Midwest Region Crossover Tournament homepage

Grand Valley State will head to the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament this weekend (Oct. 14-15) in Aurora, Ill. and face three teams from the Great Lakes Valley Conference. On Friday and Saturday, the Lakers will look to continue their recent string of success at the Crossover Tournament, the largest collegiate volleyball tournament in the country.
 
During the first seven years of the Crossover Tournament, the competition was termed the GLIAC-GLVC Crossover Tournament, pitting teams from the two conferences against each other. Last season was the first time that four teams from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) were included, slightly altering the tournament name. There will be 54 matches played on nine courts over the two-day period this weekend.
 
On Friday, GVSU will take on Drury at 3:30 p.m. ET. The Lakers will then face McKendree at 11:00 a.m. ET on Saturday, followed by a 5:00 p.m. ET contest with Indianapolis.
 
In eight previous trips to the Crossover Tournament, Grand Valley State has posted a strong 17-7 record. Four times - 2008, 2010, 2012, and 2013 - the Lakers have recorded a 3-0 record against their GLVC opponents. Here is a look at the year-by-year history of GVSU at the Crossover Tournament:
 
2008 (3-0): W, 3-1 - Indianapolis / W, 3-1 - Northern Kentucky / W, 3-0 - Bellarmine
 
2009 (1-2): L, 3-1 - Rockhurst / L, 3-2 - Lewis / W, 3-0 - Missouri-St. Louis
 
2010 (3-0): W, 3-0 - Missouri S&T / W, 3-0 - Northern Kentucky / W, 3-2 - Lewis
 
2011 (0-3): L, 3-1 - Missouri S&T / L, 3-1 - Bellarmine / L, 3-2 - Lewis
 
2012 (3-0): W, 3-1 - Missouri S&T / W, 3-0 - Bellarmine / W, 3-0 - William Jewell
 
2013 (3-0): W, 3-1 - Truman State / W, 3-1 - Missouri-St. Louis / W, 3-0 - Southern Indiana
 
2014 (2-1): W, 3-1 - Lewis / L, 3-0 - Missouri S&T / W, 3-1 - Rockhurst
 
2015 (2-1): L, 3-2 - Lewis / W, 3-2 - Indianapolis / W, 3-1 - Missouri S&T
 
For the second year in a row, GVSU enters the weekend as the GLIAC's #5 seed. Last season, the Lakers dropped a tough 3-2 decision to Lewis before bouncing back to win a five-set contest against Indianapolis and take a four-set victory from Missouri S&T. Grand Valley State was also the conference's fifth seed in 2012, when the Lakers went 3-0 and defeated Missouri S&T, Bellarmine, and William Jewell.
 
Finishing the first half of the GLIAC season with a 5-3 record, GVSU captured a pair of four-set victories at home over the weekend against Tiffin and Ashland. In the 3-1 win over Tiffin on Friday (Oct. 7), the Lakers dominated the first set (25-10) before winning two close sets in the third and fourth frames to close the contest.
 
The following day, Ashland took set one before Grand Valley State bounced back to win the final three sets. GVSU also claimed narrow victories in sets three (26-24) and four (27-25) despite trailing late in both stanzas.
 
Overall, the Lakers take a 10-6 record and a 5-3 conference mark to the tournament this weekend. Grand Valley State has won three of its last four matches and four of the team's five victories in league play are 3-1 decisions.
 
GVSU ranks second in the league overall in kills and assists per set, but the team's per set figures (14.44 kills, 13.66 assists) in GLIAC matches lead all conference teams. On the other side, the Laker defense is third in the conference in digs per set (18.44) and fifth in blocks per set (1.97). While Grand Valley State ranks fourth overall with 16.4 points per set, the number jumps to first in the league at 17.4 points per set in GLIAC contests.
 
The Lakers have had a pair of GLIAC North Division Player of the Week honorees, including the current award winner, freshman Jayci Suseland. The rookie right side hitter totaled 39 kills and 12 blocks in wins over Tiffin and Ashland last weekend. She hit .630 with a career-high (and GVSU season-high) 20 kills against Tiffin, followed by 19 kills and seven blocks in the win over Ashland.
 
Suseland leads Grand Valley State with 198 kills and is second on the team with 41 blocks. In GLIAC matches, the newcomer ranks third in the league in both kills (3.97) and points (4.50) per set, while also placing fourth in total kills (127), ninth in hitting percentage (.318), and 11th in total blocks (30).
 
GVSU's other GLIAC North Division Player of the Week was sophomore Staci Brower, who earned the honor on Sept. 12. Brower posted 22 kills and nine blocks last weekend, while leading the Lakers with 67 total blocks, second-most of any GLIAC player. The reigning GLIAC Freshman of the Year, Brower is also second in the conference in solo blocks (19) and fourth in blocks per set (1.08) and hitting percentage (.324). She is 11th and 15th, respectively, at 3.00 kills per set and 186 total kills.
 
Junior Katie Olson has delivered seven consecutive double-doubles (assists and digs), including a career-high 50 assists and 14 digs against Tiffin last Friday. The starting setter posted 29 assists and 14 digs in the win over Ashland for the 10th double-double this season. Olson ranks 10th in the league with 9.66 assists per set in GLIAC matches, while adding 3.09 digs per set in conference action.
 
Last weekend, sophomore outside hitter Brooke Smith recorded 15 digs, 11 kills, and three service aces against Tiffin, followed by 16 digs and nine kills in the win over Ashland. Smith is the GVSU leader with 225 digs and ranks fourth on the team with 130 kills, while ranking 14th in the league in both total digs and digs per set (3.63).
 
Both Smith and freshman Kendall Yerkes have started all 16 matches this season, as Yerkes is second on the team with 217 digs and third with 136 kills. Last weekend against Ashland, she supplied a career-high 24 digs and added nine kills, leaving her one kill shy of what would have been her sixth double-double of the year.
 
Here is some information about Grand Valley State's three opponents from the GLVC:
 
Drury: 12-6 overall, 6-3 GLVC, T-2nd in West Division, #6 seed in the GLVC…Panthers opened the year with a 5-3 mark at the Washburn (Kan.) and Henderson State (Ark.) Tournaments…Won six of seven matches from Sept. 20 to Oct. 7…Most recent contest was a 3-2 loss at home to Rockhurst, the GLVC's #3 seed…Drury nearly completed the comeback down 2-0 against Rockhurst, but dropped the fifth set, 15-11…Drury leads the GLVC with 104 service aces and is sixth in kills per set (12.84) and hitting percentage (.193), but just 13th in blocks per set (1.64)…Brooke Antenen leads the conference with 31 aces, while McKenna Poynter is third in the conference with 5.40 digs per set…GVSU and Drury have never met before on the court, including any of the previous eight Crossover Tournaments.
 
McKendree: 13-5 overall, 8-1 GLVC, 2nd in East Division, #2 seed in the GLVC…Owners of five-match winning streak entering the weekend…The Bearcats went 1-3 at season-opening West Texas Lady Buff Classic before bouncing back with 3-1 record at Palm Beach Atlantic (Fla.) Tournament the following weekend…Team has won nine of 10 matches since returning from opening season tournaments…Only loss came in a 3-2 decision on Sept. 24 at William Jewell, a match in which the Bearcats trailed 2-0, won sets three and four, before falling 15-12 in set five…Team has five 3-0 sweeps in last nine victories…McKendree ranks second in GLVC in hitting percentage (.251), opponents hitting percentage (.149), assists per set (12.86), kills per set (13.86), and blocks per set (2.30)…Bearcats are 12th in 16-team league with 15.21 digs per set…Sophie Fairman leads the GLVC with .453 hitting percentage, while Arela Williams is conference leader at 3.67 kills per set…Carissa Lorenz ranks fourth in the league with 1.07 blocks per set, while Fairman (1.06) is fifth…Anne Hellwege's 5.15 digs per set are fifth-most among all conference players…This is also the first-ever meeting between GVSU and McKendree.
 
Indianapolis: 7-10 overall, 5-4 GLVC, T-3rd in East Division, #9 seed in the GLVC…Greyhounds have alternated wins and losses in last seven matches, with a 3-0 win at Illinois-Springfield being the team's last match entering the weekend…The Greyhounds started the season with a 2-5 overall record at the Oredigger Classic in Golden, Colo. and the UIndy Invitational…In the team's last five wins, three are 3-0 shutouts and the other two are 3-2 thrillers…UIndy is fifth in the GLVC in blocks per set (1.97), but just 15th in digs per set (12.94)…Greyhounds are 10th in the league in hitting percentage (.178), kills per set (12.18), and assists per set (11.35)…Remi Bowman ranks fifth in the GLVC with 9.05 assists per set, while Becca Lira is serving 0.31 aces per set, 10th-best in the league…Katie Voelz is ninth in the conference in both hitting percentage (.285) and blocks per set (0.95)…GVSU is 9-0 all-time against Indianapolis…The teams met in the opening match of the inaugural Crossover Tournament in 2008 (in Indianapolis, Ind.), with the Lakers winning by a 3-1 score…Grand Valley State won a 3-2 thriller over UIndy at last year's Crossover, which included a 16-14 victory in the decisive fifth set.
 
After this weekend's competition - and to start off the second half of the conference season - the Lakers will be back on the road next weekend (Oct. 21-22). GVSU will take on Wayne State on Friday and Findlay on Saturday, the top two GLIAC seeds at this week's Crossover Tournament.