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The Grand Valley State volleyball team kicks off the 2016 season this weekend up the road in Big Rapids at the Ferris State Invitational, where the Lakers will face some of the top teams in the country. GVSU plays twice on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 2-3) and will match up with three nationally-ranked opponents in its four contests of the season.
 
After returning 11 letterwinners from last season's 20-12 team, Grand Valley State was chosen to finish third in the GLIAC North Division in the league's preseason poll. The Lakers will not play a conference opponent either of these first two weekends, but they have quite a tough opening weekend of competition in Big Rapids.
 
GVSU's opening opponent is Minnesota Crookston, one of three teams from the Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) that the Lakers will face this weekend. Minnesota Crookston is the only unranked team in Grand Valley State's four-match schedule, as the Lakers will follow against #10 Minnesota Duluth, #21 Winona State (both teams also in the NSIC), and #20 Cal State San Bernardino.
 
While the Lakers have one of their youngest teams in recent memory - 14 of the 18 roster players are either freshmen or sophomores - GVSU head coach Deanne Scanlon has fared very well in season-opening matches during her previous 21 seasons. The 22nd year head coach owns an 18-3 record in season openers, including winning the first nine season openers (1995 to 2003) of her GVSU coaching career. From 2007 to 2014, the Lakers won eight consecutive openers before seeing that streak snapped last year.
 
In addition to winning 20 matches for the 33rd time in program history - and the 17th time in Scanlon's tenure - last year Grand Valley State went 13-5 in GLIAC play and advanced to the semifinals of the GLIAC Tournament. The Lakers also earned an NCAA Tournament berth for the 17th time in school history.
 
GVSU's most accomplished returner is sophomore middle blocker Staci Brower, who notched team-highs of 320 kills and 131 blocks last season en route to being named the GLIAC Freshman of the Year and earning All-GLIAC First Team honors. She is just the second freshman in Laker history to be named to the All-GLIAC First Team.
 
Junior Katie Olson (setter) and Sydney Doby (middle blocker) are two upperclassmen that will look to lead the way for the younger Lakers. GVSU has a strong sophomore class, which is led by Brower, but also includes outside hitters Brooke Smith and Shannon Winicki, setter Taylor Stewart, and middle blocker Jillian Butsavich.
 
The incoming class of six total freshmen and a transfer will help fill out the Laker lineup, with several newcomers looking to contribute immediately. GVSU has three freshmen - middle blocker Jayci Suseland, libero Sydney Benchley, and outside hitter Kendall Yerkes - that will not only play in their first matches as Lakers this weekend, but could perhaps be in the starting lineup against Minnesota Crookston on Friday morning.
 
Here is a brief preview of GVSU's opening weekend opponents at the Ferris State Invitational:
 
Minnesota Crookston - Friday (Sept. 2), 10:30 a.m.
Last season, Minnesota Crookston went 8-20 overall and finished 4-16 in NSIC play. The Golden Eagles were picked to finish 14th in the 16-team NSIC this season and five starters returning, including four-year setter Sierra Trost, who was picked as the team's player to watch in the league's preseason poll. She averaged 8.41 assists, 2.48 digs, and 0.45 blocks per set in 2015.
 
GVSU is 2-0 all-time against the Golden Eagles, with both victories coming in 3-0 sweeps. The Lakers defeated Minnesota Crookston on Aug. 24, 2007 and also on Sept. 12, 2015 in Sioux Falls, SD.
 
#10 Minnesota Duluth - Friday (Sept. 2), 6:00 p.m.
The Bulldogs failed to qualify for the NCAA Tournament last season for the first time in 14 years despite finishing 23-8 overall and earning a pair of victories over Wheeling Jesuit, the 2015 Division II National Champions. Minnesota Duluth defeated WJU by 3-1 and 3-2 scores in an eight-day span at the beginning of last season, giving Wheeling Jesuit two of its only four losses.
 
In 2015, Minnesota Duluth went 15-5 in the NSIC; the Bulldogs are picked to finish third in the conference this season. UMD returns a pair of All-NSIC Second Team honorees in sophomore right side Sarah Kelly and senior middle blocker Sydnie Mauch.
 
GVSU is 3-5 all-time against Minnesota Duluth, but the teams have not played since Sept. 3, 2005, when the Lakers dropped a 3-2 decision to the #4 Bulldogs. That was the same season that Grand Valley State won the Division II National Championship.
 
#21 Winona State - Saturday (Sept. 3), 12:00 p.m.
A team that returns all of its starters, Winona State finished 20-10 last season and went 12-8 in NSIC play. The Warriors advanced to the NSIC Tournament championship match, falling to perennial power Concordia-St. Paul. Had Winona State won that match, the Warriors would have earned their first-ever NCAA Tournament appearance.
 
WSU was picked for a fourth-place finish in the conference this year and returns a trio of All-NSIC performers. Junior outside hitters Taylor Goar and Danielle Rampart were first and second on the team with 357 and 256 kills, respectively, most of those coming from junior setter McKenna Larsen (10.69 assists per set).
 
The Lakers have won both meetings against Winona State, both of which were 3-1 victories. GVSU's first win over the Warriors was in 1987; the teams have not met since Sept. 6, 1996.
 
#20 Cal State San Bernardino - Saturday (Sept. 3), 5:00 p.m.
Falling in the West Region championship match last season (dropping a 3-2 decision to Western Washington), the Coyotes capped off a 28-6 season as regional finalists. Cal State San Bernardino went 17-3 in the California Collegiate Athletic Association (CCAA) last year, as senior All-American middle blocker Malika O'Brien led the conference in hitting percentage (.415) and total blocks (152). Those stats put her fifth in the country in hitting percentage and 14th in blocks
 
Sophomore setter Jayann DeHoog totaled 1,469 assists (11.39 per set), 317 digs, and 58 total blocks as she was named the West Region Freshman of the Year in 2015.
 
The Lakers and Coyotes have never met before on the court. Historically speaking, GVSU participated in the 2003 Elite Eight in San Bernardino, Calif., where the Lakers swept Nebraska-Kearney in the national quarterfinals before dropping a 3-1 decision to North Alabama in the Final Four.
 
Cal State San Bernardino recorded two national runner-up finishes (2008, 2011) in a four-year span, falling to Concordia-St. Paul in both of those championship match defeats. The 2008 loss was a 3-2 setback on Concordia-St. Paul's home court; oddly enough, CSP knocked off Grand Valley State in the national semifinals that same year to advance to the title match. In 2011, Cal State went 32-1, with the Coyotes' lone loss coming in a 3-0 defeat to Concordia-St. Paul in the national championship.
 
After this weekend's four-match tournament, the Lakers will head east for another four matches next weekend. GVSU will travel to Pennsylvania for the Vulcan Invitational, as the Lakers will take on Adelphi, Davis & Elkins, the host school California (PA), and Winston-Salem State.