For the second time on Friday (Oct. 16), the #23 Grand Valley State volleyball team went the maximum five sets in its contests at the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament, but unlike their morning result, the Lakers were able to overcome Indianapolis to capture the strong 3-2 victory (15-25, 25-16, 25-23, 21-25, 16-14) in Aurora, Ill.
 
GVSU dropped a five-set final to #19 Lewis on early Friday afternoon, with the Flyers taking control late in set five to claim the 15-11 win. The Lakers flipped the script in the late moments against Indianapolis, as senior Jessica Majerle tallied a huge solo block and a kill, followed by a combined block between freshmen Shannon Winicki and Staci Brower to seal the victory.
 
The win puts Grand Valley State (the GLIAC's #5 seed) at 12-7 on the season, while Indianapolis (#9 seed from the GLVC) drops to 8-13 overall. On Saturday (Oct. 17), the Lakers will close the weekend with a match against sixth-seeded Missouri S&T, who GVSU defeated in the Midwest Region quarterfinals last year in Allendale. The contest between GVSU and the Miners is a 2:00 p.m. ET start.
 
Majerle was terrific for the Lakers, providing a career-high 17 kills and hitting .302 in the win. It was her sixth match of the year with at least 10 kills, including her 12 putaways earlier on Friday against Lewis. A pair of freshmen - Brower and Brooke Smith - added 10 kills each, while Winicki and senior Kaleigh Lound put away nine kills apiece.
 
The offensive stats for the two teams could not be much closer. GVSU totaled 62 kills, 24 attack errors in 178 attempts for a .213 hitting percentage. Indianapolis posted 63 kills, 25 errors, 177 attempts, and a .215 attack mark. The Lakers led in assists (60-55) and digs (84-81), while the Greyhounds owned edges in aces
(9-5) and total blocks (12-11).
 
Indianapolis took an 8-3 lead in the opening set and held the advantage for the rest of the frame. Consecutive kills by Ronda and Lound made the score 12-9, but the Greyhounds then raced out to a 20-13 cushion before winning on a kill just a few points later. Indianapolis posted a .387 hitting percentage in set one, with 14 kills and just two errors.
 
The Greyhounds jumped out to a 4-0 lead in set two, but GVSU fought back to tie the score at 6-6. Brower and Winicki put down consecutive kills and Brower followed with an ace to put the Lakers ahead, 11-10. Moments later, Grand Valley State notched back-to-back-to-back kills from Winicki, Lound, and Smith to up the score to 14-11. After two kills from Majerle and an ace from Smith, the Lakers were ahead 20-12 and would tie the match at 1-1 on a kill from Winicki to win 25-16.
 
UIndy turned an 11-8 deficit in set three into a 16-12 advantage after an 8-1 run. The Greyhounds looked to be in control with a 21-16 lead, but Smith put down a kill and the Lakers forced consecutive UIndy attack errors to cut the score to 21-19. Back-to-back kills from Majerle tied the score at 22-22, with Lound following with a kill of her own to give GVSU the 23-22 lead. A few points later, Majerle finished the frame with another kill. After a .317 hitting percentage in set two, the Lakers hit .300 in the third frame.
 
Set four was the opposite of set three, as GVSU owned the 16-11 cushion before Indianapolis rallied back to take a 20-17 advantage. The Lakers were unable to get closer than three points the rest of the set, as UIndy put together a 25-21 win and pushed the match to five sets.
 
In the fifth frame, Indianapolis scored the first three points, but a Lound kill and an ace from senior Taylor Shomin tied the score at 4-4. GVSU ran off four straight points to turn an 8-6 deficit into a 10-8 lead, with Winicki notching a pair of blocks and Brower adding a block and kill during the surge. Kills from Winicki and Smith put the Lakers ahead 13-11 before UIndy answered with the next two points.
 
After a Majerle solo block made the score 14-13, the Lakers had a serving error to tie the score for the 18th and final time in the match. That is when Majerle put down the last of her 17 kills and Winicki and Brower combined for the match-winning block. Winicki and Brower each recorded four total blocks, with Winicki notching two solo rejections.
 
Shomin picked up a match-best 23 digs, while adding a career-high 10 assists, and a pair of service aces. Setter Katie Olson provided 28 assists and 15 digs, while Taylor Stewart handed out 21 assists and seven digs. Senior Kourtney Wolters picked up 11 digs, while Smith added 12 digs and two aces to her 10 kills.
 
It was the second time the Lakers faced Indianapolis at the Crossover Tournament, with the other coming in the inaugural tournament in 2008; GVSU won that contest by a 3-1 score before advancing to the NCAA Final Four later that season. The Lakers are now 16-8 all-time at the Crossover Tournament.