Live Stats (#1 Lewis, 6:30pm)
 
The Grand Valley State volleyball team earned a tough five-set victory over Illinois Springfield in its opening match of the 2017 Midwest Region Crossover. The Lakers won the match by scores of 25-18, 21-25, 26-24, 16-25, and 15-12. The Lakers now own a 19-9 all-time record at the crossover heading into their second match of the day.
 
The two teams final stat lines, much like the final score, were extremely similar. GSVU led the Prairie Stars narrowly in kills (68-67), aces (5-3), digs (66-64), and the teams were tied in assists with 66 each. Illinois Springfield did hold the edge in attack percentage after hitting .300 compared to the Lakers .237 but the Lakers held the edge in blocks (11-6).
 
The Lakers had four different players surpass the 10-kill mark. Leading the way was junior Hannah Mudock, who tallied 17 kills while hitting .293. The outside hitter also collected five digs to go along with her one block assist. Second on the team in kills was senior Sydney Doby. The middle blocker collected 15 kills on the match and hit .250. Doby also tallied three solo blocks, while assisting on one other. Juniors Shannon Winicki and Staci Brower both tallied 12 kills throughout the match. Winicki hit .214, while Brower hit a team best .300 (of players who attempted more than 5 attacks). Brower also collected two solo blocks and two block assists and Winicki also chipped in with a assisted block of her own. Sophomore Jayci Suseland had a good day at the net, as she collected three solo blocks, one assisted block, and six kills.
 
Sydney Benchley led the Lakers in digs with 23, while Katie Olson tallied the second highest total on GVSU with 15. Olson also collected 42 assists and two kills. Frankie Cavallaro also collected double-digit assists, chipping in 10 to the Lakers total of 66.
 
After an early 2-2 tie in the first set, the Lakers used an impressive 13-6 run to take the 15-8 lead. During the run, Doby tallied four of her eventual six kills in set one, and also tallied a block for the first point of the set. GVSU didn't slow down after their big run, as they eventually pushed their lead to eight points after taking an 18-10 advantage. Illinois Springfield was able to scrape up a few late points to shrink the Laker lead, but GVSU would use a final kill from Doby to secure the 25-18 first set victory.
 
The Lakers used their momentum from the first set victory to open up another early lead over the Prairie Stars, this time 7-3. GVSU wasn't able to maintain their lead like they had in the first set, and Illinois Springfield fought back for a 13-13 tie midway through the set. The Prairie Stars then used a 5-2 run of their own to extend their lead to 18-15. The teams then traded points back and forth to bring the score to 20-17 in favor of Illinois Springfield. That run the Stars had after the tie at 13 turned out to be too much for the Lakers to overcome and Illinois Springfield would go on to win set two, 25-21.
 
 Set three opened up much more competitive than the previous two, as the teams found themselves tied a 7. After the Prairie Stars eight of the next eleven points, it looked like they had taken control of the set with a 15-10 lead. GVSU had some fight left however, as the Lakers battled back and once again tied the score at 17 apiece. The teams would then tie at points 20 and 21 before Illinois Springfield took a 24-21. With no points to give up, the Lakers once again battled back and tied the match at 24-24 and used a kill from Murdock and a Prairie Star error to secure the 26-24 victory and the 2-1 lead in the match.
 
After falling behind 6-5 early in the fourth set, GVSU would get outscored 8-3 over the next eleven points and trailed Illinois Springfield 14-8 midway through the set. Unlike previous sets, the team who took the early lead was able to hang on. Illinois Springfield took a commanding 20-11 lead, which turned out to be too much for the Lakers to overcome this time and the Stars walked away with the 25-16 victory to force a fifth and final set.
 
Grand Valley State wouldn't let the previous set dictate the rest of the match however, and stormed out to an early 4-1 lead in set five. The Prairie Stars continued to battle and shrunk the Laker lead to just two at 7-5. The teams then traded points back and forth to a 13-11 score. GVSU then used a kill from Murdock to take the 14-11 lead but the Stars answered with a kill of their own to bring the score to 14-12. A final kill from Brower gave GVSU the 15-12 victory in a competitive fifth set, while also securing the 3-2 victory in the match.
 
GVSU will have a few hours to rest up, as their next match is schedule to start at 6:30pm against #1 Lewis. Click on the link at the top of the page or visit gvsulakers.com to follow along using live stats.