Oct. 10, 2009

Box Score

Allendale, Mich. - Coming off of a thrilling five-set victory over Ashland on Friday night, the Lakers had a much easier time on Saturday (Oct. 10) afternoon, as GVSU defeated Tiffin, 3-0 (25-10, 25-12, 25-12) in Fieldhouse Arena. Grand Valley State hit .418 as a team for the match, its highest attack percentage since Sept. 8, 2007.

The victory is GVSU's third straight, which is its longest winning streak of the season, and the Lakers have won five of their last six matches. Grand Valley State is now 12-7 overall with an 8-3 GLIAC record, while Tiffin falls to 2-19 overall and 0-11 in league play.

GVSU completely dominated the match from the opening point. The Lakers hit a season-best .418, which is their highest hitting clip since defeating Kentucky Wesleyan, 3-0, in September of 2007. That day, Grand Valley State connected at a .422 mark (43 kills, eight errors). On Saturday, GVSU used 39 kills and just six errors to overwhelm the Dragons, who are in their first full season in the GLIAC.

The opening set saw Grand Valley State score the first seven points, including three service aces from junior setter Meghan Scanlon. Tiffin cut the score to 10-4 before GVSU upped the advantage to 14-4 on kills from Nicole Whiddon, Whitney Tremain, and Kaity Gormley. On top 21-10, the Lakers closed the set with the final four points to move ahead 1-0. In the opening stanza, GVSU recorded 16 kills without an attack error for a .640 hitting percentage.

Grand Valley State jumped out to a 7-1 lead in the second set, which included a pair of kills from junior Rebeccah Rapin. The Lakers pushed the advantage out to 12-4 after back-to-back service aces from freshman Olivia Kohler and would cruise from that point on. While GVSU again hit well in the second set (.360, 12 kills), it held Tiffin to a -.115 hitting percentage with eight attack errors.

The third set was also never in question, as the Lakers again jumped out to a 7-1 lead for the third time in the match. Senior Katey Crichton recorded a kill and three consecutive service aces, while Rapin followed with a pair of kills. The Dragons would close the gap to 14-9, but GVSU would push ahead to 17-10. Tremain notched a kill and then paired with redshirt freshman Eno Umoh for back-to-back block assists to up the lead to 21-10. After a service ace from junior Janelle Beaudry, Umoh would add three kills in the next five points and a TU attack error would close the set and match.

Tremain was the only player in the match with double-digit kills, as she notched 12 putaways, three blocks, and three digs. Rapin added seven kills in 12 attempts for a .500 hitting percentage and added a pair of blocks. Umoh and Gormley supplied six kills apiece, as Umoh added two blocks and Gormley notched a pair of digs and a service ace.

Scanlon's 21 assists and three service aces paced the offense, while Beaudry led the defense with a match-high 13 digs. GVSU recorded 40 digs as a team and forced Tiffin into a -.027 hitting percentage. The Lakers notched 10 service aces, their second-highest total of the season.

Grand Valley State will compete next at the GLIAC/GLVC Crossover next weekend (Oct. 16-17). The Lakers' opponents have yet to be determined, but they will play either three or four matches against teams from the Great Lakes Valley Conference.