Aug. 29, 2008

Box Score

The #6 Grand Valley State Lakers were upended in their Top-10 showdown with #3 Truman State on Friday afternoon, as the Bulldogs posted a 3-0 victory (25-22, 25-18, 25-16). GVSU opened the day - and the season - with a 3-1 win over Southern Indiana on Friday morning in the Missouri S&T "Middle of Everywhere" Classic in Rolla, Mo. The Lakers drop to 1-1 on the year, while Truman State is 2-0.

In set one, Truman State jumped out to a 5-2 lead before the Lakers rallied to tie the set at 10-10. The Bulldogs scored six of the next eight points and eventually led 20-16 before GVSU tied the score at 21-21 with a 5-1 rally. Grand Valley State was unable to hold off Truman State, as it closed off the first set with a 4-1 run.

The Lakers had their top offensive set of the match, tallying 14 kills and eight errors for a .140 percentage, while Truman State mustered a .105 clip with nine kills and five errors.

Set two was a back-and-forth affair as the teams traded points and were knotted at 11-11. The Bulldogs then put together a 7-0 run to take an 18-11 advantage and control of the set. GVSU could get no closer than six points the rest of the way, as Truman State took set two. A 16-kill, four-error performance gave the Bulldogs a .267 attack percentage, while the Lakers totaled 10 kills and errors for a .044 clip.

Truman State closed the match with a strong third set, as it jumped out to an 11-5 lead and pushed the score to 18-7 with a quick 7-2 run. A Laker service error made the score 20-9 and the Bulldogs closed the match with a 25-16 win.

The match went in complete opposites for the two teams, in terms of hitting percentages. Truman State's percentage improved through the three sets, as the Lakers went on a downhill slope. GVSU connected at just a .029 mark, with eight kills and seven errors, while the Bulldogs used 13 kills and just two errors for a .379 attack percentage. For the match, Grand Valley State hit .073 while Truman State notched a .241 percentage.

Seniors Lauren Reber and Danielle Alexander led the Lakers with nine kills apiece. Reber totaled a team-high 14 digs, while Alexander added two of GVSU's three service aces. Junior Meredith Young contributed 13 digs, while senior setter Jamie Ashmore tallied 23 assists.

Truman State now leads the all-time series, 3-0, as the two teams had not met since Sept. 4, 2004 in Allendale. The Bulldogs also won that match, 3-0.

Grand Valley State closes the weekend with a pair of matches on Saturday. The Lakers face 2006 national runner-up North Alabama at 11:00 a.m. ET and take on #17 Pittsburg State at 5:00 p.m. ET.