Oct. 23, 2009

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Allendale, Mich. - In a battle of first-place teams in the GLIAC North Division, Grand Valley State knocked off Ferris State, 3-1 (25-20, 20-25, 25-22, 25-23) on Friday night (Oct. 23) in Allendale, Mich. The Lakers combined for 13 team blocks and held FSU to a .037 hitting percentage, which included 35 attack errors.

Coupled with GVSU's 3-2 win over the Bulldogs on Sept. 15 in Big Rapids, the Lakers sweep the season series from Ferris State. Grand Valley State is now 14-9 overall with a 9-3 record in the GLIAC, while Ferris State falls to 17-8 overall with an 8-4 conference mark. These two teams, along with Northern Michigan and Saginaw Valley State, were tied in the North Division with identical 8-3 league records.

It was a defensive battle for most of the match, as neither team managed better than a .146 hitting percentage in any set. GVSU hit .056 with 46 kills and 37 errors, while Ferris State connected at a .037 clip with 40 kills and 35 errors. Grand Valley State notched 13 total blocks, while FSU managed 11 rejections. The Bulldogs did pick up 65 digs, while the Lakers tallied 56 digs.

GVSU started well early, taking a 5-1 advantage in the opening moments of the first set. The lead was extended to 9-5 before Ferris State mounted a comeback and tied the score at 13-13. FSU managed to take a few one-point leads, but with the score tied at 20-20, Grand Valley State pulled away. A Bulldog attack error was followed by a kill from freshman Eno Umoh to jump ahead 22-20. Umoh was involved in the next three points, as GVSU notched back-to-back-to-back block assists. The first block combination was Umoh and senior Whitney Tremain, while Umoh then paired with junior Rebeccah Rapin for the next two rejections, ending the set at 25-20.

While the Lakers did not hit overly well with a .095 attack mark and nine kills, the GVSU defense forced 14 Ferris State errors, leaving the Bulldogs with a -.022 hitting percentage in the first frame.

The second set was all Ferris State early on, as FSU raced out to a 9-2 lead before a Grand Valley State timeout. GVSU slowly crept back into the set due to the serving from junior Krysta Kornack. With Kornack serving, the Lakers scored five straight points and eventually tied the score at 12-12. Ferris State, however, responded with five straight points and ran away with the second set with a 25-20 victory. Again, neither team hit well as Grand Valley State (-.024) and FSU (.069) struggled offensively.

After trailing 4-1 early in the third set, GVSU ran off five straight points and pushed the lead out to 11-5 after a service ace from freshman Olivia Kohler and a kill from Tremain. The Lakers extended the advantage to 15-11 and kept a steady cushion for the rest of the set. On top 22-15, Ferris State rallied, but the Lakers used another Tremain kill to end the third set, 25-22. Both teams hit .000 for the set, as GVSU (nine) and Ferris State (10) had the same number of kills and errors.

An up-and-down fourth set saw the Lakers lead 8-4, then trail 11-9. GVSU then scored five straight points, including more strong serving from Kornack, who tallied a service ace, and two kills from Rapin. Ahead 14-11, Ferris State fought back but could never catch the Lakers. With the score at 17-16, GVSU sandwiched two kills from Tremain around a Kornack putaway to up the lead to 21-16. The Bulldogs trailed 24-20 and scored three straight points, but an FSU error ended the set and match at 25-23. GVSU recorded 16 kills and a .146 hitting percentage in the final set, while Ferris State hit .133 with 10 kills.

After starting slow, Tremain finished very strong with a match-high 13 kills. She added seven digs and four block assists. Kornack added 12 kills, nine digs, three blocks (one solo), and a pair of service aces. Rapin provided nine kills and three block assists.

Umoh was a force at the net, notching six block assists to go along with six kills. Kohler and junior Meghan Scanlon each totaled 20 assists, while Scanlon added eight digs and a kill off of one her own digs that landed in the back corner on Ferris State's side. Junior Janelle Beaudry picked up 12 digs, while senior Katey Crichton provided 10 digs.

The match was the Lakers' lone contest of the week. GVSU will next be in action on Oct. 30 in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., as the Lakers travel up north to take on Lake Superior State. The match will begin at 4:00 p.m.