Ohio Dominican (Friday, 7:00 p.m.): Live Stats
Lake Erie (Saturday, 2:00 p.m.): Live Stats
 
Grand Valley State will play its second and third volleyball matches of the week, as the Lakers head to Ohio for a pair of contests against GLIAC South Division opponents. On Friday night (Sept. 30), GVSU travels to Columbus to take on Ohio Dominican at 7:00 p.m. before heading north to take on Lake Erie on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 1) at 2:00 p.m.
 
Every team in the conference played its travel partner on Tuesday night, so it will also be the second and third matches for ODU and Lake Erie this weekend. The Lakers will enter Ohio with a 7-5 overall record and a 2-2 mark in GLIAC play. After consecutive wins over Northwood and Walsh the last two Saturdays, Grand Valley State dropped a 3-1 decision at home to Ferris State on Tuesday night (Sept. 27).
 
It was a typical GVSU-Ferris State rivalry match, as the contest was tied 24 times and three of the four sets were decided by less than five points. Moreover, the Lakers and Bulldogs had identical totals in kills (59), attack errors (23), and digs (97). GVSU owned a slightly higher hitting percentage (.191 to .189) and an 11-9 edge in blocks, but Ferris State notched a 5-0 edge in service aces.
 
Despite the loss, the Lakers had some solid performances, led by freshman Jayci Suseland's match-high 17 kills and six total blocks (two solo). Sophomore Staci Brower provided 13 kills and a match-best seven blocks. Five GVSU players reached double-digits in digs, led by senior Amanda Glaza's 23 pickups and sophomore Brooke Smith's 19 digs, eight kills, and two block assists.
 
Brower (136 kills), Suseland (125), and freshman Kendall Yerkes (105) have all surpassed the 100-kill mark just a dozen matches into the season. Leading the entire conference with 1.20 blocks per set, Brower's 55 total blocks are second in the league, along with her .337 hitting percentage as the fifth-best in the GLIAC.
 
The Lakers are up to second in the league in digs per set (17.41) and fifth in solo blocks (29) and blocks per set (1.98). GVSU ranks sixth and seventh, respectively, in assists per set (11.85) and kills per set (12.72).
 
At 4-7 overall and 1-3 in GLIAC play, Ohio Dominican dropped a 3-0 decision to Lake Erie on Tuesday night in Columbus. It was ODU's third straight loss, including a four-set defeat to Hillsdale and a five-set loss at Northwood. The Panthers started the year with a 2-2 mark at the Hall of Fame City Challenge in Canton, Ohio before going 1-2 at the TownePlace Suites Classic in Findlay the following weekend.
 
Ohio Dominican's lone GLIAC win was a 3-1 defeat of Walsh on Sept. 17, which came before the current three-match losing streak. The Panthers rank third in the conference with 138 block assists and are fourth with 17.23 digs per set. However, ODU's 37 ball handling errors are second-most in the league, while its 38 service aces are the fewest of any team.
 
Senior outside hitter Tory Thompson leads the Panthers with 163 kills and is third with 139 digs. Thompson has taken the second most attacks in the league and is scoring 4.1 points per set, fourth-highest in the GLIAC. Sophomore outside hitter Kelly Nadler has recorded 110 kills and 32 total blocks, second on the team. Senior middle hitter Jackie Oestreich leads the team with 35 blocks and is third with 105 kills.
 
After finishing 9-20 last season, Lake Erie has matched its 2015 win total through just 14 matches this year. The Storm are 9-5 overall and 2-2 in conference action, including the 3-0 sweep of Ohio Dominican on Tuesday. Lake Erie won eight straight contests after an 0-3 start to the year, with that streak being snapped by a pair of road sweeps against Northwood and Hillsdale.
 
While Lake Erie does have the third-most hitting errors (316) this season, the Storm owns the second-most kills (716) of any team in the league. LEC is also second in the league in assists (887), fourth in total blocks (98), and fifth in service aces (76). In addition, the Storm has the second-fewest service errors (55) of any GLIAC school.
 
A pair of outside hitters are leading the Storm in kills, as sophomore Crystal Kedroske's 162 kills pace the LEC offense. She also has 14 aces through 14 matches. Freshman Brooke Peiffer has tallied 157 kills, while senior middle hitter Lee Lee Barrett has recorded 129 kills, 54 total blocks, and a GLIAC-high 18 solo rejections. Junior Sidney Fletcher leads Lake Erie with 230 digs and 17 service aces.
 
Next weekend, the Lakers will return to Allendale for a pair of home matches. GVSU will host Tiffin next Friday night (Oct. 7) before facing Ashland on Saturday afternoon (Oct. 8).