The Grand Valley State volleyball team was able to bounce back from a tough loss on Friday night to top Wayne State on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 14) to close out the 2015 regular season. GVSU built a 2-0 lead in the match and won set four to clinch the 3-1 victory (25-23, 25-20, 21-25, 25-18) and an opening round GLIAC Tournament match next week.

Saturday's victory over WSU gives the Lakers a 19-10 record to end the regular season. With a 13-5 GLIAC mark, Grand Valley State earned the #4 seed in the upcoming GLIAC Tournament and, more importanly, a quarterfinal home match. GVSU learned it will host fifth-seeded Ashland on Wednesday night (Nov. 18) at 7:00 p.m. In the only meeting of the season between the teams, Ashland topped the Lakers 3-1 in Ohio on Oct. 10. Wayne State's season ends with a 12-18 record and a 7-11 mark in league play.

GVSU hit .252 and accumulated 58 kills in the victory, holding the Warriors to a .183 attack mark. The Lakers recorded 14 total blocks, with middle hitters Kaleigh Lound and Staci Brower notching six blocks apiece. Three of Lound's rejections were solo blocks, while Brower added two solo rejections.

Offensively, redshirt freshman Shannon Winicki led the way with 14 kills and a .345 hitting percentage. It was a career-high in kills and attempts (29) for the Laker rookie. Lound and senior teammated Jessica Majerle contributed 13 kills apiece, with Lound hitting .323 and Majerle connecting at a .346 clip.

The Lakers opened a 15-9 advantage in the opening set after a combined rejection between Lound and senior Kourtney Wolters and a solo block from Lound. Kills from Winicki and Majerle upped the lead to 20-14 before WSU began to rally. Although the Warriors would not tie the score again, they would get to within 23-22. However, Winicki put down two kills in a three-point stretch to end the set in GVSU's favor, 25-23.

Set two was tight throughout, with the score being tied for the sixth and final time at 17-17. Lound followed a Brower kill with two of her own to push the lead to 20-17. After a Warrior point, Majerle notched back-to-back kills, which Lound duplicated with consecutive kills for a big 4-0 run. The lead was 24-18 before Lound finished the frame at 25-20 with another kill. GVSU hit .444 with 19 kills and only three errors in the set.

Grand Valley State trailed 5-1 in set three before scoring seven consecutive points on the serving of senior libero Taylor, who contributed a service ace and an assist during the 7-0 run. WSU would turn a 10-6 deficit into an 18-12 advantage, however, using a 12-2 run of its own. The Lakers would threaten later in the set, but Wayne State would push the match to a fourth set with the 25-21 win.

Any momentum WSU had quickly went away in the opening moments of the fourth set. GVSU rattled off the first six points and eventually led by a 9-1 cushion. Lound contributed two blocks during the run, Wolters added a kill and a block, and freshman Brooke Smith served up an ace. The lead swelled to 17-7 after kills from Majerle and Smith and a solo block from Lound. Winicki and Brower put down kills to push the score to 21-10, all but ending the match. Lound's final kill closed the match with a Laker victory.

Brower added eight kills to her six blocks, while Wolters totaled 15 digs, six kills, and five total blocks. Sophomore setter Katie Olson passed for a career-high 49 assists, while adding 12 digs, and a block. Shomin provided 19 digs and five assists.

The victory tied head coach Deanne Scanlon with former Laker great Joan Boand on GVSU's career wins list. Both coaches - the only two in Grand Valley State program history - have 545 career victories, with Scanlon getting a chance to break the record against Ashland on Wednesday night.