SPRING ARBOR, Mich. -- The Siena Heights women's volleyball team surrendered a 2-0 lead before pulling out the victory in the fifth set in a non-conference match on the road against Spring Arbor on Saturday afternoon. The Saints (11-3) fought off the rally by the Cougars (10-15) to squeak by with the 3-2 win.
Janel Ruhlman led the Saints with 12 kills (.135) in the win. Aubrey Bates paced play for SHU with 34 assists and ten digs for her sixth double-double of the season. Payton Osborne led the backcourt with 25 digs. Kadie Carsten also contributed on defense with 21 digs.
Siena Heights scored the match's first four points before using a 5-0 run to increase the lead to 17-10. Spring Arbor battled back to tie the score at 23, but Carsten got a kill for the side out and then finished the set with a service ace to give the Saints the 1-0 lead.
The second set saw the Cougars build a 6-2 advantage, but the Saints went on another 4-0 run to tie the score at six. The score was tied throughout the rest of the set, all the way up to a 20-20 deadlock. SAU pulled away 23-21 until the Saints used a 4-0 run to steal the set and hop up to a 2-0 lead.
The Cougars hopped in front after a tie at nine points, eventually building a 23-14 advantage. The Saints would cut the lead to six, 24-18, but SAU held on to take the third and cut the deficit to 2-1 on the set score. The fourth looked similar to the third, with Spring Arbor building a nine-point edge, 18-9. But, this time, the Saints used a 4-0 run to cut the lead to 18-14 and got as close as three points, 22-19, before the Cougars took the set 25-20 and forced a decisive fifth set.
The final set was close, with five ties to start the game. The Saints pulled ahead by two points, 7-5, and held that lead to a 12-10 lead. SAU cut it to 12-11 before Ruhlman registered a kill and a service ace before Bates ended the match on a kill to take the match and the win.
Up Next
The SHU women's volleyball team returns home to host UNOH in a Wolverine-Hoosier Athletic Conference (WHAC) match on Wednesday, October 13, at 7:00 p.m. EST.
