Saginaw Valley State (3-1): 3
Southern Indiana (3-1): 1
Box Score

BIG RAPIDS, Mich.—The University of Southern Indiana volleyball team suffered its first setback of the early season Saturday afternoon as it fell to Saginaw Valley State University 15-25, 25-17, 25-23, 25-19 at the Ferris State University Bulldog Classic.

USI (3-1) attacked at a blistering .379 pace in the first set as it forged a 1-0 lead in the match. The Cardinals (3-1), however, used a 9-0 run in the second frame as they swung momentum into their favor and evened the match at one frame each.

The Eagles' offense struggled throughout the final three sets as they attacked at clips of .083 and .095 in the second and third games and negative .074 in the final set.

Junior outside hitter Brittani Oliver led the Eagles with 14 kills and nine digs, while freshman outside hitter Abbi Williams recorded nine kills, four blocks, and a .304 attacking percentage.

USI, which had 11 team blocks in the loss, benefitted from a strong net presence from sophomore middle blocker Danielle LaGrange, who finished with a career-high eight blocks.

Defensively, the Eagles got 15 digs out of sophomore libero Krista Coccaro and 13 digs out of junior defensive specialist Janae Curnutt. Senior setter Melanie Pund finished with 31 assists.

USI returns to action Friday at 11 a.m. (CDT) when it takes on Wayne State University at the TownePlace Suites Classic in Findlay, Ohio.