Grand Valley State won the first two sets over #20 Cal State San Bernardino on Saturday night (Sept. 3), but the Coyotes ultimately prevailed by taking the final three sets to prevent the Laker upset at the Ferris State Invitational in Big Rapids. The five-set battle saw 28 tie scores and 11 lead changes, as GVSU fell despite a great effort, 25-21, 25-19, 23-25, 13-25, 12-15.
 
The Lakers played four matches at the season-opening tournament this weekend, with the final three contests coming against Top-25 opponents. In addition to #20 Cal State San Bernardino, GVSU also faced #21 Winona State earlier on Saturday and #10 Minnesota-Duluth on Friday night.
 
With the tough loss, Grand Valley State fell to 1-3, while CSU-Bernardino improved to 3-1 on the weekend.
 
The teams' statlines were very similar, as the Coyotes held slim advantages in kills (61-55), hitting percentage (.167 to .144), assists (53-51), digs (93-87), and blocks (11-10). GVSU doubled up the Coyotes in service aces, 8-4.
 
Freshman Kendall Yerkes delivered her third double-double of the weekend, as the rookie provided a team-high 14 kills and added 18 digs, one shy of senior Amanda Glaza's team-best 19 pickups on Saturday night. Sophomore Staci Brower - the reigning GLIAC Freshman of the Year - notched 12 kills and seven total blocks, four of which were solo rejections.
 
Freshman libero Sydney Benchley was one of five Lakers with double-digits in digs (16) and the newcomer served four of the team's eight aces. Junior Katie Olson posted 41 assists, 15 digs, six kills, two block assists, and an ace.
 
GVSU utilized a 5-1 run to turn a 16-16 first set tie score into a 21-17 lead, with Benchley's ace starting the run and Brower providing a kill during the surge. The Coyotes would pull with two points at 22-20 before a service error and a solo rejection from sophomore Jillian Butsavich put the Lakers back in control. Sophomore Shannon Winicki's kill ended the first frame at 25-21.
 
Three straight kills - two from Brower, one from Yerkes - and one of Glaza's two aces put the Lakers up 7-4 in set two. Yerkes added another kill and Brower totaled a kill and a solo block to up the advantage to 10-4. Yerkes downed three kills in a four-point sequence to put GVSU in front, 19-12. CSU-Bernardino made a mini-run, but two late kills from freshman Jayci Suseland and a final kill from Olson closed set two, 25-19.
 
Set three was tied 14 times and the lead changed hands on seven occasions, with the Lakers looking to close out a top-20 opponent. GVSU took a 16-13 lead with four straight points on kills from Yerkes, sophomore Brooke Smith, and Brower, plus a Benchley ace. The Coyotes committed a hitting error to keep GVSU in front at 23-22, but CSU-Bernardino rallied back with three straight points to take the third stanza.
 
In the fourth frame, the Coyotes opened a 14-8 cushion before the Lakers responded with a four-point run, two points coming on back-to-back aces from Benchley. The 14-12 score was as close as GVSU would get the rest of the set, as Cal State finished the frame on an 11-2 run, forcing the pivotal fifth set.
 
CSU-Bernardino scored the first three points in the fifth set, but back-to-back kills from Olson and Brower - plus a Glaza service ace - tied things back up at 6-6. The Coyotes pulled ahead at 9-7 before Winicki and Butsavich posted consecutive putaways to even the score at 9-9. It was 10-10 on another Winicki kill, but CSU-Bernardino scored five of the next seven points to take the match in five sets.
 
Winicki and Suseland each posted eight kills, while Smith was the fifth Laker in double figures with 10 digs. Butsavich supplied two solo blocks (three total) and Suseland added a pair of block assists.
 
The Lakers return to the court next Friday-Saturday (Sept. 9-10) at the Vulcan Invitational in California, Pa. GVSU takes on Adelphi, Davis & Elkins, the host school California (PA), and Winston-Salem State in the two-day tournament.