Conference competition was able to end the Saginaw Valley State University volleyball season last year with a crushing defeat in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) tournament semifinals. After a 17-11 season and graduating five seniors, the volleyball team is ready to hit the courts again and get back to action.
Losing so many players can be quite a challenge for a team, particularly with last year’s roster that included two All-GLIAC first team players. However, head coach Will Stanton has done a fine role in replacing the leaders with four freshmen. The Lady Cardinals are also now one of the youngest teams in the conference with only two seniors, Morgan Eddy and Brooke Tiller, on the roster. Last season, Eddy finished with 92 kills and an average of 2.00 kills per set, while Tiller played in a massive 94 sets, racking up a team best 392 digs (118 digs more than the second best).
Despite losing so much, the team will be able to combine the fresh faces with much more experienced players. Leading the Cardinals on the court will be juniors Kelly Vellucci and Kaylee Schmitt, both who received All-GLIAC honors as well. Vellucci finished third in the league last year with 992 total assists and 10.2 assists per set. Schmitt registered 157 kills with a hitting percentage of .289, also adding the second most kills and digs on the team with 59 and 274 respectively.
Also returning to the roster is junior Andrea Brigham and sophomore Tamara Heller. Brigham competed in 24 total matches, including 14 conference matches, and recorded 114 kills alongside 377 total attacks. Heller earned the most playing time of all freshmen with 92 sets, contributing 233 digs and 30 assists.
Stanton explained recently that the coaches discovered that there was a lot of talent on the team that did not get as much playing time last season but really blossomed during spring training.
Depth has grown on the roster as well, with all of the incoming freshmen being attackers. Stanton said some of the girls had plenty of experience and could find their way into the starting roster, while a few may have to gain a year or two of experience and build on their raw talent.
The Lady Cardinals were selected to finish third in the GLIAC North Division for the 2015 season, collecting 35 points in the poll. Finishing ahead of the team was Ferris State University with 47 points and five of the eight first-place votes, as well as Grand Valley State University with 44 points and three first-place votes.
In addition to the gruesome wear and tear of the difficult conference play, the team will play in multiple tournaments with tougher opponents, including some that are nationally ranked, to ensure that the team does not peak too late in the season again.
The Cardinals will begin their season playing in the Ferris State Invitational on Sept. 4 and 5. Play will begin at 10:30 a.m. on Friday, Sept. 4, against Missouri Western, followed by a match against California (Pa.) at 3:30 p.m. Play will continue at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Sept. 5, against Wisconsin-Parkside and conclude with a final match at 2:30 p.m. against Mercyhurst.
