Nov. 21, 2008

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Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State completed the opening day of the 2008 Midwest Regional Volleyball Tournament by sweeping Northwood, 3-0 (25-22, 25-22, 25-14) on Friday night (Nov. 21). The Lakers, seeded first in the region and third in the country, took care of the eighth-seeded Timberwolves in one hour and 13 minutes for their 30th win of the year. GVSU will face Indianapolis in the 7:30 semifinal match on Saturday (Nov. 22).

Two of the first three matches in the regional tournament were 3-0 victories and Grand Valley State added to that total with their sweep of NU. GVSU improves to 30-3 on the year and it marks the 10th time in school history (and second year in a row) that the Lakers have notched 30 wins. Northwood ends its season with a record of 16-14. It is the sixth 30-win season at Grand Valley State under Laker head coach Deanne Scanlon.

The teams battled in the opening set, with the set being tied at 7-7. GVSU took a 12-9 lead and held a two to three point advantage for most of the rest of the set. Northwood battled back to within a point at 22-21 before a Timberwolf service error and a kill from GLIAC Player of the Year Danielle Alexander extended the lead to 24-21. The Lakers would win the set two points later.

Northwood opened up a 10-9 lead early in the second set before Grand Valley State rallied to score four straight points and take a 13-10 lead. The teams would be tied again at 13-13 when NU followed with three points of its own. GVSU and Northwood would be tied again seven more times in the second set, including 20-20. It was at that point that the Lakers would score the next three points and finish the set with a kill from junior Whitney Tremain, off of an assist from senior setter Jamie Ashmore.

The third set was all Grand Valley State. The Lakers opened up a 3-0 lead and extended the advantage to 7-1. Leading 11-4, GVSU scored the next four points behind the serving of sophomore Janelle Beaudry, who notched a pair of service aces during the run. Grand Valley State led 15-4 at that point and cruised the the 25-14 third set win.

For the match, GVSU hit .170, but held Northwood to a .070 attack percentage. The Lakers recorded 10 block assists for 5.0 total team blocks and added 39 assists on 39 kills. Both teams recorded 20 attack errors.

Alexander led the way for Grand Valley State with match highs of 11 kills and three block assists. Tremain followed with eight kills, a .467 hitting percentage, and a pair of block assists. Senior Lauren Reber added six kills and nine digs for GVSU.

Ashmore provided 30 assists, while junior Meredith Young totaled a team-best 10 digs.

In the other regional matches, #6 Northern Kentucky upended #3 Lewis, 3-0, and #2 Saginaw Valley State dropped #7 Michigan Tech by the same 3-0 score. Northern Kentucky and SVSU will meet at 5:00 p.m. on Saturday. #4 Indianapolis won the first two sets against #5 Northern Michigan, but had to hold off the Wildcats, who won the next two sets. The Greyhounds rebounded for a five-set win that places them against Grand Valley State in the second semifinal at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday.

Earlier this season at the GLVC-GLIAC Crossover Tournament, Grand Valley State defeated Indianapolis, 3-1 (25-20, 19-25, 25-23, 25-21). The winners of the two semifinal matches will play in the regional championship at 7:00 p.m. on Sunday (Nov. 23).