Sept. 25, 2010

Box Score

Hillsdale, Mich. - After sweeping Findlay on Friday night (Sept. 24), Grand Valley State was on the wrong end of a sweep on Saturday night (Sept. 25), falling 3-0 (19-25, 21-25, 20-25) at #16 Hillsdale. The Lakers had won their previous four matches before the loss to the Chargers. GVSU closes the three-match weekend with a contest at Wayne State on Sunday (Sept. 26).

Grand Valley State had won four straight matches, five of its last six contests, and all three road conference matches before Saturday night. The loss puts the Lakers at 6-5 overall, 5-2 in the GLIAC, while the nationally-ranked Chargers are now 10-1 on the year, 7-0 in league play.

Hillsdale opened up a 12-7 lead in the first set before the Lakers got back within a point at 13-12 after a kill from freshman Stacey Catalano. GVSU would again get the score down to a one-point disadvantage at 14-13 after senior Rebeccah Rapin tallied a kill. It would be as close as the Lakers would be the rest of the set. Hillsdale used a 4-0 run with the score at 18-15 to open up the set and close out GVSU by a 25-19 score.

The teams were tight throughout the second set, with the score being tied eight times, including 13-13 after the Lakers went on a 4-0 run to open up a 14-13 advantage. Catalano and senior Krysta Kornack both notched kills during the mini-run, both assisted by sophomore Olivia Kohler. With the set knotted at 15-15, the Chargers would score six straight points to widen the gap to 21-15. GVSU used kills from senior Leslie Curtis and Catalano to cut the score to 22-19, but HC would finish out the set a few points later at 25-21.

Both teams had their best offensive sets in the third set, with GVSU connecting at a .312 pace (13 kills), while Hillsdale hit .424 with 18 putaways. The set was tied at 11-11 before HC's 6-2 run would open up some breathing room for the home team, making the score 17-13. Grand Valley State rallied to within two points at 18-16, but the teams traded points the rest of the way, with Hillsdale finishing the set with a 25-20 win and closing out the sweep of GVSU.

The Chargers hit .246 in the match with 43 kills, just three more than Grand Valley State (40), while the Lakers hit .124. Hillsdale totaled more digs (64-62), while GVSU outblocked the Chargers (8-7). The Lakers recorded more aces (3-0) and assists (39-36) in the loss.

Leading the way for GVSU was Catalano, who notched a team-high 10 kills to go along with 15 digs and a pair of service aces. Rapin put down eight kills and a match-high six blocks (five assisted), while Kornack also had eight kills and added three blocks.

Notching 10 digs, eight kills, and a solo block was Curtis, while freshman Sacha Gill picked up a team-best 18 digs. Senior Meghan Scanlon tallied a double-double with 17 assists and 10 digs, while Kohler dished out a team-high 18 helpers.

GVSU squares off with Wayne State on Sunday at 2:00 p.m. in Detroit, Mich.