For the fourth time in five meetings at the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament, Grand Valley State and Lewis battled to five sets, as the #23 Lakers dropped a 3-2 contest to the #19 Flyers on early Friday afternoon (Oct. 16) in Aurora, Ill. The teams alternated victories in the five frames, with Lewis winning sets one, three, and five, as GVSU took sets two and four. The final line score of the two-hour, three-minute contest shows the Lakers falling, 21-25, 25-14, 21-25, 25-22, 11-15.

Friday's match was the opening of the eighth annual Crossover Tournament between teams from the GLIAC and GLVC (Great Lakes Valley Conference). For the first time, however, four teams from the GMAC (Great Midwest Athletic Conference) joined the tournament. The loss puts Grand Valley State - the #5 seed from the GLIAC - at 11-7 in 2015, while Lewis (the GLVC's #2 seed) is now 19-1 and has won 18 consecutive matches.

Five times during the eight-year run of the tournament, GVSU and Lewis have matched up on the court, with four of those contests going the full five sets. Lewis won five-setters in 2009 and 2011, while the Lakers captured a 3-2 win in 2010. Last year, Grand Valley State won by a 3-1 score over the Flyers.

GVSU returns to the floor on Friday night at 6:30 p.m. ET against Indianapolis, the #9 seed out of the GLVC.

Lewis and Grand Valley State were tied 29 times on Friday, including 11 tie scores in the first set and 10 ties in set four before playing a tense fifth-set where the largest lead was the Flyers' 14-10 advantage at the end of the frame.

Set five saw Lewis rally from a 10-8 deficit to score seven of the final eight points and capture the win. The Lakers are now 0-2 this season in five-set contests.

The final stats were very similar between the teams. While GVSU owned a slightly higher hitting percentage (.229 to .225) and more aces (7-5), Lewis had the advantage in kills (61-56), assists (59-53), digs (69-68), and blocks (8-6). 

A pair of Laker seniors were strong offensively. Middle blocker Kaleigh Lound posted a match-high 16 kills, only committed three attack errors, and hit .500 in the match. She added four digs and a pair of blocks. Outside hitter Jessica Majerle notched 12 kills, three blocks (one solo), and three digs.

The first frame was tied for the 11th time at 13-13 before back-to-back kills put Lewis ahead, 15-13. Two kills from Lound kept GVSU within a point at 18-17, but the Flyers responded with three straight points to up their lead to 21-17. With Lewis nursing a 23-19 advantage, sophomore Katie Olson and freshman Staci Brower combined for a block and Olson followed with a kill to keep GVSU close at 23-21. Consecutive Laker errors closed the stanza at 25-21.

Grand Valley State jumped ahead 4-0 in set two, with a Lound kill, and combined Lound-Majerle block, and an ace from senior Betsy Ronda. The lead swelled to 11-4 after kils from Brower and freshman setter Taylor Stewart and a Kourtney Wolters ace. Lewis made the score 13-9, but the Lakers answered with a 5-0 run that started and ended with kills from Majerle, as she added a solo block during that stretch. Majerle provided two more kills late in the set and senior libero Taylor Shomin served up consecutive aces to help finish off the frame. GVSU held Lewis to a .000 hitting percentage in set two, while hitting .318 themselves.

Back-to-back kils from Wolters and Brower helped the Lakers jump ahead 8-3 in set three before Lewis began to chip away. The Flyers were able to tie the score at 11-11 and then run off eight of the next 10 points to take a 19-13 cushion. GVSU battled back with kills from Lound and redshirt freshman Shannon Winicki and a Brower ace making the score 22-20. Lewis used a kill and a combined block to open a 2-1 lead in the match, winning set three 25-21.

The Flyers looked in control of set four with a 17-11 lead, but sophomore Sydney Doby was inserted into the lineup for the first time on Friday and helped spur a 7-0 Laker run with her serving. Doby served an ace, but GVSU also added three kills from Winicki and two from Ronda to take the 18-17 advantage. The score was tied at 18-18 when Lound put away back-to-back kills and added another kill moments later. Ahead 23-21, Majerle slammed a kill and Winicki finished things off at 25-22 with another putaway. The Lakers hit .317 in set four with 17 kills and just four errors.

Lewis led set five by a 5-4 score before Wolters notched a kill and Winicki and Brower combined for a rejection. A Flyer error made the score 7-5 in GVSU's favor. The teams were again tied at 8-8 when Lound notched back-to-back kills for the 10-8 lead. From there, Lewis scored six consecutive points with four kills and an ace, with the 6-0 run only being halted on another Lound kill. The Flyers finished the set at 15-11 and the match at 3-2 with a final kill.

In addition to Lound and Majerle's numbers, Winicki had a strong outing. She put away nine kills in just 17 swings for a .471 hitting percentage, while Wolters added six kills and Ronda and Brower supplying five apiece. Wolters picked up a team-high 18 digs, Ronda added 16 digs and a pair of aces, and Shomin supplied 11 pickups and two aces.

Olson handed out 30 assists, while recording six digs, a block, and a kill, while Stewart passed for 17 assists and added three digs and a kill.

The Lakers are now 15-7 all-time at the Crossover Tournament, the largest collegiate volleyball tournament in the country.