Sept. 21, 2012

Box Score

Allendale, Mich. - After suffering a setback in the opening set against Malone on Friday night (Sept. 21), Grand Valley State responded by winning the next three sets and the match by a 3-1 score (19-25, 25-12, 25-12, 25-23). The Lakers hit an eye-popping .565 in the second set and .522 in the third stanza to earn their first GLIAC win of the season.

GVSU snaps its brief two-match losing streak and improves to 8-3 on the season. The Lakers are now 1-2 in GLIAC play. Malone, a newcomer to the league this year, was actually 2-0 in the conference before tonight's match. The Pioneers fall to 6-3 overall and 2-1 in league action.

Sophomore Abby Aiken was strong all game for the Lakers, but took over late in the fourth set. The outside hitter, with GVSU trailing 21-19 in the fourth, scored the team's last six points on kills (all assisted by classmate Clair Ruhenkamp) to lead the Lakers to a 25-23 win. Aiken finished with match-highs of 17 kills (nine in just the fourth set) and four service aces, while adding seven digs.

Ruhenkamp dished out a season-high 47 assists, just four off of her career-high of 51 helpers. She added eight digs and a pair of kills. Ruhenkamp helped two other Lakers get into double-digit kills, as junior Megan Schroeder notched 14 putaways and freshman Betsy Ronda added 12 kills.

Malone played well in the first set, turning a 10-10 tie score into an 18-13 advantage. The Lakers, who hit just .027 in the frame, did pull within three points at 20-17, but the Pioneers would score three straight points and eventually close out the set. MU hit .265 with 14 kills during the stanza.

GVSU rebounded nicely in the second set, using an 8-3 run to push ahead to an 18-7 lead. The Laker offense was nearly unstoppable, as the team hit .565 with 15 kills and only two errors. Junior Abby Ebels notched five kills in five swings during the frame, which was ended on a kill from Ruhenkamp. Ronda, Schroeder, and Aiken all had three kills apiece in the second frame.

With Grand Valley State ahead 15-10, Schroeder put away a kill, giving the Lakers the ball. It was Aiken's turn to serve and she recorded three consecutive aces, forcing the Pioneers to call a timeout. At that point, the lead was up to 19-10 and GVSU later closed out the set thanks to a pair of aces from Schroeder in the final three points. The Lakers hit .522 (14 kills, two errors) in the third set.

Malone looked to push the match to a pivotal fifth set, leading 18-13 in the fourth frame. However, the Lakers were able to rally back and pull to 19-18 after back-to-back kills from Schroeder and Ronda. The Pioneers would hold the 21-19 advantage when Aiken completely took over with her six kills in the match's final eight points, guiding the team to victory.

Aiken's hitting percentage was very good, as she hit .361 and only committed four errors. As a team, the Lakers hit .293 for the match and pounded 57 kills. GVSU served up seven aces (Malone had one) and owned a 7-2 lead in total blocks. Junior Sacha Gill picked up a match-high 17 digs. Ebels notched five kills and a match-best five blocks.

The Lakers return to action on Saturday (Sept. 22), as GVSU hosts Walsh in a 4:00 p.m. contest.