Site: Dearborn, Mich. (UMD Field House)
Match One Score: Madonna University 3, Spring Arbor University 1
Match Two Score: Madonna University 3, Bethel College 1
Records: MU 2-0; SAU 0-2; BC 3-3
Next MU event: Saturday August 28 vs. Notre Dame College (UMD Field House), 8:45am

SPRING ARBOR BOX SCORE | BETHEL BOX SCORE

DEARBORN, Mich. (MadonnaCrusaders.com) - - The No. 21-ranked Madonna University volleyball team opened the 2010 season with a pair of 3-1 wins on Friday (August 27) afternoon as part of the University of Michigan-Dearborn Early Bird Challenge. The Crusaders downed Spring Arbor University in the season's first match and then rallied from down a set to defeat Bethel College in the night cap inside the UMD Field House.

Spring Arbor Match
MU jumped out quickly to an 11-4 lead in the season's opener behind three kills from junior Karie Altman (Taylor, Mich. / St. Frances Cabrini) and a trio of blocks to force SAU into a time out. Coming out of the break the Crusaders continued with their .296 attack percentage and pushed their lead out to as many as 13 at 20-7 on a kill from senior Liz Dempsey (Westland, Mich. / Franklin) to send SAU into another time out. MU continued the offense as the Crusaders took advantage of four Cougar errors down the stretch for a 25-9 win.

Set two was the opposite of set one for the Royal Blue and Gold as the Crusaders only connected at a .077 clip and fell behind 5-2 early and could not recover, falling 25-20 and allowing SAU to tie the match at one set each.

The third set was tight early on but MU pulled ahead at 9-8 on a one of five Altman kills in the set to go on top for good. The Crusaders pushed a four point cushion at 19-15 to a 23-15 lead thanks to four straight errors by the Cougars. SAU got back to with in five at 23-18 thanks to three straight MU miscues but an Altman kill followed by another SAU miscue gave MU set three at 25-18.

The final set of the match the tightest of the series as there were seven ties and two lead changes. Madonna did not take the lead for until Altman put down a set from Evia Prieditis (Milford, Mich. / Milford) to make it 24-23 and a Cougar attack error gave the Crusaders match point and a 25-23 win.

Altman tied her career high with 17 kills while sophomore Anastasija Seremetjeva (Riga, Latvia / Rigas Secondary School 16) posted 11 kills of her own to join Altman in double figures. Juniors Megan Fricke (Wyandotte, Mich. / Roosevelt) and Amanda Koszela (Dearborn, Mich. / Dearborn) both posted 20 digs while Dempsey added 16 to go along with eight kills. Prieditis posted 46 assists in her Madonna debut after sitting out the 2009 season as a redshirt.

Bethel Match
Set one of MU's final match of the day was all Bethel as the Pilots connected at a .286 percentage while the Crusaders could only muster a .086 average and made seven errors among their 35 swings. The two sides traded points early as the set saw 10 lead changes and after BC tied the set at 19-all before taking a 24-19 lead as part of a 7-0 run. A pair of Crusader errors in the final four plays gave the Pilots a 25-21 win and a 1-0 lead in the match.

The second set was the opposite of the first as MU built out an early lead, going up by as many as 8 at 17-9 only to see BC pull back to with in three at 22-19 and 23-20. A kill from Altman put the Crusaders up 24-21 but a pair of MU miscues allowed BC to get back to with in one at 24-23. Dempsey ended the set with a swing that found the floor for a 25-23 win to tie the match at 1-1.

Set three was all Madonna as the Crusaders cruised to a 25-10 win behind seven kills from Altman and five more from Dempsey to take a 2-1 lead in the match.

The final set of the day was back and forth with 12 ties and six lead changes. Neither side could build more than a three point lead through out the set but after a BC tied the set at 21, the Pilots were whistled for a ball handling error and back-to-back kills from Dempsey put MU on top 24-21 before another Altman kill gave MU the 25-21 win and a 3-1 win in the match.

Dempsey led the way in match two of the day with 17 kills to go along with a career-best 25 digs while Seremetjeva tied a career-high with 14 kills and Altman added 14 of her own. Prieditis set a new career-high with 52 assists while Fricke and Koszela added 17 digs each to pace the defense.

The Crusaders wrap up their opening weekend of the season with two more matches on Saturday. MU starts the day at 8:45am, taking on Notre Dame College before closing the Challenge with a showdown against No. 23-ranked and 2009 national runner-up Georgetown College at 3:30pm.

POST MATCH QUOTES
Karie Altman
On the difference between sets one and two against Spring Arbor: "They started to run a triple block in the middle and that was a little unexpected but I think we let them get too much momentum and they ran away with it.

On what happened in set one against Bethel: "I think we may have lost some focus after an up and down match against Spring Arbor. Our focus may have been waning a little and I think that did us in during set one."

On what changed after that set: "Once we won set two, we went into set three with a lot of confidence and a lot more energy."

Evia Prieditis
On her first collegiate match: "I wasn't nervous but I was just excited to get out there after sitting out last year."

On what SAU did differently in set two: "They came back and were more aggressive than we were. We backed off a little I think."

On what the team was doing in the set one loss to Bethel: "I thought we were the ones making the mistakes and we needed to be more active and not just watch them play."

On what the difference was after set one: "I thought we were attacking more and not afraid. We were playing our best and not stepping back and waiting."

Contact: Patrick Moore (734) 432-5834