The Grand Valley State volleyball team fell to the Timberwolves of Northwood on Saturday evening (Oct. 7) by a score of 3-0. The Lakers lost set one 25-15, before a close 29-27 battle in set two, and dropped the third set by a 25-20 margin. With the loss, the Lakers drop to 8-9 (5-4 GLIAC) on the season.
 
The Lakers struggled offensively in the matchup, as the team only managed to hit .060 on the match, while Northwood posted a .206 hitting percentage. The Timberwolves also led the Lakers in kills (43-34), assists (41-33), and digs (67-61). The Lakers led Northwood in assists (6-1) and both teams managed to tally eight rejections each.
 
Junior Staci Brower led the Lakers in kills with nine, while posting a .273 hitting percentage and tallying a solo block while assisting on one other. Senior middle blocker Sydney Doby tallied seven kills herself while earning a solo rejection and assisting on two other rejections. Doby also collected seven digs and an ace as well. Hannah Murdock ranked third on the team in kills during the match, after collecting six to go along with her eight digs and one block assist.
 
Setter Katie Olson led the Lakers in two different categories, after collecting 30 assists and 13 digs. The senior also tallied two aces, one kill, and one block assist. Sophomore Kendall Yerkes tallied the second highest dig total for the Lakers, as she collected 12 to go along with her two kills and block assist.
 
The Lakers found themselves in a big hole early in set one as the Timberwolves scored seven of the first eight points. After a short run themselves, the Lakers found themselves down only four with Northwood's lead shrinking to 10-6. The four-point deficit would turn out to be the closest the Lakers would get to the Timberwolves, as Northwood would use the early momentum to take the first set 25-15.
 
Once again, Northwood would use an early run to take a 10-5 lead in set two. After Northwood stretched their lead to 17-10, the Lakers used an 11-4 comeback run to shrink the lead to 22-21. After the teams were tied at 24 points apiece, they traded points before GVSU took a 27-26 lead. Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Timberwolves scored three straight points for the 29-27 second set victory.
 
Much like the first two sets, the Lakers found themselves down early as Northwood took a 12-6 lead. GVSU used a 7-3 run in the middle part of the set to bring the score to 18-15 in favor of Northwood. The Timberwolves would then score eight of the last 12 points for the 25-20 third set victory.
 
The Lakers will be back in action next weekend, as they are scheduled to travel to Aurora, Ill. for the annual Midwest Region Crossover. The two-day crossover will feature teams from the GLIAC, GMAC, and GLVC and take place on Friday, Oct. 13 and Saturday, Oct. 14. Stay tuned to gvsulakers.com for updates on opponents and game times.