LIVONIA, Mich. - The Madonna University volleyball team finished the 2019 Julie Martin Memorial Classic 2-2 with a split as on Saturday as they dropped the first match to the University of Saint Francis (Ind.), 3-1, before rebounding to defeat Bethel University (Ind.), 3-1. 

The Crusaders finished the classic 8-4 overall with the Cougars moved to 9-3 and the Pilots fall to 4-7.

WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW:
Match 1 vs. St. Francis

• The offense struggled for the Blue and Gold as MU hit under .200 in two of the four games and tallied only two blocks to the Cougars' 10
• Jodie Kelly set a career-high with 27 kills and hit .339 in the match while Erica LaBaere added 13 kills and hit .286
• The first and second games were tightly contested as the teams each won a game 25-23, but some lengthly rallies by the Fort Wayne, Indiana program led to the match win with wins of 25-16 and 25-22.

Match 2 vs. Bethel

• The offense found a rhythm against Bethel as they hit .231, which included a .300 mark in set three
• Madonna also played big at the net with nine blocks and tallied six service aces
• The Blue and Gold took set one, 25-20, with five straight points to turn a 20-19 deficit into the win as Ryan Castle served the final five points with one ace and Tauri Hintz collected a pair of kills in the rally
• A late run by the Pilots gave them set two, 25-22, before the Crusaders dominant set three which saw MU win 25-15 as the home team won 11 of the final 14 points. 
• The Blue and Gold rolled the momentum into a 25-20 game four win to secure the classic split. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS

• 48 - Kelly finished with 48 kills on the day
• .084 - Madonna limited Bethel to a hitting percentage of less than .084 in three of the four games
• 4 - DJ Sargent and LaBaere paced the defense at the net as each finish with four blocks on the day
• 98 - Betsy Cook tallied an impressive 98 assists in the two matches
• 30 - Olivia Sweeney held down the back row as she collected 30 digs

CLASSIC RESULTS

• Doane finished the Classic 4-0 with a pair of sweeps over Union and Saint Francis
• Indiana Tech won both of its matches, 3-0 over Bethel and 3-1 over Union

CRUSADER VISION


UP NEXT
The Crusaders open up Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference play when they return to action on Wednesday, Sept. 11 against Siena Heights University. First serve is scheduled for 7 p.m. inside the MU Activities Center with live coverage available on the Madonna Athletics Network at www.mucrusaders.com/live. 

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