Oct. 28, 2011

Box Score

Columbus, Ohio - The Laker volleyball team traveled deep into Ohio on Friday (Oct. 28) and came away with a convincing 3-0 victory over Ohio Dominican, taking down the Panthers with scores of 25-20, 26-24, 25-16.

In the first set, things were all tied up at five a piece before the Lakers pulled away. After two Panther attack errors, consecutive kills from sophomores Abby Ebels and Lyndsey Holt gave GVSU a cushion that they wouldn't relinquish. After moving ahead 13-10 in the set, Ohio Dominican battled back to get within one before the Lakers got kills from freshman Abby Aiken and sophomore Sam Phillips sandwiched around two Panther errors, one of them a solo block by junior Eno Umoh as GVSU took a 17-12 lead. Up 23-20, the Lakers got a kill from sophomore Megan Schroeder and a block assist from Umoh and freshman Clair Ruhenkamp to end the set.

The second set proved to be the most competitive in the match. GVSU jumped ahead to a 7-1 lead that included two block assists from Aiken and Umoh that forced a Panther timeout. After the Lakers kept rolling along to a 17-10 lead, Ohio Dominican used another timeout. After making it a 21-14 Laker lead
 following a Panther service error, Ohio Dominican went on a six point run that included two service aces to cut the lead 21-20. The Lakers then got consecutive kills from Umoh to make it a 23-20 game. A Panther kill followed by an attack error made it a 24-21 game as the Lakers looked poised to take the set. Ohio Dominican then got two kills and a Laker attack error to tie things up at 24, however. A kill from Holt and a Panther attack error thwarted the Ohio Dominican comeback though, giving the Lakers the 26-24 victory.

The third and eventual final set started off in a back-and-forth affair with things all knotted up at six early in the set. A five-point run by the Lakers that included two assist blocks that included Umoh eventually pushed GVSU out front for the rest of the set, however. With the Lakers leading 11-6, the Panthers forced two GVSU attack errors to cut the lead to three before GVSU used another run, this time of three points, to go up 14-8.

The Panthers wouldn't get any closer as the Lakers cruised to a 25-16 victory in the third set to sweep Ohio Dominican. Umoh led the charge for the Lakers, collecting nine kills and eight total blocks (seven block assists) while contributing four digs. She tallied a .368 hitting percentage (nine kills, one error, 19 attacks) while Schroeder had a .333 hitting percentage that also included nine kills and one block assist. Ebels continued her hot streak, hitting with a .500 percentage that included seven kills in 12 attempts along with one block assist. Ruhenkamp collected 28 assists in the match while sophomore Sacha Gill led the team with 16 digs.

The Lakers, now 12-10 on the year with a 9-6 mark in the GLIAC, will travel to Tiffin to take on the Dragons at 2 p.m. on Saturday (Oct. 29).