Sept. 4, 2010

Box Score

Tampa, Fla. - On day two of the prestigious Tampa Classic in Tampa, Fla., Grand Valley State dropped a four-set battle against #13 Nebraska-Kearney, as the Lopers earned a 3-1 win on Saturday night (Sept. 4). It was the first meeting between the two schools since the 2005 Division II National Championship match, but UNK won on Saturday by scores of 25-20, 26-28, 25-17, and 25-18.

In arguably the toughest tournament in the country on opening weekend, GVSU has had its shares of ups and downs. Earlier on Saturday, the Lakers fell in three sets to #5 Central Missouri. The loss to the Mules came on the heels of Grand Valley State's three-set sweep over #1 Concordia-St. Paul on Friday afternoon, as the Lakers snapped CSP's Division II record-setting 75-match winning streak.

The last contest between GVSU and Nebraska-Kearney was on Dec. 3, 2005, as the Lakers won the program's first-ever Division II National Championship, knocking off the heavily-favored Lopers by a 3-1 tally. None of the players in Saturday's match played in that 2005 match and UNK reversed the score for a 3-1 victory of its own. Nebraska-Kearney is now 2-2 on the year, while GVSU falls to 1-2 on the season.

Grand Valley State hit .223 for the match, while collecting 52 kills, as UNK connected at a .287 mark with 64 putaways. The Lopers were well-balanced offensively, as four players had 10 or more kills. Nebraska-Kearney picked up 61 digs to GVSU's 48 and recorded 13 more assists (58 to 45) than did the Lakers.

Trailing 9-2 early in the first set, Grand Valley State did not panic and rallied to tie the match at 12-12. Although the Lakers would never take the lead in the set, they kept the pressure on and trailed 19-18 before Nebraska-Kearney scored six of the next eight points to finish off the opening set.

In the second set, GVSU used a 7-2 run to break open a 7-7 tie score and lead the Lopers, 14-9. Grand Valley State kept up a steady lead the rest of the set and were on top, 24-20 when Nebraska-Kearney tied the score at 24-24. The Lopers actually re-gained the lead at 25-24, but with the set tied again at 26-26, GVSU forced a UNK hitting error and used a kill from sophomore Eno Umoh to end the set at 28-26. The Laker offense was incredible in the second set, recording 16 kills and zero errors for a .471 hitting percentage.

The emotions of the second set may have taken too much out of GVSU, as Nebraska-Kearney raced out to an 11-3 lead in the third stanza. Battling back to a five-point deficit at 20-15, GVSU was unable to get any closer, as the Lopers used a 5-2 run to close out the third set.

Nebraska-Kearney took another quick lead in the fourth set, jumping out to an 11-4 advantage early. From that point, the Lakers would get as close as four points at 22-18, but the Lopers used three straight kills to end the set and the match for UNK.

For Grand Valley State, seniors Krysta Kornack and Rebeccah Rapin led the way. Kornack notched a team-high and career-high 15 kills, while hitting .250 and adding three blocks. Rapin, who picked up her 1,000th career kill earlier on Saturday, totaled 14 kills, as she hit .357 for the match. She added four digs, two blocks, and a service ace.

Junior Nicole Whiddon recorded six kills in nine attempts, while freshman Stacey Catalano notched a team-high 12 digs and six kills. Setters Meghan Scanlon and Olivia Kohler dished out 22 assists apiece, while Umoh rejected a team-high six shots.

The Lakers finish the weekend against the host school, Tampa, in a 1:00 p.m. match on Sunday afternoon (Sept. 5).