Oct. 29, 2010

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Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State had no problems with visiting Tiffin on Friday night (Oct. 29), as the #18 Lakers swept the Dragons by a 3-0 score (25-13, 25-17, 25-21) on 'Dig Pink' night in Allendale. It took GVSU just 65 minutes to dispose of Tiffin, as the Lakers hit a blistering .556 in the first set and coasted to their 12th straight victory.

With the win, Grand Valley State is now 18-5 overall with a 14-2 record in GLIAC play. The Dragons fall to 11-13 on the year, 7-7 in the conference. GVSU is the #2 ranked team in the region and has now won nine of its last 12 matches by 3-0 sweeps.

The Lakers came out swinging in the first set and the stats showed how well they played offensively. GVSU recorded 16 kills and only one attack error in 27 attempts for a .556 hitting percentage in the first frame. Although the set was tied six times, Grand Valley State blew the score open after being tied 11-11. Two straight Tiffin errors were followed by a kill from senior Rebeccah Rapin and a service ace from senior Leslie Curtis. A solo block from Rapin made the score 16-11, but the Lakers were far from down. Leading 17-12, GVSU notched four straight kills, including three from senior Krysta Kornack to up the lead to 21-12. An ace from freshman Sacha Gill made the score 23-12 and the Lakers closed out the set at 25-13 on a double block from freshman Abby Ebels and sophomore Eno Umoh.

Grand Valley State raced out to a 6-2 lead after a combined block from Kornack and Ebels, but Tiffin scored the next two points to make the score, 6-4. GVSU then scored the set's next 10 points, all with sophomore Olivia Kohler handling the serving duties. During the 10-0 stretch, freshman Stacey Catalano totaled three kills, Umoh and Kornack added two apiece, and Curtis put down a kill. Tiffin would hang around the rest of the set and a late 5-0 run made the score close, but GVSU had no problem, finishing with a kill from junior Courtney McCotter on an assist from Gill.

The Dragons owned early leads of 4-0 and 7-4 in the third set and extended their advantage to 13-10 before Grand Valley State rallied to tie the score at 14-14. GVSU tied the score while in the midst of a 7-0 run with McCotter serving, as junior Nicole Whiddon had two kills during the rally and McCotter notched an ace. Again, Tiffin kept the score close, but the Lakers pulled away, as a kill from Kohler ended the set at 25-21 and the match at 3-0.

For the match, Grand Valley State hit .276 with 48 kills, while holding Tiffin to a .077 hitting percentage and only 25 kills. The Lakers tallied more digs (65-57), assists (44-24), and aces (4-3), but Tiffin was one of the only teams this season to outblock GVSU (6-5).

A pair of Lakers were in double-digits in kills, as Kornack and Catalano each tallied 11 putaways. Kornack hit .391 for the match, while adding two digs, a block assist, and an ace. Catalano hit .346 and picked up five digs. Rapin notched five kills in 10 swings for a .500 hitting percentage, while Curtis added five kills, five digs, an ace, and hit .444 for the contest.

Whiddon delivered four kills, while Ebels added four kills and two block assists. Umoh rejected three TU shots and notched three kills in four attempts, while McCotter totaled a match-high and career-high 16 digs. Gill picked up 14 digs with six assists and an ace, while Scanlon recorded a double-double with 21 assists and 14 digs. Kohler passed for 14 assists and picked up five digs.

The Lakers return to the court on Saturday (Oct. 30) at 4:00 p.m., as they face off with Ohio Dominican.