Friday (Nov. 13) - at Saginaw Valley State, 7:00 p.m.
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Saturday (Nov. 14) - at Wayne State, 2:00 p.m.
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The Grand Valley State volleyball team finishes off the 2015 regular season on the road this weekend (Nov. 13-14) with a pair of rematches against GLIAC North Division opponents. GVSU will play at Saginaw Valley State on Friday night before closing out the regular season at Wayne State on Saturday afternoon.
 
These two matches are very important to the Lakers in terms of positioning themselves for the upcoming postseason. At 18-9 overall and 12-4 in GLIAC play, Grand Valley State sits in a three-way tie with Ashland and Hillsdale in third place in the league standings. Including Saginaw Valley State (11-5 GLIAC), these four teams are likely competing for the 3-4-5-6 spots in the conference, with the third and fourth seeds hosting a GLIAC Tournament quarterfinal match next Wednesday (Nov. 18) against the fifth and sixth seeds.
 
Ferris State (15-1) is in first place in the league, with Findlay sitting in second with a 13-3 conference mark. It is likely that GVSU, Ashland, Hillsdale, and Saginaw Valley State will play each other - in some order - in the GLIAC quarterfinals, but this weekend's matches are key to determining who will be the home teams in next Wednesday's contests.
 
Looking even further into the postseason, Grand Valley State was seventh in this week's NCAA Midwest Region rankings, with the top eight teams advancing to the NCAA Tournament. Six of the top eight teams in the rankings this week are GLIAC schools. Ferris State is first, with Findlay, Hillsdale, and Ashland in fourth, fifth, and sixth place, respectively. GVSU is one spot ahead of Saginaw Valley State, as the Cardinals are in eighth place, as the last team in the tournament at the moment.
 
Despite a tough five-set home loss to #5 Ferris State last Tuesday (Nov. 3), Grand Valley State rebounded to notch a pair of home victories over the weekend. The Lakers outlasted a gritty Northwood team in five sets (with a 26-24 win in set four and a 15-8 victory in the fifth frame) and swept Lake Superior State on Saturday.
 
GVSU defeated both of its upcoming opponents earlier in the season. On Sept. 18 in the team's conference opener, the Lakers swept Wayne State by scores of 25-23, 25-12, and 25-21. Senior Betsy Ronda supplied 15 digs and 10 kills, while freshman Staci Brower added eight kills and seven total blocks in the win.
 
The next day, the Lakers topped Saginaw Valley State in four sets, 26-24, 26-28, 25-17, and 25-19. Four GVSU players cracked double figures in kills, led by senior Jessica Majerle and her match-best 14 kills. Brower supplied 12 kills and five blocks, Ronda added a double-double of 11 kills and 11 digs, and senior Kourtney Wolters notched 19 digs and 10 kills.
 
Saginaw Valley State is 21-6 overall and just one match behind GVSU, Ashland, and Hillsdale in the league standings. The Cardinals have won five of their last six matches, with the only defeat coming in a 3-1 home loss to Michigan Tech last Friday night. SVSU started the year with an 8-0 record before suffering its first losses at Ferris State and GVSU in mid-September. At home, the Cardinals are 5-2 this season, with those two losses coming in their last four home contests.
 
Wayne State still has aspirations of qualifying for the GLIAC Tournament, as the Warriors are 12-16 overall, but their 7-9 league record is just one match out of a tie for eighth place. Since starting the season by losing five straight matches by 3-0 sweeps, WSU is 12-11. The Warriors have had an up-and-down season, with only one win streak of three matches. Last week at home, Wayne State fell to SVSU (3-1) and Northern Michigan (3-0) before bouncing back with a nice 3-1 win over Michigan Tech. At home, WSU is 5-3 this season.
 
The GLIAC quarterfinals are next Wednesday (Nov. 18), with time and location to be determined. Should the Lakers advance to the conference semifinals, that match would take place on Saturday (Nov. 21), also with the details to be determined after the opening round matches are complete.