Grand Valley State fell on the road at Saginaw Valley State on Friday night (Nov. 13), suffering a 3-1 loss to the Cardinals to begin the last weekend of regular season play. SVSU won the opening two sets and closed with a fourth set victory, taking set scores of 25-21, 25-22, 21-25, and 25-19.

The two teams could barely have been closer in both the GLIAC and Midwest Region standings entering Friday's match. GVSU held a one-game advantage in the league standings and was seventh in this week's NCAA Midwest Region standings, while SVSU was eighth. After the Cardinals' victory, the teams are tied with identical 12-5 GLIAC records. Overall, Grand Valley State is 18-10, while SVSU improves to 22-6.

The final regular season weekend is almost always important in terms of playoff seeding and this weekend is no different. GVSU, Saginaw Valley State, and Ashland are all tied for fourth place in the league standings. One of the three teams will finish fourth and earn a home match in next Wednesday's GLIAC Tournament quarterfinals, while the other two teams will be fifth and sixth and go on the road in the opening round of the tournament.

On Saturday, Grand Valley State closes its regular season with a 2:00 p.m. match at Wayne State. SVSU hosts first-place Ferris State and Ashland travels to Findlay to take on the second-place Oilers on Saturday afternoon.

This was the second meeting between GVSU and Saginaw Valley State this season, with the Lakers flipping the script in the opening contest and winning a four-setter in Allendale. Once again on Friday, the teams were pretty even statistically. There were 29 tie scores and 12 lead changes in the match.

Grand Valley State hit slightly better on offense (.124 to .115) and had fewer errors (24 to SVSU's 33), but the Cardinals recorded 54 kills to the Lakers' 46. Saginaw Valley State owned edges in digs (97-86) and assists (48-43), while the Lakers were on top in blocks, 12-9.

Four GVSU players reached double-digits in digs and two Lakers had 10 kills - senior Kourtney Wolters was the only one to do both. She provided 19 digs, tied for the team lead with 10 kills, and added three block assists. Fellow senior Jessica Majerle notched 10 kills and hit .333, while senior Betsy Ronda and freshman Staci Brower each added eight kills. Brower supplied five blocks, while senior Kaleigh Lound posted seven kills and a team-best six rejections.

Set one had SVSU in front by a 19-18 advantage after consecutive errors, but the Cardinals scored the next three points to open a 22-18 edge. A combined block and a kill made the lead 24-19, with Saginaw Valley State using another kill to end the set at 25-21.

The Cardinals scored six of the first seven points in the second set and moved out to a 9-2 advantage. GVSU came all the way back to make it 14-13 after a Majerle kill and a Lound-Majerle combined rejection. The Lakers would then tie the score at 18-18 after Brower teamed with freshman Shannon Winicki and then Ronda for a pair of double blocks. The set was tied again at points 19, 20, 21, and 22, but SVSU would pull away with an ace, a kill, and a Laker error.

Set three was tied 10 different times, including points 17, 18, and 19. Lound and Brower each put away a kill to break the tie and push the score to 22-19. Ronda notched a pair of kills to up the lead to 24-21. The set would end with a solo rejection from sophomore setter Katie Olson, which was the first career solo block from the second-year player. Grand Valley State hit .289 with 15 kills and only two errors in the third set.

GVSU looked to be in good shape in the fourth set, as the Lakers moved ahead 13-10 after kills from Majerle, Wolters, and Lound. The edge grew to 16-11 after consecutive SVSU errors, but the Cardinals responded with a huge 10-0 run to take a stunning 21-16 lead. A few points later, Saginaw Valley State would win the set 25-19 and take the match in four frames.

In addition to the solo block, Olson added 30 assists, a team-high 20 digs, an ace, and another block assist. Senior Taylor Shomin supplied 20 digs, while Ronda notched 14 pickups. 

The Lakers close the regular season against Wayne State on Saturday, a team that GVSU swept in the GLIAC season opener on Sept. 18 in Allendale.