Nov. 9, 2012

Box Score

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State took the opening set of Friday night's match (Nov. 9) in Allendale, but undefeated Northwood stormed back to win the final three sets and capture a 3-1 road victory. The Lakers won set one, 25-19, before Northwood took the next three sets, 25-18, 25-20, and 25-7.

GVSU had won 13 of its last 14 matches coming into Friday night before falling to the Timberwolves. Grand Valley State is now 22-6 overall and 12-5 in GLIAC play. Northwood remains undefeated in league matches at 17-0, while the Timberwolves are 23-5 overall. In the most recent regional rankings, Northwood is ranked second and GVSU is fourth. The Timberwolves are first in the GLIAC standings, while Grand Valley State was third entering Friday night.

In set one, the Lakers looked sharp, jumping out to a 4-0 lead. Northwood stayed within a few points at 9-7 before a 6-0 GVSU run extended the advantage to 15-7. Junior Lyndsey Holt recorded back-to-back-to-back service aces during the run. Grand Valley State would stay comfortably ahead and tally four straight points after leading 20-17. Junior Megan Schroeder's kill ended the set at 25-19 and give GVSU momentum heading into the second stanza.

Northwood responded by scoring the first five points of set two and led 10-6 in the early going. Similar to the Lakers' six-point surge in the opening frame, NU tallied six straight points to jump ahead 16-6. Grand Valley State would stage a late rally to get within six points at 24-18, but Northwood closed out the set with a kill, evening the match at one set apiece.

GVSU led 4-1 early in the third set after an ace from sophomore Christina Canepa. Trailing 6-2, Northwood put together eight straight points to take a 10-6 lead. The Timberwolves stayed ahead before Grand Valley State pulled within 21-18 after a NU hitting error. However, Northwood would finish the set with a 4-2 run, winning 25-20.

Things all came together for Northwood in the fourth set, as they connected for a .440 hitting percentage and made just two hitting errors. The Timberwolves scored 19 of the first 21 points in the set and cruised to the 25-7 victory.

For the match, Northwood hit .235 with 53 kills, while GVSU tallied 27 kills and a .047 hitting percentage. Grand Valley State outblocked the Timberwolves (8-7) and picked up 51 digs, 12 of those coming from freshman Betsy Ronda and another 11 from Canepa.

Ronda led the Lakers with seven kills, while Schroeder and senior Eno Umoh each had six kills apiece. Umoh, junior Abby Ebels, and sophomore Clair Ruhenkamp all totaled three blocks. Ruhenkamp passed for 19 assists, while Holt served up three of the team's five aces.

Grand Valley State closes out the 2012 regular season on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 10) at 4:00 p.m. The Lakers finish off the year with Hillsdale on Senior Day, where Umoh and redshirt junior Sam Phillips will be honored prior to the match.