Aug. 31, 2012

Box Score

Monmouth, Ore. - Grand Valley State began the new season with a 3-1 victory over Cal State Los Angeles on Friday morning (Aug. 31) at the Western Oregon Classic in Monmouth, Ore. The Lakers topped the Golden Eagles in four sets (25-18, 15-25, 25-12, 25-23) to record their sixth straight season-opening victory.

GVSU will play four matches in two days at the season-opening tournament, including a contest against Western Washington later on Friday afternoon. That match begins at 5:30 p.m. ET. A strong offensive performance, mixed in with some solid defense, lifted the Lakers to a win over CSULA, only the second time the two schools have ever faced off on the court. Grand Valley State is 1-0 on the year, while Cal State Los Angeles falls to 0-3 in 2012.

Three GVSU players - junior Megan Schroeder, sophomore Abby Aiken, and freshman Betsy Ronda - surpassed the double-digit mark in kills, as the Lakers tallied far more kills (50-33) than the Golden Eagles. Aiken paced the way with a dozen putaways, while Ronda and Schroeder added 11 apiece. Ronda, playing in her first-ever collegiate match, also served up a match-high four service aces and four digs.

The Lakers created some separation midway through the first set, after Cal State Los Angeles remained close at 14-12. GVSU notched five consecutive kills - two from Aiken and one each from Ronda, junior Abby Ebels, and Schroeder - to open a 19-12 cushion. Two late kills from Ronda sealed the opening set win, as GVSU hit .324 with 16 kills.

Cal State Los Angeles evened the match at 1-1 by using a 7-0 run midway through the second stanza. An 11-11 tie was turned into an 18-11 lead for the Golden Eagles, who finished the win at 25-15.

Grand Valley State quickly responded by scoring the first nine points of the third set, as lone senior Eno Umoh tallied a kill and was a part of three blocks, one of which was a solo rejection. The Lakers led 9-0 after back-to-back kills from Ronda and despite CSULA crawling back to within 11-8, GVSU used another 12-3 run to break the set wide open. Umoh and Schroeder combined for second block on the set's final point, giving the Lakers a 2-1 advantage.

In the fourth set, Grand Valley State led early 7-1, but Cal State Los Angeles rallied back and actually took a 15-11 advantage. The Lakers countered and took a 20-16 lead of their own after three consecutive aces from Ronda. With the set tied at 23-23, CSULA recorded back-to-back errors, giving GVSU the opening day win.

Umoh's seven total blocks (two solo, five assists) helped the Lakers tally a 10.0-8.5 lead in blocks. She added six digs and five kills. Ebels notched six kills and junior Sam Phillips added five, while both players hit .455 and blocked three shots. Sophomore Clair Ruhenkamp dished out 26 assists to go with nine digs, while sophomore Christina Canepa picked up a match-high 12 digs.