HUNTINGTON, Ind. – No. 23 Spring Arbor University dropped a 3-0 decision on the road at Huntington University on Saturday afternoon in Crossroads League action.
The Foresters won by scores of 25-23, 25-23 and 25-16. Spring Arbor moved to 9-4 overall and 1-3 in league play, while Huntington improved to 6-9 and 2-2.
Spring Arbor came out strong in the opening set. The Cougars jumped ahead 8-2 behind a balanced attack and later extended their advantage to 18-11 following a kill from
Melissa Staufer. Huntington responded with six consecutive points to pull within one before eventually taking its first lead of the set at 20-19.
SAU battled back to tie the score at 23-23 on an attack error, but Huntington answered with the final two points to take the opening set, 25-23.
The second set followed a similar pattern. Spring Arbor held a 12-9 advantage before eventually building its lead to 17-13. Huntington worked its way back, but back-to-back kills from
Isabelle Kirkendall put SAU in front 20-17. The Foresters responded with four straight points to take a 21-20 lead. The Cougars again tied the set at 23-23 before Huntington scored the final two points for another 25-23 win.
Huntington carried the momentum into the third set, opening up a 9-2 advantage. Spring Arbor cut the deficit to 9-7 following a
Gianna Kanitz service ace, but the Foresters pulled away from there and closed out the match with a 25-16 victory.
Kirkendall led the Cougar attack with 10 kills and added eight digs.
Keely Hinzman finished with nine kills while hitting .208 and contributed three total blocks. Staufer added five kills and seven digs.
Camy Wedge handed out a team-high 18 assists and matched
Palmer Fortress with 14 digs.
Gabby Bryja added nine assists, while Kanitz recorded two of SAU's three service aces.
Spring Arbor finished with 37 kills compared to 34 for Huntington, but the Cougars committed 25 attack errors and hit .089 for the match. Huntington committed 15 errors and finished with a .150 hitting percentage.
Spring Arbor (9-4, 1-3 CL) returns home Wednesday, Sept. 16 for another Crossroads League matchup against No. 14 Taylor University. First serve inside the McDonald Athletic Center is scheduled for 7 p.m.
