LIVONIA, Mich.-- Madonna University's volleyball team picked up two Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) wins on Friday and Saturday at home on the floor of the Alliance Catholic Credit Union Arena to extend the team's win streak to 12. 

MADONNA 3, SIENA HEIGHTS 0

HOW IT HAPPENED

Things were close in the early stages of the first set before the Saints threw four-straight attacking errors and an ace from Kacie Stoneburner gave the Crusaders a slight edge 12-9. A block by Brigette Vanderham and DJ Sargent weren't enough to keep SHU at bay as Jodie Kelly's onslaught of kills continued to hammer away at a slight Saints lead in the later stages of the frame. In the end, it was Molly Miller and Stoneburner to secure the first set win.

The Crusaders started out on a 6-2 run in the second set behind Kelly and Jaeda Porter as the rest of the squad chipped small victories through the set to keep a steady lead. Vanderham and Kelly then suffocated any chance the Saints had at recovering the set en route to the win.

The third set saw teeth-clinching moments. Fast forward to the final points of the set, SHU held a 25-24 margin with one point to go before securing the third frame before the Crusaders rattled off four-straight points by Miller and Sargent to defeat the opposing, previously undefeated WHAC team. 

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
 

• Kelly racked up 14 kills while Miller tallied 10 herself as Jordyn Dawson notched 17 assists with Stoneburner just behind with 16
• With this win, Madonna put themselves in a great position to defend its undefeated WHAC standing on Saturday

MADONNA 3, LOURDES 0

HOW IT HAPPENED

On Saturday, the Crusaders welcomed Lourdes to the ACCU as both teams jumped to small leads in a blow-for-blow start to the match. Stoneburner's kill tied things up at 6-6 before the Gray Wolves went on a 5-0 run as Madonna responded with 6-0 streak of its own. When it counted, errors by Lourdes and a solid kill by Miller gave Madonna the first set win.

Lourdes stepped up quickly in the second set start forcing Madonna to regroup behind a pair of kills by Kelly once again that gave Madonna the spark it needed through the rest of the set. Several more errors by the Gray Wolves and individual kills by Kelly and Miller made short work of LU in set two, 25-14. 

In the final stand, three-straight errors and a Porter kill gave Madonna yet another advantage in the third quickly. The Crusaders held a five point lead in the middle of the frame as the Gray Wolves started to climb back slowly. With the game at 21-17, Lourdes generated four errors in a row to hand Madonna the win.

INSIDE THE NUMBERS
 

• Kelly and Miller once again were kill leaders with 12 and 10, respectively
• The Crusaders tabled five service aces compared to Lourdes' single stat
• Madonna tallied up a .255 attacking percentage, going 36 of 106 total attacks

UP NEXT

The Crusaders will be at home on Wednesday, September 22 in the Alliance Catholic Credit Union Arena as the squad will welcome WHAC foe Rochester University (Mich.) at 7:00 p.m. 

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