Sept. 18, 2009

Box Score

Marquette, Mich. - After dropping the first set of the match, Grand Valley State rebounded to defeat Northern Michigan, 3-1 (22-25, 25-21, 25-20, 25-18) on Friday night (Sept. 18) in Marquette, Mich. The Lakers picked up their second consecutive GLIAC road victory and finish the weekend with a match at Michigan Tech on Saturday afternoon.

GVSU upped its record to 7-5 overall with a 3-1 mark in the GLIAC, while Northern Michigan falls to 6-6 overall and 2-2 in league play. The Lakers continue the trip through the Upper Peninsula at 4:00 p.m. on Saturday against MTU.

Grand Valley State received equal production throughout the match, as six players recorded six or more kills and three players tallied double-digits in digs. The Laker offense also hit well, securing 49 kills and connecting at a .200 attack percentage. GVSU's defense, however, held Northern Michigan to a .101 hitting clip and used 10.0 total team blocks to help force 30 NMU attack errors.

The opening set was tied at 18-18 before a Laker error gave the Wildcats a lead they would not relinquish. GVSU cut the score to 22-21 before Northern Michigan finished the set with three of the next four points for its lone win of the match.

In the second set, Grand Valley State came out strong and took a quick 5-0 lead. The Lakers would never give up the lead, but NMU would rally to within a point on a few occasions. Leading 16-14, GVSU opened up the score with four straight points and a 20-14 advantage that would be too much for the Wildcats.

Trailing 3-0 in the third set, the Lakers rallied to re-gain the lead by a 10-5 score. The set would be tied at 17-17 before GVSU would slowly pull away. Back-to-back kills from junior Krysta Kornack and freshman Eno Umoh put Grand Valley State ahead 19-17 and it would score eight of the set's final 11 points for a 25-20 win.

It was the same story in the fourth set, as the Lakers would take a 13-12 lead and NMU would not get as close again. Senior Meredith Young would serve four straight points and record a kill in the mini-run and GVSU would close out the set and match on consecutive Wildcat attack errors.

Kornack and junior Rebeccah Rapin paced the Laker offense. Each player tallied 11 kills, while Rapin notched five blocks (three solo) and Kornack added three blocks, while hitting .364 for the match. Umoh, who hit .462 on the night, and senior Whitney Tremain (13 digs, three blocks) each supplied seven kills for GVSU.

Sophomore Nicole Whiddon totaled six kills, four blocks, and hit .417 during the match. Young provided 16 digs and six kills, while junior Janelle Beaudry added a match-high 21 digs. Freshman Olivia Kohler led the Lakers with 24 assists, while junior Meghan Scanlon just missed a double-double with 11 assists and nine digs.