Friday (Oct. 23) - vs. Hillsdale, 7:00 p.m.
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Saturday (Oct. 24) - vs. Findlay, 4:00 p.m.
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After five consecutive matches away from home, the #24 GVSU volleyball team returns to Allendale for two important conference matches this weekend (Oct. 23-24). The Lakers, 7-1 at home in 2015, welcome Hillsdale and Findlay to the Fieldhouse Arena to start the second half of the GLIAC season.
 
The conference schedule was broken into nine matches prior to and after the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament, held last weekend (Oct. 16-17) in Aurora, Ill. In the opening half of the year, Grand Valley State went 7-2 in league play. This weekend's matches will begin the final nine-match stretch before the Lakers (13-7 overall) head to the postseason.
 
Moreover, GVSU has two strong foes coming into town. On Friday night at 7:00 p.m., the Lakers will face Hillsdale, who is 15-4 overall. The Chargers are tied with Grand Valley State and Ashland for third place in the league standings with a 7-2 record. All three teams are looking up at Findlay - GVSU's opponent on Saturday at 4:00 p.m. - as the Oilers are 15-5 overall and 8-1 in GLIAC action. UF is just one game behind Ferris State (9-0 GLIAC) in the conference standings.
 
Grand Valley State had a good weekend at the Crossover Tournament and was just a few points away from making it a terrific, unbeaten weekend. The Lakers dropped a back-and-forth, hard-fought 3-2 deficit to #19 Lewis, falling in the pivotal fifth set by a 15-11 score. GVSU actually led 10-8 in the final frame, but were unable to finish off the Flyers and give Lewis its first loss in its last 18 matches.
 
The defeat was earlier on Friday afternoon (Oct. 16), but Grand Valley State bounced back nicely on Friday night. This time, the Lakers captured the five-set victory, topping Indianapolis with a 16-14 win in the last frame. Senior Jessica Majerle recorded a career-high 17 kills in the victory, while freshmen Staci Brower and Brooke Smith each added 10 kills to the Lakers' total.
 
On Saturday afternoon, GVSU split the first two sets against Missouri S&T - the team's opponent in last season's Midwest Region quarterfinals - but the Lakers closed out the Miners with scores of 25-19 and 25-12 to win the match, 3-1. Four Grand Valley State players notched double-digit kills, led by a dozen apiece from Brower and senior Kaleigh Lound, 11 from senior Betsy Ronda, and 10 more from Majerle.

Ronda added 12 digs and four service aces against S&T and currently sits in a tie for sixth-place in Laker career history with 1,297 career digs. With just one dig this weekend, she'll pass Megan Helsen, who recorded 1,297 digs from 2003-06. Ronda likely could also move into fifth place past Jodi Sprick and her 1,303 digs from 1992-94.
 
Hillsdale also went 2-1 at the Crossover Tournament, dropping a 3-2 decision to #9 Rockhurst before sweeping Drury and topping Truman State in a five-set victory. The Chargers started the year 10-1 and are 5-3 since, with GLIAC losses coming at Findlay (3-2) and at home against Saginaw Valley State (3-1). There is little doubt that Hillsdale's strength - in addition to the team's .257 hitting percentage, third-best in the GLIAC - is its blocking. The Chargers lead the conference in all four blocking categories: total blocks (192), blocks per set (2.55), solo blocks (61), and block assists (261). Interestingly, HC also has the same number of service aces (103) as it does service errors (103).
 
Findlay took an eight-match winning streak into the Crossover Tournament, but the Oilers lost two of three contests against GLVC opponents. On Friday, UF lost a 3-0 decision to Wisconsin-Parkside before beating Missouri S&T, 3-1. The Oilers dropped a five-setter to #19 Lewis on Saturday. With an 8-1 league record, Findlay's only conference loss was a 3-1 decision to Ashland in mid-September. The Oilers, however, have played just four true road matches - the last of which was a 3-1 win at Northwood back on Sept. 26. Statistically, Findlay leads the GLIAC in hitting percentage (.293), kills per set (13.90), assists per set (13.16), and service aces (134).
 
Saturday's match against Findlay is also GVSU's annual Alumni Day celebration. Former Lakers will be in attendance and recognized at the match, along with the 2005 National Championship volleyball team. The 2005 team - the first woman's sport to win a National Championship at Grand Valley State - will also be honored at Saturday night's football game, which is also against Findlay.
 
After the Hillsdale and Findlay contests, GVSU will travel to the Upper Peninsula next weekend (Oct. 30-31), as the Lakers will face Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech.