Midwest Region Tournament Central | Watch | Live Stats | Game Notes

For the second year in a row - and the 10th time in school history - the Grand Valley State volleyball team is the host institution for the Midwest Region Tournament. The Lakers, ranked #18 in the country, will take on Missouri S&T in the quarterfinals on Thursday night (Nov. 20) at 7:30 p.m.

Grand Valley State (23-5) is the third seed in the region, while Missouri S&T (18-13) is ranked sixth. Winners of eight regional championships and an overall 26-6 record in NCAA regional play, the Lakers match up with the only team this season to defeat GVSU by a 3-0 score.

On Oct. 18 in Aurora, Ill. at the GLIAC-GLVC Crossover Tournament, Missouri S&T topped the Lakers in a 3-0 sweep. One interesting note: the score in all three sets was 25-23, just covering the minimum two-point margin of victory. Since that loss, Grand Valley State is 9-2, having only been defeated by Ferris State in five sets in Big Rapids and in last Sunday's GLIAC Tournament championship match.

The Lakers and Ferris State shared the GLIAC regular season championship and met in the conference tournament finals, with FSU prevailing with a 3-1 win (25-13, 23-25, 25-22, 25-22). Ferris State enters the regional tournament as the #2 seed; Truman State, champs of the GLVC, are the tourney's top seed.

Here is the schedule for the 2014 Midwest Region Tournament in Allendale, Mich.:

Thursday, Nov. 20

Match 1 - 12:00 p.m.: #1 Truman State (28-3) vs. #8 McKendree (20-13)

Match 2 - 2:30 p.m.: #4 Rockhurst (26-4) vs. #5 Indianapolis (19-10)

Match 3 - 5:00 p.m.: #2 Ferris State (23-5) vs. #7 Lewis (22-7)

Match 4 - 7:30 p.m.: #3 Grand Valley State (23-5) vs. #6 Missouri S&T (18-13)

Friday, Nov. 21

Match 5 - 5:00 p.m.: Match 1 Winner vs. Match 2 Winner

Match 6 - 7:30 p.m.: Match 3 Winner vs. Match 4 Winner

Saturday Nov. 22

7:00 p.m.: Championship match

Grand Valley State should feel right at home this weekend, as the Lakers are 11-1 inside the Fieldhouse Arena in 2014. Of those 11 victories, 10 have come by 3-0 sweeps and GVSU has also won a four-set contest over Ferris State. 

The Lakers are 3-3 against the rest of this weekend's field. GVSU is 1-0 against both Rockhurst and Lewis, 1-2 versus Ferris State, and 0-1 against Missouri S&T. Grand Valley State has not faced Truman State, Indianapolis, or McKendree.

Last year, GVSU won consecutive four-match contests over Truman State and Ashland to reach the regional championship match. The Lakers won the first two sets over Ferris State before the Bulldogs rallied to win sets three, four, and five and claim the region title.

Grand Valley State's eight regional championships came in 2000, 2001, 2002, 2003, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2010. In NCAA regional matches in Allendale, GVSU is 19-3 all-time, having only lost to Ferris State last year, Northern Michigan in 2004, and Nebraska-Omaha in 1986.