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The 2013 GLIAC Tournament champion Grand Valley State Lakers have their sights set on another league tournament title, with that title defense beginning on Wednesday night (Nov. 12) in Allendale. #16 GVSU, co-champions of the regular season, will take on Ohio Dominican at 7:00 p.m. inside the Fieldhouse Arena.
 
After sweeping Saginaw Valley State and Wayne State last weekend in Allendale, the Lakers closed out the regular season with a 17-1 GLIAC record. Coupled with Ferris State's identical conference mark, the West Michigan rivals were deemed GLIAC co-champions. After a number of tiebreakers between the schools remained equal, GVSU came out on the correct side of a coin flip and were awarded the #1 seed in the conference tournament.
 
The four quarterfinal matchups are:
Match 1: #8 Ohio Dominican at #1 Grand Valley State, 7:00 p.m.
Match 2: #5 Saginaw Valley State at #4 Northern Michigan, 7:00 p.m.
Match 3: #6 Malone at #3 Findlay, 7:30 p.m.
Match 4: #7 Hillsdale at #2 Ferris State, 7:00 p.m.
 
The semifinals and championship match will be played on Saturday (Nov. 15) and Sunday (Nov. 16) at the site of the highest remaining seed. Winners of Match 1 and Match 2 will play in one semifinal, while the Match 3 and Match 4 winners face each other in the other semifinal.
 
Times and locations for the semifinals and finals will be known after Wednesday night's opening round, but one thing that is known is GVSU - as the highest seed in the tournament - will host those contests with a victory over Ohio Dominican.
 
At 21-4 overall and 17-1 in GLIAC play, the Lakers met up with Ohio Dominican (12-15, 10-8 GLIAC) just once this season. On Sept. 26 in Columbus, the Lakers swept ODU by set scores of 25-19, 25-17, and 25-14.
 
While GVSU hit .188 with 36 kills and only 15 errors, it was the team's defense that forced Ohio Dominican to connect at a -.018 rate (24 kills, 26 errors). Junior Kaleigh Lound delivered a .563 hitting percentage, totaling 10 kills and only one error in 16 attacks. Senior Abby Aiken (12 digs, eight kills) neared a double-double, while classmate Christina Canepa picked up a match-best 18 digs.
 
Since beginning the year with a 2-2 record, the Lakers have gone 19-2 over the past two-plus months. Grand Valley State, the #2 seed in last week's NCAA Midwest Region rankings, owned a 12-match winning streak after returning from the season-opening Oredigger Classic and has won seven of its last eight matches. Six of those seven wins have come in 3-0 sweeps.
 
Ohio Dominican has alternated wins and losses in its last four matches and are just 3-7 in its last 10 contests. The Panthers got off to a strong start in league play, winning four of their first five matches. In an odd scheduling quirk, ODU's final five matches of the regular season were on the road, where the Panthers are just 4-7 in true road outings.
 
The Lakers are 9-0 at home and have eight 3-0 sweeps inside the Fieldhouse Arena. GVSU's only non-sweep at home was a 3-1 win over #14 Ferris State on Sept. 23.
 
In 2013, Grand Valley State defeated Saginaw Valley State (3-0), Northwood (3-1), and Ashland (3-2) to claim the GLIAC Tournament championship, the team's first since 2008. GVSU won the final two sets (25-18, 19-17) over Ashland to capture the league title.
 
Overall, in 18 GLIAC Tournament appearances, Grand Valley State owns a 32-14 record. The Lakers have won the conference tournament championship in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2013. GVSU and Ohio Dominican have never met in the league tournament.