Box Score The #12 Grand Valley State volleyball team swept its third straight GLIAC opponent on Friday night (Oct. 3) in Allendale, defeating Lake Erie by a 3-0 score (25-15, 25-17, 25-22). It was also the eighth straight victory for the Lakers, who did not trail at any point during the match.
GVSU is now 10-2 overall and a perfect 8-0 in conference play. The Lakers have only lost three sets during their eight-match win streak. Lake Erie falls to 2-11 on the year and 0-8 in GLIAC action.
Friday night's win was a team effort, as all 15 available players saw action in the match; 11 Lakers played in all three sets. Grand Valley State topped Lake Erie in every category, including kills (33-24), hitting percentage (.139 to .040), assists (29-23), aces (6-3), digs (51-46), and blocks (8-3). GVSU was also aided by the Storm's 14 service errors.
The opening set was tied at 7-7 before the Lakers pulled away with an 11-2 run behind some strong serving from senior
Abby Aiken. During the surge, senior
Kaitlyn Wolters and junior
Betsy Ronda each put away two kills, while Ronda combined with classmate
Kaleigh Lound for a block. Leading 19-11, Grand Valley State received a pair of blocks in a three-point stretch, as Ronda and senior
Ally Simmons teamed together for one and sophomores
Josie Werner and
Audrey Oake were in on the other.
GVSU's 3-0 lead in the second set grew to 7-3 and eventually up to 13-7 after three straight kills from Lound, Simmons, and Wolters. Lake Erie kept it close and pulled within four points at 17-13, but Aiken and Lound each put down a kill and upped the advantage to 20-13. Back-to-back service aces from senior libero
Christina Canepa helped the Lakers close out the frame with the 25-17 win.
A 6-0 run on Canepa's serving took GVSU's 6-4 to a 12-4 cushion in the third set. During the run, Simmons notched consecutive blocks, as she teamed with Wolters and Aiken on the rejections. The Lakers made a number of substitutions and Lake Erie chipped away at the deficit. LEC actually came all the way back and tied the score at 22-22, but the Storm then committed a pair of errors. Ahead 24-22, Grand Valley State finished the match on a solo rejection from Oake.
Ronda paced the Lakers with nine kills, six digs, and a pair of blocks. Lound recorded eight kills in 17 swings, hitting .353 in the contest. Aiken's 14 digs were a match-best, while Canepa picked up nine digs. Wolters totaled 20 assists and five kills in six attempts. Oake and Simmons led GVSU with three blocks apiece.
Grand Valley State returns to Fieldhouse Arena on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 4) to take on Ashland in a rematch of both the 2013 GLIAC Tournament championship match and the NCAA Midwest Region semifinal contest. The Lakers won both of those matches, which were hosted by GVSU at the end of last season.
