After falling in a 3-0 sweep earlier on Saturday (Oct. 18) to a scrappy Missouri S&T team, #11 Grand Valley State responded with authority, taking down Rockhurst by a 3-1 final at the GLIAC-GLVC Crossover Tournament in Aurora, Ill. The Lakers took the first two sets and won set four to finish off the Hawks (25-21, 25-23, 17-25, 25-22).
 
In addition to Saturday's results, Grand Valley State defeated Lewis on Friday for a 2-1 weekend at the Crossover, the largest collegiate volleyball tournament in the country. The GLIAC's top seed, GVSU improves to 15-3 on the season, while Rockhurst - the GLVC's second seed - falls to 17-3 overall.
 
Grand Valley State is now 15-6 in Crossover Tournament play, which has been held every year since the 2008 season. The Lakers have won eight of their last nine contests at the tournament.
 
In the win over Rockhurst, GVSU faced one of its toughest opponents of the season and responded with a stellar effort. The Lakers owned a 64-44 advantage in kills, with four Grand Valley State players reaching double-digits in kills. Junior Betsy Ronda led the way with a match-best 16 kills, while classmate Kaleigh Lound delivered a dozen. Both senior Ally Simmons and sophomore Carley Gross added 10 kills to the team total.
 
As strong as the Laker offense was, GVSU was just as good defensively. Grand Valley State nabbed a 77-68 edge in digs and recorded 11 total blocks; Rockhurst had nine rejections. 25 of those Laker digs came from senior libero Christina Canepa.
 
Canepa moves into third place all-time in Laker history with 1,499 career digs. She passes GVSU Hall of Fame inductee Chara Fehsenfeld, who tallied 1,498 digs from 1999 to 2002 on the career list.
 
The Lakers got off to a tremendous start in the opening set, leading 9-1 behind the serving of seniors Abby Aiken and Christina Canepa. Setter Kaitlyn Wolters also recorded three kills during the early stretch, while Ronda tallied a solo block and was part of another combined rejection. Rockhurst responded and pulled within two points at 12-10, but the Lakers would keep RU at bay. The set was still tight (23-21), but Wolters fed Aiken and Ronda for consecutive kills to end the frame. GVSU hit a match-best .238 and recorded 18 kills in the set.
 
In set two, the teams were tied 14 times, while the score changed hands on seven occasions. The biggest lead for either team was the Lakers' 17-13 advantage after a kill from Gross. Rockhurst then scored five straight points and took a 21-18 lead. It was 22-19 when Ronda and Lound combined for a block, followed by a Ronda kill. Simmons tied the score at 22-22 with a kill before a Hawk attack error. She again delivered a kill to make the score 24-22 and two points later, Simmons put down another kill to clinch the 25-23 win.
 
Rockhurst fought back and jumped to a 9-3 lead in the third set and although the Lakers cut the deficit to 19-16, that is as close as GVSU could get the rest of the stanza. The Hawks had their best offensive frame, closing out the Lakers with the 25-17 victory.
 
A Simmons kill, a solo block by Gross, and an ace from Ronda put Grand Valley State on top 7-3 early in the fourth frame. Rockhurst pulled within 9-8, but Gross put down back-to-back kills and Wolters and Lound combined for a block to extend the Laker lead. Ronda supplied three kills in the middle of the set and after junior Jessica Majerle and senior Kourtney Wolters delivered kills of their own, GVSU was in control, 19-12. The Hawks eventually cut the deficit down to 24-22, but Lound and Ronda teamed together for a match-ending block to preserve the win.
 
Ronda (five total blocks) and Aiken (eight kills) each picked up 14 digs. Kaitlyn Wolters dished 51 assists, while supplying 12 digs, five kills, and two blocks. Lound had a hand in four blocks, while Simmons hit .304 and added six digs.
 
GVSU is back at home next weekend (Oct. 24-25), resuming GLIAC play against Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech.