GLIAC-GLVC Crossover Tournament homepage

The #11 ranked Grand Valley State volleyball team, which has won 11 consecutive GLIAC matches, will play its final regular season non-conference contests this Friday and Saturday (Oct. 17-18) at the seventh annual GLIAC-GLVC Crossover Tournament. GVSU, the top ranked team in the GLIAC, will face three highly ranked GLVC teams during the two-day tournament in Aurora, Ill.
 
This year's tournament marks the seventh time the Midwest Region's two premier leagues - the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and the Great Lakes Valley Conference - meet up for a total of 48 matches over a two-day period. The GLIAC-GLVC Crossover is the largest collegiate volleyball tournament in the country.
 
On Friday, Grand Valley State will face Lewis at 3:30 p.m. ET. The Lakers will play two matches on Saturday - against Missouri S&T at 11:00 a.m. ET and Rockhurst is the team's opponent at 5:00 p.m. E.T.
 
The Lakers own a 13-5 all-time record at the Crossover Tournament, including perfect 3-0 weekends in four of the six years of the tournament's existence: 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2013. Here is a look at how GVSU has fared at the GLIAC-GLVC Crossover Tournament since the inaugural tournament in 2008:
 
2008 (3-0): W, 3-1 - Indianapolis / W, 3-1 - Northern Kentucky / W, 3-0 - Bellarmine
 
2009 (1-2): L, 3-1 - Rockhurst / L, 3-2 - Lewis / W, 3-0 - Missouri-St. Louis
 
2010 (3-0): W, 3-0 - Missouri S&T / W, 3-0 - Northern Kentucky / W, 3-2 - Lewis
 
2011 (0-3): L, 3-1 - Missouri S&T / L, 3-1 - Bellarmine / L, 3-2 - Lewis
 
2012 (3-0): W, 3-1 - Missouri S&T / W, 3-0 - Bellarmine / W, 3-0 - William Jewell
 
2013 (3-0): W, 3-1 - Truman State / W, 3-1 - Missouri-St. Louis / W, 3-0 - Southern Indiana
 
Winners of 11 consecutive matches, GVSU enters the weekend with a 13-2 overall record. The team has dropped just five total sets during the 11-match streak and have not lost since a four-set defeat to Augustana at the Oredigger Classic in Golden, Colo. on Sept. 6. Grand Valley State left that tournament with a 2-2 record and has not lost since.
 
GVSU ranks first in the GLIAC in digs (19.06) and assists (12.43) per set, while ranking second in kills (13.02) and points (16.7) per set. The Lakers have 42 solo blocks, third-most in the league, while totaling the fourth-most service aces (1.51) per set and the fourth-highest team hitting percentage (.194). Grand Valley State has also picked up the fifth-most digs (1,010) of any team in the league.
 
Junior outside hitter Betsy Ronda ranks sixth in the league in kills (2.96), points (3.6), and service aces (0.40) per set, as her 21 aces are seventh-most. Her 154 kills are the 10th-highest figure. Senior setter Kaitlyn Wolters hands out 9.47 assists per set, the third-best mark in the GLIAC, and her 502 assists are the fifth-most. Libero Christina Canepa ranks seventh in both digs (256) and digs per set (4.83).
 
Middle blocker Kaleigh Lound's .301 hitting percentage is the sixth-highest mark in the conference, while freshman Sydney Doby is hitting .277 (ninth-best), while her 10 solo blocks are eighth-most.
 
Here is some information about Grand Valley State's upcoming opponents from the GLVC (ranking indicates team's seed in the conference):
 
#4 Lewis: 14-3 overall, 9-2 GLVC, tied for first in GLVC East (with Indianapolis), currently on one-match losing streak…had won previous nine matches before a 3-0 loss against Indianapolis...ranks first in GLVC in hitting percentage (.257), second in kills (14.14.) and assists (13.10) per set…fourth in opponent hitting percentage (.159)…second-worst in blocks (1.57) per set despite having 30 solo blocks, tied for third-most in the league…junior Alexis Davito leads GLVC in kills (3.76) per set, fourth in aces (21), and fifth in hitting percentage (.315)…senior Leigh Barea's 11.59 assists per set leads the GLVC…freshman Aly Schneider is second in the league with a .385 hitting percentage, while junior Morgan Cebula's .373 mark is third-best…senior libero Amy Choi has 303 digs, third-most in the league…GVSU is 24-13 all-time against the Flyers….teams have played three teams at the Crossover, with each meeting going five sets and Lewis winning two of the three outings.
 
#6 Missouri S&T: 10-9 overall, 7-4 GLVC, tied for third in GLVC West (with Missouri-St. Louis), have lost last two matches…Miners are 3-4 in last seven matches after a five-match win streak in late-September…team is solid defensively, ranking fourth in GLVC in digs (17.59) and sixth in blocks (2.03) per set…S&T is in the lower half of the GLVC in service aces (10th; 67) and opponent hitting percentage (11th; .191)…junior Krista Haslag is sixth in the GLVC in both hitting percentage (.312) and blocks (1.07) per set…sophomore Allie Plunk's 8.94 assists per set is ninth-best in the league…Lakers are 3-1 against Missouri S&T, including a 2-1 record at the Crossover Tournament.
 
#2 Rockhurst: 15-2 overall, 9-2 GLVC, in second place in GLVC West, currently in the 'Receiving Votes' category in AVCA Top-25 poll, won last three maches…Hawks won first nine matches in 2014 and are 6-2 since that point…team allows opponents to hit just .135, the lowest mark in the league, and is tied with Southern Indiana for the most blocks (2.55) per set…RU ranks second in hitting percentage (.255) and third in kills (13.87) and assists (12.92) per set…Hawks are just 10th in digs (16.34) per set and 11th in service aces (59)…junior Preecy Seever leads the GLVC with a .431 hitting percentage and is third in blocks (1.25) per set and seventh in kills (3.18) per set…junior Whitney Kostal's 11.55 assists per set are second-most in the league, while sophomore Morgan Rietzke is putting down 3.15 kills per set, ninth-best mark in the conference…GVSU is 1-1 against the Hawks, as Rockhurst won the lone meeting over the Lakers at the Crossover, a four-set match in 2009.
 
Grand Valley State returns to Allendale for a pair of matches next weekend (Oct. 24-25) against Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech.