Nov. 2, 2012

Box Score

University Center, Mich. - After winning the opening two sets at Saginaw Valley State on Friday night (Nov. 2), Grand Valley State needed a fifth-set victory to finally close out the Cardinals, 3-2. GVSU looked in control before Saginaw Valley State won sets three and four, forcing the pivotal fifth set. The Lakers won by scores of 25-17, 26-24, 23-25, 20-25, 15-9, which featured a 10-2 run to finish off the fifth set.

Grand Valley State actually trailed 7-5 in the fifth set before scoring five straight points to take a 10-7 advantage. SVSU made it 10-8 but the Lakers would score three more points and use a kill from Ally Simmons and a Cardinal hitting error to finish the set, 15-9, and the match, 3-2.

With the victory, GVSU is 21-5 overall and 11-4 in conference play. The Cardinals fall to 11-16 overall and 6-9 in league matches.

Most of the team stats were quite close, with Grand Valley State leading in kills (54-52), assists (52-51), digs (76-67), and blocks (11-8). Senior Eno Umoh had a hand in 10 of those 11 blocks, as the middle blocker totaled 10 block assists, just two shy of her career-high. It is the third time in her career she has reached double-digits in blocks.

GVSU, which hit .178 for the match, had three players with 10 or more kills. Freshman Betsy Ronda notched a team-high 16 kills, 13 digs, five blocks (one solo), and two aces. Junior Megan Schroeder provided 14 kills and hit .294, while sophomore Abby Aiken added 10 kills.

With the opening set tied at 8-8, the Lakers rattled off six straight points behind the serving of sophomore Clair Ruhenkamp to jump ahead 14-8. SVSU would get back into the set and make the score 18-16, but a kill from Umoh and consecutive combined blocks (one by Umoh and Ruhenkamp, the other by Umoh and Aiken) put the Lakers on top, 21-16. Four straight Cardinal errors ended the set at 25-17.

Grand Valley State owned a four-point cushion during the second set, but SVSU knotted the score at 22-22. It was also tied at 23-23 and 24-24 before Aiken notched consecutive kills, with Ruhenkamp on both assists, to win the set 26-24. The Lakers hit .324 with 16 kills during the stanza.

In set three, GVSU looked as if it was in control with a 17-14 lead. However, the Cardinals responded and again tied the score at 21-21. With the score at 23-22, Saginaw Valley State used an ace and one point later, a Laker service error, to tally a 25-23 victory.

GVSU again appeared as if it would finish the match in the fourth set, leading 13-7 before a 9-3 Cardinal run tied the score at 16-16. From that point, SVSU scored the next five points to lead 21-16. The Cardinals would tie the match at two sets apiece after a pair of Laker hitting errors ending the set at 25-20.

Two kills from Schroeder and one from Simmons gave GVSU the first three points of set five, but a 7-2 Saginaw Valley State run quickly turned the set around. After a Laker timeout trailing 7-5, Grand Valley State picked up the next five points, four of which came on SVSU errors. The Cardinals would have four more errors the rest of the set, with Simmons' kill being the only point GVSU scored late in the contest.

Grand Valley State hit .286 (seven kills, one error) in the fifth set, while SVSU had six kills and six errors for a .000 hitting percentage. The Lakers are now 4-2 this season in five-set matches.

Five players for GVSU notched double-digit digs, led by junior Lyndsey Holt and sophomore Christina Canepa, as both players picked up 18 digs. Ronda added 13 and junior Sacha Gill recorded 11 digs. Ruhenkamp passed for 48 assists, added 10 digs, four block assists, and three aces.

The Lakers return to the floor on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 3) in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. GVSU will take on Lake Superior State at 2:00 p.m.