Sept. 30, 2011

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Allendale, Mich. - For the third time in the last four matches, Grand Valley State played a five-set battle, but the Lakers ultimately fell to visiting Saginaw Valley State on Friday night (Sept. 30) by a 3-2 final score. SVSU won sets two, three, and five in the 20-25, 25-18, 27-25, 12-25, 16-14 marathon victory. The match lasted two hours and 20 minutes, which is GVSU's longest match since Oct. 2, 2007, when the Lakers defeated Ferris State in five sets in Allendale in a 2-hour, 30-minute war of attrition.

The win pushed Saginaw Valley State to 7-5 on the year and 6-2 in GLIAC play, while Grand Valley State dropped to 7-6 overall and 4-5 in the conference. GVSU has went to five sets in five matches, owning a 2-3 record in those contests. The Lakers defeated Saint Leo (Sept. 2) and Findlay (Sept. 24) in five sets, while falling to Northern Michigan (Sept. 10) and Wayne State (Sept. 23), in addition to Friday night's loss.

In the opening set, the score was tied at 12-12 before GVSU notched five consecutive points to push out to a 17-12 advantage. Freshman libero Christina Canepa notched a service ace, which was followed by consecutive blocks - a solo rejection from sophomore Megan Schroeder and a combined block from senior Courtney McCotter and junior Eno Umoh. Consecutive kills from Schroeder and Umoh made the score 17-12. SVSU pulled to within two point at 19-17 before back-to-back kills from freshman Abby Aiken gave GVSU a 21-17 lead. Moments later, the Lakers pulled out the 25-20 win on a Cardinal service error.

After an Aiken putaway made the score 10-6 in the second set, Saginaw Valley State stormed back to take a 15-11 lead after a 9-1 run. The Cardinals kept a steady lead the rest of the set, never allowing GVSU to get closer than four points. SVSU finished the set at 25-18 after hitting .278 in the stanza (with 13 kills), while the Lakers connected at an .083 pace (10 kills, seven errors).

Saginaw Valley State opened up a 9-4 lead in the third set which extended to 16-10 after a GVSU attack error. The Lakers continued to climb back and finally pulled even to 20-20 on back-to-back kills from Aiken and Schroeder. Aiken added two kills in the next three points for a 22-21 lead, but the score would again be tied at points 23, 24, and 25. Saginaw Valley State tallied the next two points on a kill and a Laker attack error for a 27-25 win. SVSU (.204 with 14 kills) again outhit the Lakers (.085, 16 kills, 11 errors) in the third set.

In the fourth set, Grand Valley State came out firing, opening up an early 4-1 advantage that was pushed out to 10-5. SVSU did rally to within 11-9 before the Lakers scored the next eight points to jump ahead 19-9. During the 8-0 run, Aiken had a pair of service aces, McCotter added a kill and a solo block, and Schroeder and senior Nicole Whiddon combined for another rejection. Consecutive putaways from freshman setter Clair Ruhenkamp and Aiken finished the set at 25-12, as Grand Valley State hit .375 with 13 kills and only one attack error in the stanza.

Neither team led the fifth set by more than two points, as the score was tied at points 4, 6, and 9. SVSU looked to take control at 12-10 before the Lakers responded with back-to-back kills from Aiken and Schroeder to even up the score at 12-12. The Cardinals responded with two points of their own, leading the set 14-12. Again, GVSU answered - this time with kills from Schroeder and McCotter, making the set tied again at 14-14. However, Saginaw Valley State closed out the set and match with a kill and a service ace on the final point that hit the net and barely made it over before falling to the ground, ending the night after two hours and 20 minutes.

After the dust had cleared, Grand Valley State outhit the Cardinals (.181 to .159) and tallied more blocks (11-9) and assists (57-52), but SVSU totaled more kills (58-57), aces (9-8), and digs (94-91).

Aiken notched a double-double, leading GVSU with 17 kills (hitting .250), while adding 18 digs and a pair of service aces. McCotter more than doubled her previous career-high with 15 kills, also tallying nine digs and four blocks (one solo). She had totaled seven kills against Findlay last weekend for her previous high in putaways. Schroeder was the third Laker to reach double-digits in kills, as she had 10 putaways, three blocks, and a pair of assists.

Ruhenkamp dished out a career-high 51 assists, while adding eight digs, two blocks, and an ace. Canepa's 26 digs were also a career-best, while she also recorded two assists, a kill, and a service ace. Junior Olivia Kohler also reached double-digits with 11 digs, while Umoh tallied seven kills, six blocks (one solo), and two aces.

The Lakers are back on the court on Sunday afternoon (Oct. 2), as #17 Ferris State comes to Allendale. Gametime is scheduled for for 2:00 p.m. in Fieldhouse Arena, as GVSU closes out its seven-match homestand.