Oct. 15, 2010

Box Score

Aurora, Ill. - The #25 Grand Valley State volleyball team completed a perfect opening day at the GLVC-GLIAC Crossover Tournament on Friday (Oct. 15), as the Lakers swept Northern Kentucky by a 3-0 score (25-21, 25-13, 25-20) on Friday afternoon. With the win, GVSU has won seven straight matches, all of the 3-0 variety, which includes a three-set sweep over Missouri S&T on Friday morning. The Lakers close the Crossover Tournament on Saturday afternoon against #11 Lewis.

GVSU, the #3 seed from the GLIAC, improves to 13-5 overall and winners of seven straight contests and 11 of its last 12 matches. The Lakers have won 11 matches by 3-0 sweeps, including seven straight. In fact, the last nine matches Grand Valley State has won are 3-0 victories. Northern Kentucky, the #4 seed from the GLVC (Great Lakes Valley Conference) falls to 15-9.

One of the top offensive teams in the conference, Grand Valley State won both matches on Friday on the defensive side of the ball. Fortunately for GVSU, it is also one of the best defensive teams in the GLIAC and in the country. The Lakers entered the weekend as the eighth-best blocking team in Division II and have shown why after two matches at the Crossover.

In the opening match against Missouri S&T, GVSU rejected 11 Miner shots and allowed S&T to hit just .033 with 24 errors. Against Northern Kentucky, Grand Valley State forced 30 attack errors and a .054 hitting percentage with the help of 12 total blocks, including five solo rejections. On the flip side, GVSU hit a very solid .268 with 34 kills, including a first set in which the Lakers connected for 14 kills and zero errors for a terrific .412 attack mark.

The first set was tied six times, including the last time at 16-16, before Grand Valley State slowly started to inch away from the Norse. GVSU forced three straight Northern Kentucky errors, including a combined block from senior Krysta Kornack and sophomore Eno Umoh to make the score 19-16. NKU scored two points in a row to make the score 19-18, but back-to-back kills from Kornack gave the Lakers a 21-18 advantage. Grand Valley State used a kill from freshman Stacey Catalano, a putaway from senior Rebeccah Rapin, and a combined block from Rapin and junior Nicole Whiddon to end the set at 25-21.

While the Lakers were outstanding offensively (.412, 14 kills, zero errors) in the first set, GVSU was even better defensively in the second set, forcing Northern Kentucky into a -.258 hitting percentage with six kills and 14 attack errors. Freshman Sacha Gill took the ball with a 3-1 lead in the second set and served up five straight points, including a service ace, to make the score 8-1. A kill from Catalano made the score 12-2, as the Lakers began to pull away. Leading 18-11, Rapin tallied a kill, followed by a solo block on the very next point to up the lead to 20-11. Sophomore Olivia Kohler notched back-to-back service aces to make the score 24-13 and a NKU attack error (its 14th of the set) ended the set at 25-13.

The third set was tied eight times in the most back-and-forth set of the match. Just as in the first set, the score was tied the last time at 16-16 before Rapin notched a kill, then combined with Catalano for a combined block that put the Laker lead at 18-16. After alternating service errors, Catalano notched a kill, the Norse committed another error, and the lead was four points at 21-17. In the final seven points of the match, GVSU recorded a pair of solo blocks - one each from Umoh and Kornack - to finish the set at 25-20 and the match at 3-0.

Leading all players in the contest was Catalano and her 11 kills. She hit .375 for the match with seven digs and three blocks (one solo). Rapin followed closely behind with nine kills, but recorded a slightly better hitting percentage of .381. She added five blocks, four of them coming on block assists. Kornack played very well with six kills and four blocks, including two solo rejections.

Umoh blocked four shots (three assisted) and added four kills, while Whiddon rejected a pair of NKU attacks. Senior Leslie Curtis tallied a team-high 10 digs, while senior Meghan Scanlon dished out 14 assists, four digs, and a pivotal kill off of the match's longest point in the third set. Kohler totaled 10 assists, seven digs, and three of the team's four service aces.

The Lakers will meet up with nationally-ranked Lewis on Saturday afternoon at 2:00 p.m. (ET). At last year's Crossover, GVSU took a 2-1 lead on the Flyers before dropping a 3-2 heartbreaker in one of the top matches of the weekend.