Sept. 22, 2012

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Allendale, Mich. - After trailing 1-0 in the match and 24-18 in the third set, Grand Valley State was able to rally from behind to win the final three sets and capture a 3-1 victory over visiting Walsh on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 22). The Lakers dropped the opening set 25-23 before winning the next three stanzas by scores of 25-22, 28-26, and 28-26.

The win puts Grand Valley State at 9-3 on the year, as the team moves to a perfect 6-0 at home this season. With the 3-1 victory over Malone on Friday night, GVSU moves to 2-2 in GLIAC play. Walsh drops to 3-6 overall and 1-3 in the conference.

Grand Valley State's resiliency was the story of the match. The Lakers dropped the opening set, but rallied to win set two. In an important third stanza, Walsh led 24-18 and looked to jump ahead in the match, 2-1. GVSU scored six straight points, evened the set at 24-24, and eventually notched a tough 28-26 win.

Another 28-26 victory in the fourth set (after the Lakers were on top, 24-20) gave Grand Valley State a hard-fought win. Four Lakers notched double-digit kills, most of which were assisted by sophomore setter Clair Ruhenkamp. She notched a big double-double with a career-high 59 assists and a season-high 18 digs.

Walsh jumped ahead early by winning the first set, one that was tied eight times and saw four lead changes. With the score at 17-17, the Cavaliers ran off an 8-6 spurt and closed the set on a kill. WU hit a hefty .378 in the first frame, tallying 18 kills.

An 8-8 score in set two turned into a 15-11 lead by GVSU when junior Megan Schroeder notched one of her three service aces. Walsh would stay close the rest of the set, but never get closer than two points. Freshman Betsy Ronda ended the set at 25-22 with a kill, assisted by Ruhenkamp.

The third set is when things really got interesting. GVSU and Walsh were tied 15 times and there were four lead changes in just the third stanza alone. Trailing 24-18, Grand Valley State mounted the comeback. It started with a combined block from sophomore Abby Aiken and freshman Kaleigh Lound. Schroeder then put down a kill to make it 24-20.

Schroeder and Lound followed with back-to-back combined blocks and then an attack error by WU made the score 24-23. Ronda's kill evened up the score at 24-24, but Walsh made it 25-24 and faced set point. However, the Cavaliers served up an error, giving the ball back to the Lakers. With the score at 26-26, Ronda and Ebels put away consecutive kills, again both assisted by Ruhenkamp, earning the wild victory.

In the fourth frame, the play again was tight, as the score was tied eight more times (35 ties in the match). GVSU was ahead 24-20 and appeared to have put the match away, but a Laker service error, two consecutive kills, and another Laker hitting error evened the score at 24-24. Just as in set three, Walsh was serving for set point, but GVSU fought it off and tied the score at 26-26. Aiken and Schroeder then recorded back-to-back kills to end the set and match.

Aiken's 18 kills were tied for match-high, as she added 14 digs, two blocks, and an ace. Ronda also put together another double-double, collecting 17 kills, 12 digs, and three of GVSU's 10 service aces. Schroeder hit .387, notched 15 kills, nine digs, four block assists, and three aces.

Ebels was errorless, totaling 12 kills in 21 attempts for a .571 hitting percentage. She blocked a match-high five shots (two solo). Junior Sacha Gill picked up 16 digs and served a pair of aces.

Both teams hit well offensively; GVSU notched a .288 percentage with 66 kills, while Walsh hit at a .263 clip with 65 kills. The Lakers led in both blocks and aces by 10-7 margins. Grand Valley State's defense picked up 83 digs, while the Cavaliers had 67 pickups.

GVSU comes back again on Tuesday (Sept. 25) against West Michigan rival Ferris State. The match, in Allendale, starts at 7:00 p.m.