Oct. 22, 2008

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Allendale, Mich. - #5 Grand Valley State cruised to its' 19th consecutive victory on Wednesday night (Oct. 22) with a 3-0 sweep (25-19, 25-18, 25-18) over Aquinas. The Lakers toppled the Saints in just an hour and three minutes to push their home winning streak to 28 straight matches, two wins shy of the all-time school record. With the win, GVSU improves to 22-2 overall, while Aquinas falls to 17-10.

Coming off a strong 3-0 weekend at the GLVC-GLIAC Crossover Tournament where they defeated #24 Indianapolis and #21 Northern Kentucky, the Lakers did not have a letdown against Aquinas, an NAIA affiliate. Grand Valley State tallied its'13th three-set sweep of the season and seventh in its' last nine matches.

The Lakers jumped out to a 6-1 lead in the opening set and held that advantage for most of the set. GVSU led 18-10 until the two teams traded points the rest of the set, with Grand Valley State coming out on top, 25-19.

In the second set, the teams were tied at 9-9 before GVSU scored seven of the next nine points to take a 16-11 lead. While Aquinas would mount a slight comeback and cut the score to 18-15, the Lakers scored seven of the set's final 10 points for a second set win. Grand Valley State had its' best offensive set of the match with a .538 attack percentage, totaling nine kills in 13 attempts.

Aquinas looked as if it would push the Lakers to a fourth set, as the Saints jumped out to a quick 9-2 lead. GVSU then went on an 11-4 run of its' own to tie the score at 13-13. Grand Valley State would open a six-point advantage at 22-16 and finish off the match with a 25-18 third set victory.

The Lakers totaled a .301 hitting percentage with 34 kills, while holding Aquinas to a .153 attack clip and forcing 19 errors. GVSU also owned the play at the net, with a pair of solo blocks and 14 block assists for 9.0 total team blocks. Aquinas managed a lone block solo and zero assists.

In a match where 14 Lakers saw action and nine players recorded a kill, senior Danielle Alexander and junior Whitney Tremain paced the offense. Alexander, the current AVCA Division II National Player of the Week, notched a match-high nine kills, a .500 hitting percentage, four block assists, and three digs. Tremain continued her strong recent play by adding nine kills.

Sophomore Rebeccah Rapin totaled seven kills and three block assists, while senior setter Jamie Ashmore dished out 23 assists and added six digs, two kills, and two service aces. Junior Meredith Young added a match-high 13 digs for the Lakers.

GVSU takes its' 19-match winning streak on the road against West Michigan rival, Ferris State, on Friday (Oct. 24) for a 7:00 p.m. match. Earlier in the season, the Lakers swept FSU, 3-0, at GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.