Nov. 10, 2011
Box Score
University Center, Mich. - The Grand Valley State volleyball team ended their season on Thursday (Nov. 10) with a 3-0 loss at Saginaw Valley State in the first round of the GLIAC Tournament to finish the season with a 14-13 overall record.
The Lakers held an early 4-3 lead in the first set of the match after a kill from sophomore Lyndsey Holt but it was downhill from there in set one for GVSU. With the Lakers already trailing 10-9 in the set, the Cardinals went on a five point run thanks to two aces and two GVSU attack errors to push the lead out to 15-9. SVSU would keep the pressure on, eventually taking set one by a convincing 25-17 final score.
Set two was more competitive for GVSU as the two teams battled to a 9-9 tie midway through the set. After a service ace from freshman Clair Ruhenkamp put the Lakers up 10-9, SVSU got two straight points to go up 11-10 before the Lakers reeled off four straight points thanks to a Holt kill, two Cardinal errors and a block from sophomore Abby Ebels and freshman Abby Aiken as GVSU took a 14-11 advantage.
The lead would be short-lived as the Cardinals would respond with a run of their own, eventually taking an 18-17 lead after another Laker attack error. GVSU would keep things close up to a 21-all tie but the Cardinals closed out set two with a four point run that included two more GVSU errors as SVSU took a two-set advantage with a 25-21 victory in the middle stanza.
It was the Lakers who responded in the third set trying to keep their season alive. After falling behind 6-4, GVSU got a five point run with kills from junior Eno Umoh and senior Courtney McCotter sandwiched around three Cardinal errors. After a Cardinal timeout with GVSU leading 9-6, the Lakers got one more point to go up 10-6 following an SVSU error but that was the biggest lead the Lakers would open up. SVSU responded with a three point run of their own with two kills and a block to pull within one at 10-9. Two Cardinal errors gave the Lakers a little bit of breathing room at 12-9, but again SVSU responded as they tallied four straight points to take a 13-12 lead.
The Cardinals took a 16-13 lead but the Lakers showed their resilience, battling back to a 21-all tie. After Aiken put the Lakers up 22-21 with a kill, the Cardinals called a timeout that seemed to get them back on track as they scored two straight points to take a 23-22 lead. A Cardinal error kept the set tied at 23 and SVSU again moved ahead with another kill, setting up match point at 24-23. GVSU came through with another Aiken kill to tie the set up at 24 but two straight kills from Annie Buxton ended GVSU's season with a 26-24 win in set three to complete the sweep.
It was the last time on the court for three Laker seniors. Allyssa DeHaan, McCotter and Whiddon all participated in their last match as Lakers, Whiddon putting together a solid game with eight kills and a .333 hitting percentage to go with one block assist. McCotter recorded one kill with a block assist of her own in the match. McCotter and Whiddon ended their careers with a record of 89-36 overall, reaching the NCAA Division II Elite Eight two times (2008 and 2010) while they both participated in the NCAA Division II Final Four once (2008) as freshmen.
Aiken led the way offensively for the Lakers, tallying a team-high 10 kills with only two errors for a .348 hitting percentage. Umoh had four kills to go with four block assists. Sophomore Sacha Gill led the Lakers with 10 digs while freshman Clair Ruhenkamp collected 18 assists in the match.
