vs. Northwood (Friday, 7:00 p.m.) - ESPN3: Video | Live Stats
vs. Hillsdale (Saturday, 2:00 p.m.) - ESPN3 & Xfinity900: Video | Live Stats
 
Grand Valley State returns to Allendale to finish off the 2016 regular season, as the Lakers have a crucial pair of home matches this weekend. On Friday night (Nov. 11), GVSU takes on Northwood at 7:00 p.m. before squaring off with Hillsdale on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 12) in a 2:00 p.m. start.
 
At 14-12 overall, Grand Valley State is 8-7 in conference play and the Lakers enter the weekend in a three-place tie for seventh place in the GLIAC standings. GVSU, Tiffin, and Lake Erie are all 8-7 in league action, while Hillsdale is 7-8; those four teams are battling for the final two spots in the GLIAC Tournament, as six teams have already clinched a berth in next week's competition.
 
While the Lakers take on Northwood (13-13 overall, 4-11 GLIAC) and Hillsdale (15-11 overall), Tiffin faces a pair of teams that have sealed their spot in the GLIAC Tournament next week. The Dragons face Wayne State (one of four 10-5 teams in conference play) in a rare Thursday night match before taking on second-place Findlay (12-3 GLIAC) on Friday night.
 
Lake Erie plays just one match this weekend - a Saturday matchup with Walsh (2-12 GLIAC). The Storm lost out on their usual 17th conference match of the season when Malone left the GLIAC prior to the start of this year.
 
While there are many tiebreakers that could take place depending on this week's results, the Lakers can obviously put themselves in a solid position by winning both contests. With a quirk of the schedule, GVSU closes the conference schedule by playing the same two teams it opened up GLIAC play against back in mid-September.
 
On Sept. 16, Hillsdale won two tight first sets (25-22, 25-20) before the Lakers rallied back to take sets three (25-22) and four (25-13) and force the pivotal fifth frame. GVSU was ahead 12-11 in the fifth set, but Hillsdale closed the contest with a 4-1 run and a 15-13 victory. The Lakers hit .302 in defeat and were led by sophomore Staci Brower's 19 kills and six blocks, while she hit .429. Freshman Jayci Suseland added 16 kills in her first GLIAC match.
 
The next day, Northwood took the first set by a comfortable 25-16 margin before Grand Valley State came roaring back. The Lakers won the next three sets, albeit all three frames were tight (25-22, 25-20, 25-22), with a combined 31 tie scores and 11 lead changes in just the last three sets. While Brower (11 kills, four blocks) and Suseland (10 kills, four blocks) were again strong, sophomore Brooke Smith paced GVSU with 12 kills and a match-best 18 digs. The Lakers tallied fewer kills (54-51) than Northwood, but doubled the Timberwolves in total blocks (12-6).
 
More recently, Grand Valley State snapped a rare three-match losing streak with a 3-0 sweep at Lake Superior State, topping the other Lakers (25-14, 25-17, 25-15). In the victory, GVSU had one of its top hitting percentages (.324) of the year, while Brower (13 kills, .480) and Suseland (12 kills, .381) led the Laker offense. Sophomore Jillian Butsavich put down eight kills in only 14 swings for a .500 hitting percentage and outside hitter Shannon Winicki added seven kills in 18 attempts.
 
In conference play, GVSU still leads the league in kills per set (13.45) and assists per set (12.68), while the Lakers also top the conference in blocking errors (26). The other side of that stat is Grand Valley State is second in the league in total blocks (126) and fourth in rejections per set (2.25). GVSU has also been aced just 55 times in GLIAC matches (the third-lowest total of any team) and is third and fourth, respectively, in total digs (1,003) and digs per set (17.91) against league foes.
 
Northwood - one day after giving Ferris State its only GLIAC loss so far this season - saw its record fall to 7-3 after losing to Grand Valley State. Since then, the 13-13 Timberwolves have posted just a 6-10 record, including four consecutive losses entering this weekend. NU has recently dropped contests to Saginaw Valley State (3-1), Hillsdale (3-2), and at Michigan Tech (3-0) and Northern Michigan (3-2).
 
The Timberwolves rebounded nicely after a mid-season four-match losing streak, with Northwood winning all three matches at the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament in mid-October. Since then, however, NU has won just once in seven matches. Oddly enough, Northwood is 0-8 in true road matches, but the Timberwolves are a perfect 9-0 in neutral site contests.
 
Led by junior Allison Getty's 329 kills and team-high 293 digs, Northwood has three players with over 200 kills. Junior Sydney Greulich has collected 204 kills and 63 blocks, while sophomore Colleen Mayer leads NU with 68 total blocks and is hitting .284 with 200 kills. Freshman Carson Rutherford has added 177 kills and 38 blocks.
 
Hillsdale was 7-1 after defeating GVSU in the conference opener and despite falling to Ferris State the next day, the Chargers rolled off five wins in a row to move to 12-2. Hitting a tough portion of its schedule, HC lost seven of its next eight matches and after winning at Northwood (3-2) last Wednesday, the Chargers dropped a pair of road contests at Northern Michigan (3-0) and Michigan Tech (3-1) last weekend.
 
Overall, Hillsdale is 10-7 away from its home floor, including a 4-4 record in true road matches. The top blocking team in the GLIAC whether in terms of total blocks (150), block assists (198), or blocks per set (2.50), the Chargers have recorded 51 solo blocks, third-best in the league. Hillsdale is 10th and 11th in the GLIAC, respectively, in kills per set (12.47) and assists per set (11.32).
 
Sophomore Kara Vyletel ranks sixth in the league with 350 kills and has picked up 264 digs, second-most on the team. Classmate Paige Vanderwall has tallied 279 kills and 131 digs, while junior Jackie Langer is third on the team in digs (261), kills (233), and blocks (61). Senior Erin Holsinger's 111 total blocks are fourth in the league and she has added 230 kills, as well.
 
The 2016 GLIAC Tournament begins next Wednesday (Nov. 16), with four quarterfinal matches taking place at the site of the higher seed. The four winning teams will square off in the tournament semifinals (Nov. 19) and championship match (Nov. 20) at the highest remaining seed next weekend.