LIVONIA Mich. - The Madonna University volleyball team will play in a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference semifinal contest for the 22nd-straight season as they defeated Cornerstone University in four sets on Wednesday night inside the MU Activities Center.

The third-seeded Crusaders are now 23-11 on the season and will face seventh-seed Lourdes University on Friday at Lawrence Technological University at 5 p.m. The Golden Eagles suffer their first WHAC quarterfinal loss since 2014 and finish the year 15-18.

HOW IT HAPPENED

• Set One: Madonna came out hot in the first set with three kills from Jodie Kelly and one each from DJ Sargent and Jordyn Dawson for a 5-0 lead over Cornerstone. The Golden Eagles battled back to tie the set at 6 before another 5-0 run by the Crusaders, highlighted by a pair of Tauri Hintz kills, gave MU an 11-6 advantage that they never let go. With a total of 18 kills, the Crusaders quickly finished set one with a final score of 25-20. 
• Set Two: Several runs early in the set gave the visitors an 18-11 lead, but the Crusaders responded by winning eight of the next 10 points, led by Janelle Kwasiborski and Hintz who each tallied two kills and a block assist. The Golden Eagles got to set point first, but MU won the next four to tie the game at 24 before CU won the final two points for the 26-24 win. 
• Set Three: Ryan Castle changed the momentum of the match in game three when she stepped to the service line up 4-3 and followed with 12 consecutive points, which included a pair of aces, to make it 16-3. The Blue and Gold were able to hold off 
• Set Four: With a rough start to the fourth set the Crusaders trailed 6-0. With solid defense from the backline and setter Betsy Cook, who took over in set two after Dawson was injured, the Crusaders began to chip away at the lead. Cook, with an ace, led a 4-0 run and Kelly, who had a pair of kills in the rally, served another 4-0 run to put MU in front 16-13. The Golden Eagles tied the score, but the Crusaders battled back to win nine of the final 11 points, led by three kills from LaBeare, to win the match 25-19. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 10+: Three players tallied double-digit kills led by Kelly who finished with 21 while Hintz and LaBaere each added 11; Three other players tallied 10-plus digs led by Olivia Sweeney who had 16 while Ryleigh Jacobs and Cook each had 11
• 8: Cook (No. 8) played great in relief at the setter position as she finished with 33 assists and 11 digs
• .227: Madonna hit .227 in the contest while Cornerstone hit just .140

CRUSADER VISION


TOURNAMENT UPDATE

• Top seed Lawrence Tech defeated Siena Heights in three sets and will host the semifinals and championship this weekend.
• Six seed Indiana Tech upset University of Northwestern Ohio in five sets while seventh-seeded Lourdes upset Aquinas in three sets to advance

UP NEXT

• The Crusaders advance to the WHAC Semifinals at Lawrence Tech in Southfield where they will face seventh-seeded Lourdes on Friday, Nov. 15 at 5 p.m. The WHAC Championship game will take place on Saturday at LTU at 1 p.m.
• Live coverage links will be made available at www.mucrusaders.com. 

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