Sept. 17, 2011

Box Score

 Postgame Comments

Allendale, Mich. - #18 Grand Valley State dropped the first set to Northwood in Saturday's (Sept. 17) GLIAC match at Fieldhouse Arena, but the Lakers bounced back to claim a 3-1 victory (22-25, 25-17, 25-9, 25-12) over the Timberwolves. GVSU's offense was terrific in the final three sets, as the Lakers ended the match with a .336 hitting percentage, while four players totaled 10 or more kills.

The victory was Grand Valley State's second in less than 24 hours, as the Lakers swept Lake Superior State on Friday night. GVSU is now 6-3 on the year and 3-2 in conference play, while Northwood falls to 4-5 overall and 2-2 in the GLIAC. The Lakers are off until next weekend, when the team hosts three conference opponents on three consecutive days.

In the opening set, GVSU notched the first three points and jumped out to a 6-2 lead, but the Timberwolves battled all the way back to a 10-10 tie. A kill from junior Eno Umoh and a combined block from Megan Schroeder and Nicole Whiddon on back-to-back points knotted the score at 15-15. The tough first set was tied again at points 20, 21, and 22 before Northwood used a kill and two Laker attack errors to close out the frame with a 25-22 victory.

While Grand Valley State hit just .114 in the opening set, the Lakers would drastically improve on that figure in the next three stanzas. Umoh and Schroeder recorded back-to-back kills, followed by a service ace from sophomore Stacey Catalano and a kill from freshman Abby Aiken to start the set with a 4-0 GVSU advantage. The Lakers maintained a solid lead throughout the set and a service ace from Aiken made the score 17-11 midway through the frame. With a 22-17 lead, the Lakers used consecutive kills from Catalano and Schroeder and an attack error from Northwood to finish the set with a 25-17 score. GVSU hit .385 (14 kills, four errors) in the second frame.

The Lakers kept up the offense in the opening points of the third set. Northwood did tally the first point of the set, but Grand Valley State notched the next 10 points and opened a 10-1 lead. Schroeder, Aiken, and Umoh each put down kills during the run and Catalano added a service ace, however Northwood committed six errors and forced NU head coach Tim Koth to burn both of his timeouts. Schroeder and Aiken alternated kills on four straight points to up the lead to 15-2 and continue the onslaught. Ahead by a 23-9 score late in the set, sophomore Lyndsey Holt dug the ball off of a Northwood serve and her pass actually went back over the net and landed on NU's side for a rare dig-kill combination which thrilled the Laker fans. A kill from freshman Ally Simmons ended the set at 25-9, as the Lakers hit .357 during the stanza.

GVSU again jumped out quickly in the fourth and final set, pushing out to a 7-3 lead after an Aiken kill. Northwood would keep the score close at 8-7 before an 11-1 run gave Grand Valley State a 19-8 lead. Catalano tallied four kills during the run, while Schroeder and Umoh each notched a putaway. Late in the set, Simmons and senior Allyssa DeHaan recorded two kills apiece, as Simmons' final kill ended the set and match with a 25-12 GVSU win.

For the match, Grand Valley State finished with a .336 hitting percentage and 59 kills, which including a tremendous fourth set in which the Lakers hit .500 with 19 kills and only one attack error. GVSU outblocked Northwood (7-6) and tallied more digs (58-49), assists (53-35), and aces (7-4) than the Timberwolves.

Catalano recorded a double-double with match highs of 20 digs and 13 kills, while adding three aces and a block. She was joined in double-digit kills by Schroeder, Aiken, and Umoh - all three Lakers added 10 kills. Umoh hit .500 in the match with five digs, three blocks, and an ace, while Aiken and Schroeder both added four digs and a block.

Freshman setter Clair Ruhenkamp dished out a career-high 43 assists to go with six digs and a service ace, while libero Sacha Gill notched 13 digs and three assists. Whiddon put down six kills with a .308 percentage, while Simmons took four swings and tallied four kills for a perfect 1.000 hitting percentage.

The Lakers' biggest weekend of the season could be next week (Sept. 23-25), as GVSU hosts Wayne State, Findlay, and Hillsdale over a three-day stretch. Grand Valley State and Wayne State square off at 7:00 p.m. next Friday night (Sept. 23) at Fieldhouse Arena.