hinzman and Kirkendall with five blocks.
Gianna Kanitz helped swing the opening set with three service aces during a six-point run that turned a 19-16 deficit into a 22-19 lead. Kirkendall delivered the final kill to give SAU the early advantage.
The Cougars followed with their most efficient set of the night, putting away 15 kills with just one error for a .438 hitting percentage in the 25-8 second-set victory.
After MVNU extended the match with a third-set win, SAU took control of the fourth with 11 consecutive points to turn a 4-1 deficit into a 12-4 lead. The Cougars maintained that advantage before Kirkendall sealed the match with another kill.
Camy Wedge distributed 24 assists, and
Gabby Bryja added 14.
Palmer Fortress collected 10 digs, while Kanitz's three aces led SAU's nine-ace effort.
Spring Arbor finished with a 57-40 advantage in kills and hit .290 while limiting MVNU to .141. SAU also totaled 10 blocks.
The Cougars travel to Bethel University on Saturday, Oct. 31 for a 1 p.m. match.
