Despite owning an advantage in kills and offensive efficiency, Grand Valley State was unable to top Indianapolis on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 15) at the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament in Aurora, Ill. An extremely close match that was tied 28 times, GVSU fell to the Greyhounds in a 3-0 sweep (32-34, 24-26, 21-25) to finish the three-match weekend.
 
The Lakers entered the weekend as the GLIAC's #5 seed and fell to Drury in four sets on Friday before using an outstanding offensive performance to top second-seeded McKendree earlier on Saturday, 3-1. With the loss to Indianapolis, GVSU is 11-8 on the season.
 
Indianapolis, the GLVC's #9 seed, went 3-0 on the weekend and improves to 10-10 overall after also beating Hillsdale on Saturday morning.
 
After hitting .434 with 70 kills against McKendree (both of which were the best figures since the 2013 season), the Laker offense could not replicate those numbers, but still fared better than Indianapolis. GVSU led in kills (50-43) and hitting percentage (.209 to .200), while the Lakers naturally also led in assists (48-41).
 
The Greyhounds held a 10-4 edge in total blocks and a 6-1 mark in service aces. Grand Valley State topped UIndy in digs 55-52, but the Lakers committed nine service errors to just three by Indianapolis.
 
Freshman Jayci Suseland recorded a match-high 15 kills, her 11th consecutive contest with double-digits in kills. Not far behind was sophomore Staci Brower, who put away 13 kills at a .357 hitting percentage.
 
Junior Sydney Doby notched seven kills in just 11 attempts for a .545 attack clip, while sophomore Brooke Smith neared a double-double with 10 digs and eight kills.
 
Last season, these two teams also met at the Crossover Tournament, with the Lakers holding on for a wild 3-2 victory, which included a 16-14 win in set five. Saturday's first set mirrored that back-and-forth match from a year ago, as the opening set was tied 21 times and saw nine lead changes.
 
Indianapolis scored five of the match's first seven points, but kills from Suseland and sophomore Taylor Stewart sandwiched a combined block by Brower and freshman Kendall Yerkes. That made the score 6-6, already the third tied score of the set. UIndy pulled ahead 16-13 before a 4-0 run put GVSU back out in front. Doby notched two kills, Smith added one, and Yerkes served an ace in the surge to get the Lakers on top, 17-16.
 
The Greyhounds again went back out in front 21-19, but an Indianapolis error, a solo block from sophomore Jillian Butsavich, and consecutive kills from Smith and Suseland gave GVSU a 23-21 advantage. UIndy tied the score at 23-23, but Suseland's kill made it 24-23. Indianapolis would again knot the set up at 24-24 and the score would be tied at points 25, 26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, and 32 before the Greyhounds would score the final two points to win a classic set, 34-32.
 
Just like set one, Indianapolis would score five of the first seven points in set two. Two kills from both Brower and Smith - along with a pair of UIndy errors - brought GVSU back to an 8-8 tie. The Greyhounds responded with four straight points and a 12-8 cushion. Brower put down three kills and Yerkes added a putaway to keep the Lakers close at 15-14. Grand Valley State continued to keep it close when Indianapolis tried to pull away.
 
Trailing 20-17, Butsavich notched a solo block which was followed by a Greyhound error, making the score 20-19. UIndy went up 24-21 and served for set point, but consecutive errors gave GVSU a chance, down 24-23. Brower's kill tied the set at 24-24 before an Indianapolis kill and block finished the Lakers in set two, 26-24.
 
Again, UIndy started fast, scoring six of the first eight points in the third set. GVSU, however, responded and took a 10-9 lead on a Doby kill and two Greyhound miscues. From there, Indianapolis rattled off a 9-3 run to open an 18-13 advantage. Yerkes and Smith put down back-to-back kills and a UIndy error kept the Lakers close at 18-16. Grand Valley State pulled within a point at 21-20 after a Butsavich kill and a Greyhound error, but Indianapolis would score four of the next five points to complete the tough sweep.
 
Stewart handed out 21 assists to go with six digs and three kills in as many tries, while Olson supplied 18 assists and 11 digs. Yerkes and fellow freshman Sydney Benchley each picked up 13 digs, while Butsavich led the Lakers with three blocks.
 
Suseland was one of 14 players (six GLIAC, six GLVC, two GMAC) named to the Midwest Region Crossover All-Tournament Team. After this weekend, GVSU is 18-9 overall in nine all-time trips to the Crossover Tournament.
 
The Lakers head to Wayne State and Findlay next weekend (Oct. 21-22) to resume the second half of GLIAC regular season action.