Box Score

After taking the opening two sets in top-25 matchup on Friday night, #14 Grand Valley State was unable to close out #20 Wayne State (Neb.) at the Oredigger Classic in Golden, Colo. WSC came back to take the five-set slugfest with a wild 3-2 win (26-28, 14-25, 25-12, 25-19, 15-6).
 
The Friday night contest was the only match in the entire tournament that featured a pair of ranked teams. Grand Valley State falls to 1-1 on the year, while Wayne State improves to 2-0.
 
The Wildcats led for nearly the entire first set, which included a 22-18 advantage. GVSU responded by notching four straight points (including kills from senior Ally Simmons and junior Betsy Ronda) to tie the score at 22-22. The frame was tied again at points 23, 24, 25, and 26 before Grand Valley State finally closed out the set.
 
Simmons put down another kill - her sixth in 12 attacks, without an error - and WSC committed a hitting error to end the frame. GVSU picked up 40 digs and held the Wildcats to a .127 attack mark, while senior Kaitlyn Wolters (14 assists, 11 digs) had a double-double in just the first set.
 
In the second stanza, the Lakers turned a 9-7 lead into a 14-7 cushion, as Ronda provided two kills and a service ace in the five-point run. It was Wayne State's time to make a surge and the Wildcats did so, pulling with 16-12.
 
From there, it was all Grand Valley State in the second frame. The Lakers ran off six straight points to take a commanding 22-12 advantage. Moments later, the set was over, thanks in large part to GVSU's scorching .593 hitting percentage (17 kills, one error). Ronda (five kills), Wolters and senior Abby Aiken (four kills apiece) combined for 13 kills without an error in the set.
 
Wayne State lived up to their preseason ranking in the third set, jumping out to an 8-2 advantage and cruising from there. The Wildcats hit .400 in the third frame, connecting for 14 kills and only two errors. GVSU hit .056 in the stanza.
 
The Wildcats turned a 3-1 deficit in the fourth set to a 9-4 lead. Grand Valley State scored four consecutive points to make the score 15-14, but could never pull even with WSC. With the score at 18-16 in Wayne State's favor, the Wildcats rattled off six straight points and quickly finished off the set.
 
In the fourth frame, WSC hit just .078 with 12 kills and eight errors, but Grand Valley State had the same number of kills and errors (nine) for a .000 percentage.
 
GVSU raced out to a 5-2 advantage in the fifth frame, but Wayne State used a huge 8-0 run to flip the deficit to a 10-5 advantage. The Wildcats closed out the stunning comeback with a 13-1 overall run to finish off the match.
 
Three Grand Valley State players recorded double-doubles, led by a near triple-double from Wolters (40 assists, 26 digs, and seven kills in 11 attempts without an error). Ronda provided 15 kills, 11 digs, and three aces, while Aiken tallied 15 digs and 12 kills.
 
Simmons notched 10 digs, five block assists, and five digs. Senior libero Christina Canepa led all players with 28 of GVSU's 108 digs. Grand Valley State led WSC in kills (57-55), assists (57-49), and digs (108-99). Both teams totaled eight blocks.
 
The Lakers return to action on Saturday when they face Dominican (Calif.) in the morning and close the weekend against Augustana (S.D.) in the afternoon.