The Grand Valley State volleyball team came out victorious in a five-set battle with the Huskies of Michigan Tech on Friday night (Sept. 29). The Lakers took set one by a 25-23 margin before losing sets two and three by scores of 25-13 and 25-20, respectively. The Lakers bounced back for another close 25-23 fourth-set win and secured the match with an 18-16 victory in set five. With the win, GVSU improves to 7-7 overall and 4-2 in conference play.
 
Despite the win, the Lakers trailed the Huskies in most statistical categories, but instead counted on clutch plays and timely hitting. Michigan Tech led Grand Valley State in kills (67-64), assists (67-60), digs (96-87), and blocks (10-8) while also hitting .242 to GVSU's .203.
 
Senior Sydney Doby had arguably her best match of the season as the middle blocker tallied a team-high 18 kills to go along with 15 digs, two aces, one block assist, and only one error while sporting a .447 hitting percentage throughout the match. Junior Hannah Murdock put down 16 kills while collecting a solo block, two block assists, five digs, and three assists. Fellow junior Shannon Winicki also surpassed the double-digit kill mark, as she tallied 14 kills while hitting .275.
 
Senior Katie Olson contributed 43 of the Lakers 60 assists while collecting the second most digs on the team with 17. Libero Sydney Benchley led the team in digs with 24 and also pitched in five assists and two aces and junior defensive specialist Kaylene Norris was also solid on defense, as she picked up 12 digs of her own.
 
The first set would turn out to be extremely competitive, as neither team held more than a three-point lead throughout the entire set. The Lakers found themselves down early after the Huskies scored three straight points after a 6-6 tie. The Lakers then answered with five-straight points, starting with a kill from Jillian Butsavich followed by an ace from Olson, a block from Butsavich, a Husky attack error, and finally ended with a kill from Doby, to go up 11-9. The Lakers would hold onto that lead until Michigan Tech scored seven of nine points after GVSU took a 19-15 lead. Down 22-21, Grand Valley State managed to score four of the last five points for the 25-23 victory.
 
The second set of the night is one that the Lakers had to quickly forget. After going down 12-6 early in the set, GVSU wouldn't be able to overcome the deficit. They scored a few points in the middle of the set but would eventually fall 25-13, mostly on their own errors, as they hit -.032.
 
The third set was much more competitive, but the Lakers still fell on the losing end. After GVSU tied the match at 13 apiece, MTU scored six of the next eight for a 19-15 lead. GVSU used a kill from Brower and an error by the Huskies to bring the score to 19-17 but MTU would score six of the final nine points for the 25-20 victory and a 2-1 lead in the match.
 
The Lakers used an 8-2 run after trailing 8-6 to take and early 14-10 lead in set four. Michigan Tech answered with four straight points to tie the match at 14 all. GVSU then used an impressive 7-2 run for the 21-16 lead. Michigan Tech wouldn't be denied victory so easily though, as the Huskies fought back from a 24-19 Laker lead and found themselves down only 24-23. The Lakers used a clutch kill from Doby to secure the 25-23 fourth set victory and force a fifth-set.
 
The fifth set was a thriller, as the teams would find themselves tied at 4, 5, 9, 10, 11, 12, 13, 14, 15, and 16. After tying the match at 13, GVSU used a kill from Shannon Winicki for the 14-13 lead but Michigan Tech would use a kill and a Laker error to flip the tables and take a 15-14 lead. A clutch kill from Staci Brower tied the match at 15 before Michigan Tech used a kill of their own for the 16-15 lead. Winicki then stepped up and supplied two straight kills for the 17-16 Laker lead and a final setting error by the Huskies gave the Lakers the 18-16 win and the 3-2 victory in the match.
 
The Lakers will look to improve their record tomorrow, as they are set to face a tough Northern Michigan team at 4:00 p.m. in GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.