Oct. 15, 2011

Box Score

Aurora, Ill. - For the second time on Friday (Oct. 14), the Grand Valley State volleyball team won the opening set of its match at the GLIAC-GLVC Crossover Tournament before falling by a 3-1 score. The Lakers dropped a four-set decision on Friday night to Bellarmine by the final of 25-15, 25-27, 20-25, 18-25. GVSU closes out the weekend with a meeting against Lewis on Saturday afternoon.

Grand Valley State (9-9) fell in four sets to Missouri S&T earlier on Friday before dropping a similar decision to Bellarmine (10-7) in a night showdown. The Lakers entered the tournament as the GLIAC's seventh seed, while Bellarmine was the eighth-ranked team from the Great Lakes Valley Conference.

While the Lakers tallied 10 total blocks and 50 kills, Bellarmine connected for a .252 hitting percentage, 58 kills, and an 8-3 edge in service aces. The Knights also led in assists (56-46) and digs (65-54) and were able to overcome a tremendous offensive set in the opening stanza of Friday's match.

GVSU turned a 9-7 lead into a 14-8 advantage after consecutive kills from freshman Abby Aiken and another putaway from sophomore Megan Schroeder. Nursing a 20-15 score, the Lakers tallied the final five points of the match on a kill from sophomore Abby Ebels, a bad Bellarmine set, a double block from Ebels and Schroeder, a Knight attack error, and finally a kill from Ebels to win the set. Grand Valley State connected for 14 kills and one error for a .481 hitting percentage in the opening set.

In the second stanza, senior Nicole Whiddon had two early kills, the second of which put GVSU ahead by a 9-4 lead. Bellarmine, however, rallied to tie the score at 10-10. The set would stay close until the Lakers pushed forward for a 24-21 advantage after a Schroeder kill and a solo block from Ebels. Before GVSU could notch the final point, Bellarmine scored three straight points to tie the score. Another Bellarmine kill and a service ace ended the set in favor of the Knights at 27-25.

Neither team lead the third set by more than three points until BU took a 17-17 score and extended to a 22-18 advantage. The Lakers received two kills in three points from Aiken and Whiddon, but back-to-back putaways from Bellarmine gave the Knights a 25-20 win in the third set. During the frame, Bellarmine hit .414 with 15 kills and just three errors, its best offensive output of the night.

The teams were out to an 11-11 tie in the fourth set before the Knights surged ahead to an 18-13 lead that would be too much for the Lakers to overcome. Another 4-0 run from Bellarmine sealed the deal, as BU finished off the match with a 25-18 victory.

For Grand Valley State, Ebels was terrific, collecting 12 kills (with zero errors) in 23 attempts for a .522 hitting percentage. She also added a match-high seven blocks (two solo) and three digs. Aiken paced the Lakers with a double-double of 16 digs and 15 kills, while adding two blocks and an ace.

Schroeder totaled eight kills and three block assists, while Whiddon hit .316 with seven kills, three digs, and a pair of assists. Junior Olivia Kohler just missed a double-double, providing 22 assists and nine digs, while freshman Clair Ruhenkamp dished out 19 assists.

GVSU meets up with Lewis at 1:00 p.m (CST) on Saturday afternoon, which is the third straight year the teams have met at the Crossover. In 2009, the Flyers captured a five-set win over Grand Valley State before the Lakers picked up a similar five-set win over LU in 2010.