Oct. 8, 2010

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Allendale, Mich. - Using a total team effort which featured 10 Lakers notching two or more kills, Grand Valley State swept Lake Erie by a 3-0 count (25-12, 25-11, 25-9) on Friday night (Oct. 8) in Allendale, Mich. GVSU dominated the Storm to the tune of a .392 hitting percentage, while forcing 25 LEC attack errors. The Lakers have now won five straight matches by the 3-0 variety.

Grand Valley State improves to 11-5 overall with a 10-2 record in conference play. The Lakers' last seven victories have come by 3-0 wins, as the team has recorded nine sweeps this year. Lake Erie, in its first season in the GLIAC, is 3-13 overall and 0-9 in the league.

GVSU sported nifty throwback jerseys for Friday night's contest and whether it was the jerseys or the fact that it is Homecoming weekend, the Lakers dominated Lake Erie in a match that took just 52 minutes.

In the opening set, Grand Valley State led 9-8 before closing the frame with a 16-4 run to win, 25-12. GVSU put together separate runs of 5-0, 5-0, and 4-0 in the set's final 20 points to finish off the Storm in a first set in which the Lakers hit a blistering .571. Junior Nicole Whiddon was a perfect 5-for-5 on kills in the first frame, while senior Rebeccah Rapin tallied three kills in four attempts.

Lake Erie went up 2-0 to begin the second set before Grand Valley State scored 10 straight points on the serving of junior Courtney McCotter, who served all 10 points. Five Lakers tallied kills during the run, including a pair from freshman Stacey Catalano. GVSU put together five straight points in the middle of the set, including kills from Rapin, Whiddon, two from Catalano, and a putaway from sophomore Eno Umoh to make the score 16-4. A 4-0 run late in the set featured two kills from freshman Sam Phillips and a kill from freshman Abby Ebels, all assisted by senior Meghan Scanlon. McCotter then ended the set with a kill, closing the scoring at 25-11.

The Lakers trailed 1-0 in the third set before scoring seven points in a row, again with McCotter doing the GVSU serving. She recorded a service ace and senior Krysta Kornack tallied a pair of kills in the 7-0 run. Grand Valley State led 13-7, but closed the match with a 12-2 run that featured two kills from sophomore Ashley Blaszczak, a kill from Ebels and Phillips, and a combined block by Ebels and Phillips.

For the match, GVSU hit .392 with 38 kills and only nine attack errors, while Lake Erie was held to a -.122 hitting percentage with 25 attack errors. The Lakers led in assists (38-15), digs (37-26), aces (4-2), and total blocks (5-4).

Leading all players in the match in kills was Whiddon. The junior took seven swings in the match and all seven resulted in a kill for a perfect 1.000 attack percentage. Catalano was next with six kills, seven digs, and an ace, while Rapin added five kills, three block assists, and a .444 hitting percentage.

Ebels totaled a match-high and career-high four block assists, while tallying three kills. Umoh and McCotter each recorded four kills. Scanlon dished out a match-best 23 assists, while sophomore Olivia Kohler passed for 10 assists. Freshman Sacha Gill picked up a match-high 10 digs.

Grand Valley State participates next weekend (Oct. 15-16) in the GLVC-GLIAC Crossover Tournament, where the Lakers will play three matches, with opponents yet to be determined. The tournament, in its third year of existence, will take place this year in Aurora, Illinois.