Sept. 24, 2010

Box Score

Findlay, Ohio - In the opening contest of a three-match weekend, Grand Valley State made quick work of Findlay on Friday night (Sept. 24), as the Lakers swept the Oilers, 3-0 (25-14, 25-20, 25-16). It was the first of three consecutive road contests that GVSU plays this weekend and the Lakers used a .363 to dispatch of Findlay in just 75 minutes.

With the victory, Grand Valley State improves to 6-4 on the year, while the Lakers are 5-1 in GLIAC play. It was GVSU's fourth straight victory, as it has now won five of its last six contests. Grand Valley State is now 3-0 in road conference matches. Findlay drops to 7-4 on the season, 3-2 in the league.

The opening set was tied early at 6-6 before GVSU started to pull away. After a combined block from sophomore Eno Umoh and senior Krysta Kornack and a kill from freshman Stacey Catalano, the Lakers led, 16-9. Findlay would close the gap to 19-12 before five straight GVSU points (including three consecutive blocks) made the score 24-12. The Lakers would close out the set three points later with a 25-14 win.

Grand Valley State could never really pull away from the Oilers in the second set, opening up a 10-5 lead before taking a seven-point advantage (17-10) on a Catalano kill. UF pulled to within 22-19 late in the set before back-to-back kills from senior Rebeccah Rapin and Umoh halted the Oiler momentum. The Lakers, who hit a stunning .424 in the set (18 kills, four errors), used a kill from Kornack to end the set and go ahead 2-0 in the match.

Findlay somehow kept the score close in the third set, as GVSU was terrific offensively. The Lakers recorded a .440 attack percentage with 11 kills and zero errors, but UF only trailed 15-12 midway through the set. Grand Valley State finished the set and match with a 10-4 run that was punctuated by a Rapin kill and a Findlay attack error to end the set at 25-16.

The Lakers shined on offense, hitting .363 with 44 kills, while holding the Oilers to a .054 clip with 22 attack errors. GVSU recorded 36 digs, 36 assists, and six total team blocks.

Catalano totaled a match-high in kills with 11 putaways, while hitting .348 for the contest. Rapin was close behind with nine kills, but connected at a .429 pace with a pair of block assists. Kornack and senior Leslie Curtis each tallied eight kills, while Kornack hit .412 for the match.

Freshman libero Sacha Gill topped all players with 13 of the Lakers' 36 digs, as senior Meghan Scanlon dished out a match-best 19 assists. Umoh notched five kills in eight attempts for a .625 hitting percentage and added three block assists. Junior Nicole Whiddon also rejected three Oiler shots, while supplying three kills.

GVSU looks to keep the momentum going on Saturday night (Sept. 25) with a trip to Hillsdale. The Lakers battle with last year's GLIAC champions at 5:00 p.m.