Midwest Region Tournament Central | Watch | Live Stats

For the seventh time in the past two seasons, #18 Grand Valley State and #17 Ferris State will meet on the volleyball court. The Lakers and Bulldogs face off in the Midwest Region tournament semifinals at 7:30 p.m. inside the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.

Grand Valley State is the tournament's third seed, while Ferris State is the second seed. In a strange twist, the Lakers are the host institution of the regional tournament and will be the visitors on Friday night as the lower seed. Both teams are 24-5 this season.

On Thursday night, GVSU won its quarterfinal match with a 3-0 sweep over Missouri S&T, the tournament's sixth seed. Senior outside hitter Abby Aiken delivered a match-best 12 kills and added 12 digs for a double-double. Junior middle blocker Kaleigh Lound provided 10 kills and a .556 hitting percentage to go along with a match-high four blocks.

As a team, the Lakers hit .289 and notched 50 kills, which is the team's second-highest total in a three-set match this season. 

Ferris State took care of Lewis in four sets on Thursday night to set up the semifinal showdown. The other semifinal - to be played at 5:00 p.m. - is between top seed Truman State and Rockhurst, the fourth seed. 

With those pairings set up, Saturday night's 7:00 p.m. championship match will pit a GLIAC school against a GLVC team.

GVSU and Ferris State shared the GLIAC regular season championship with matching 17-1 league records. Last Sunday (Nov. 16) in Allendale, FSU topped the Lakers in four sets to capture the GLIAC Tournament championship match.

The Lakers are 34-13 all-time in 15 NCAA postseason appearances. Friday night's meeting between GVSU and Ferris State is just the third time the West Michigan rivals have met in the NCAA Tournament. In 1986, the Lakers beat Ferris State, 3-1, and the teams met again last year in the regional championship, as the Bulldogs prevailed with a five-set victory.