Eastern Wayne Today

Wayne State University's volleyball team is preparing for its final home matches of the 2024 regular season. The Warriors, with an overall record of 11-11 and a conference record of 8-4 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), will host Lake Superior State on Friday at 7 p.m. for Family Night and Saginaw Valley State on Saturday at 4 p.m. for Senior Day.

The team's coach expressed enthusiasm about the upcoming events, stating, "Along with two important home matches this weekend, we have the opportunity to celebrate our families and honor our seniors. It should be a fun weekend at the Matthaei."

Currently positioned fourth in the GLIAC standings, Wayne State has four matches remaining in the regular season, including two road games against Grand Valley State and Roosevelt next week. The top eight teams will qualify for the GLIAC Tournament, with the top four hosting quarterfinal matches on November 20th. The semifinals and finals are scheduled for November 23rd-24th at the venue of the highest remaining seed. Wayne State aims to host and win a GLIAC Tournament quarterfinal match for the first time since 2021.

In their last encounter with Lake Superior State, Wayne State secured a decisive victory with scores of -19, -17, -18. The Warriors achieved a hitting percentage of .280 compared to Lake Superior's .079. Notable performances included Kayla Giroux's consistent double-digit kills throughout most of her games this season and Katie Smith's personal best hitting percentage of .615.

Against Saginaw Valley State, Wayne State won with scores of -18, -17, 23-25, -19 despite recording their lowest hitting percentage in a win since October 22nd, 2022 (.197). Molly Miller led with 16 kills while achieving her fourth double-double this season. Ella Uganski maintained strong performance metrics with an impressive .500 hitting percentage.

On Saturday before facing Saginaw Valley State University Cardinals, Wayne State will honor its five seniors: outside hitters Molly Miller and Keilyn Carpenter; middle blockers Ella Uganski and Jenna Kray; and defensive specialist Carly Rodman.