After being on the wrong side of a five-set decision on Tuesday night (Nov. 3), Grand Valley State responded by capturing a five-set victory over visiting Northwood on Friday night (Nov. 6). The Lakers found themselves down 2-1 in the match before rallying to win the final two sets by a match score of 25-18, 23-25, 16-25, 26-24, 15-8. 

With the win, GVSU improves to 17-9 on the season and 11-4 in conference play. Northwood, playing a gritty and inspired match under an interim head coach, drops to 11-15 overall and 7-8 in GLIAC action. 

Friday's match was a defensive battle, as both teams struggled offensively and played some strong defense. The Lakers tallied 59 kills and a .171 hitting percentage, while Northwood hit .109 with 55 kills. GVSU owned an 18-6 edge in total blocks - the 18 blocks are a new season-high - while the Timberwolves collected a 111-100 advantage in digs. The 18 blocks by the Lakers have not been topped since Nov. 6, 2011, when GVSU recorded 19 rejections - also against Northwood.

Grand Valley State had five players tally double-digits in digs and four Lakers accumulated six or more blocks. Senior Taylor Shomin's 22 digs led GVSU, while classmate Betsy Ronda totaled 21 digs, nine kills, seven blocks (three solo), and a pair of aces. A third senior - Kourtney Wolters - notchd 12 digs, seven kills, and seven blocks, six of which were assisted rejections.

Senior Jessica Majerle led the Lakers with 12 kills and hit .300, while both middle blockers put up good numbers. Kaleigh Lound, yet another senior, totaled 11 kills and seven block assists, while freshman Staci Brower added 11 kills and six assisted blocks.

Set one was tight in the beginning, but the Lakers began to pull away with a 4-0 run to lead 20-15. Wolters put down a kill and Ronda and Brower combined for a block during the surge. Ronda then followed with a kill and a service ace to put the Lakers up 22-16 before Majerle's kill made it a seven-point lead. Two more kills from Brower and Majerle ended the first set in GVSU's favor, 25-18.

The second set was tied 10 times throughout the stanza, with four lead changes. Grand Valley State was ahead 19-17 after kills from freshman Taylor Stewart and Majerle, but Northwood rallied to tie the score at 22-22. NU went up by a point before a Brower kill tied the set for the 10th time. The Timberwolves, however, scored the final two points to even the match at 1-1. Both teams hit well in the set, with GVSU owning a .302 percentage and Northwood connecting at a .293 clip.

Northwood kept the momentum going in the third set, racing out to a 10-3 lead and extending that to a 16-9 advantage midway through the frame. The Timberwolves would hold at least a five-point cushion the rest of the frame and took set three, 25-16 with a set-ending service ace.

GVSU responded in the fourth frame, opening up with a 10-3 advantage. Surprisingly, of those 10 points, none came by Laker kills. Grand Valley State had three combined blocks (Wolters-Lound, Majerle-Lound, Wolters-Brower) and a Stewart service ace, to go with six Northwood miscues. The Timberwolves bounced back and rallied to within two points at 12-10. Later in the set, GVSU led 22-15 and appeared ready to head to the fifth stanza. Northwood, however, used an 8-0 run to take a stunning 23-22 lead. NU was up 24-23 and serving for match point before committing a hitting error. The Lakers responded to the 24-24 tie with a Ronda-Lound block and another forced Timberwolf error to steal the set and go to the fifth frame.

The first three points in the fifth set were scored by Northwood, but Grand Valley State ran off eight consecutive points to lead 8-3. Majerle provided three straight points on two kills and a solo block, while Ronda and Lound added kills of their own. The Laker lead was 10-6 when Wolters, freshman Brooke Smith, and Wolters again put away back-to-back-to-back kills and take a 13-6 advantage. Ronda ended the match moments later with a kill and a solo rejection to close out the Timberwolves and give GVSU a much-needed fifth set win.

Grand Valley State is now 3-4 on the season in five-set matches; the Lakers have went to five sets in four of their last five contests, going 2-2 during that time.

Sophomore Katie Olson provided a match-high 33 assists and picked up 13 digs, while Stewart secured 15 assists and 15 digs, to go with two kills and a pair of aces. Smith put down five kills in the final three sets.

The Lakers will close out the home portion of their regular season schedule on Saturday (Nov. 7), as GVSU hosts Lake Superior State at 4:00 p.m. It is Senior Day for Grand Valley State, as the team's seven seniors will be honored prior to the match.