Oct. 15, 2011

Box Score

Aurora, Ill. - For the third consecutive year, Grand Valley State and #21 Lewis battled to five sets at the GLIAC-GLVC Crossover, as the Flyers were able to prevail on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 15) in a 3-2 marathon match. The Lakers captured wins in the first two sets before Lewis won the next two and prevailed in a thrilling fifth set (25-20, 25-18, 18-25, 14-25, 14-16).

In 2009 at the Crossover Tournament, Lewis knocked off GVSU in a five-set match in which the Lakers led 2-1 before the Flyers won the final two sets (including a 15-11 win in the fifth set) and the match. Last year, Grand Valley State won the second and third sets before finishing the contest with a 15-13 win in the fifth set. This year, the teams would eclipse both of the past two seasons with a fifth set that went into extra points before finally ending after two hours and four minutes.

Both teams recorded 63 kills, though Lewis connected at a .282 pace and GVSU hit .219. Grand Valley State led in digs (70-61) and service aces (5-4), while the Flyers had the advantage in assists (59-58) and blocks (9.0-5.5). With the win, Lewis (ranked #21 in the country and the sixth seed from the Great Lakes Valley Conference) improves to 15-5 this year. GVSU, the seventh seed from the GLIAC, falls to 9-10 overall.

In the opening set, Lewis led 8-3 before Grand Valley State rattled off a huge 11-0 run to push out to a 14-8 advantage. Senior Nicole Whiddon tallied three consecutive kills to start the spurt, sophomore Lyndsey Holt added a pair of kills, as did classmate Abby Ebels - all while junior Eno Umoh served during the 11-0 streak. The Flyers pulled to within 22-18 before a Holt kill provided some extra breathing room. Another Holt putaway finished the set at 25-20, as the Lakers hit .355 in the stanza.

Leading 8-3 in the second set after an Abby Aiken service ace, the Lakers kept the lead at 15-13 before running off seven consecutive points to open up a 22-13 advantage. All while junior Olivia Kohler was serving, GVSU scored points on kills from sophomore Megan Schroeder and one from Umoh, a block from Whiddon and Umoh, an Aiken kill, a rarely seen triple block from Aiken, Whiddon, and Umoh, and a service ace from Kohler. Whiddon notched a kill that made the score 25-18, closing the set and giving GVSU a 2-0 lead in the match.

Lewis responded by leading for the entire third set, except for an early 2-2 tie. A Schroeder kill kept GVSU within a point at 10-9, but the Lakers would get no closer, as Lewis tallied a .485 hitting percentage (17 kills, one error) during the stanza, which ended in a 25-18 win. In the fourth set, the Flyers led 7-2 early and pushed forward to a 16-7 advantage. Lewis again had a terrific offensive output in the fourth set, totaling a .500 hitting percentage with 15 kills and only one error. The Flyers closed the set and forced the fifth-set tiebreaker with a 25-14 win.

In the fifth set, GVSU led 2-0 after a Holt ace and a kill from Aiken, then pushed ahead 7-4 after another kill from Aiken. Whiddon's kill made the score 11-8 before Lewis scored three straight points to tie the set at 11-11. The score would be tied again at 12-12, 13-13, and an Umoh kill made it 14-14 before the Flyers notched consecutive kills to end the match at 16-14. Lewis had its third straight set with just one attack error, hitting .346 with 10 kills, while the Lakers hit .308 with 12 putaways.

Aiken led the Laker offense with a match-high 17 kills, while adding six digs, two block assists, and two aces. Whiddon had a strong match with 14 kills, five digs, and two blocks, while Ebels hit .333 with eight kills. Holt was close to a double-double of 11 digs and eight kills, while Schroeder provided eight kills and seven digs.

Umoh notched eight digs, seven kills, four blocks, and an ace. Freshman Clair Ruhenkamp dished out 27 assists with six digs while Kohler added 21 helpers. Sophomore libero Sacha Gill tallied a match-best 21 digs, five assists, and a kill.

The Lakers are off until next weekend, when GVSU closes out the home portion of its regular season. Grand Valley State faces Michigan Tech at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night (Oct. 21) before meeting up with Northern Michigan at 4:00 on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 22), which is also the team's Senior Day.