The Grand Valley State volleyball team claimed an impressive 3-1 win over the Wildcats of Northern Michigan on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 30) in front of former Lakers, as the team hosted their annual alumni tailgate prior to the match. The Lakers took down Northern Michigan – who entered the match with an 11-3 overall record – by scores of 25-23, 19-25, 25-21, and 25-23. The victory pushes GVSU to 8-7 overall and they now sport a 5-2 record in conference play.
 
Neither team hit particularly well in the match, as the Lakers posted a .133 hitting percentage with 26 errors and the Wildcats hit .188 with 28 errors. Both teams did post double-digit blocks however, with GVSU stuffing 11 attack attempts to Northern Michigan's 13. The Wildcats led the Lakers in kills (55-46), assists (53-36), digs (68-54), but the Lakers held an 11-4 advantage in aces.
 
Junior middle blocker Staci Brower stepped up in a big way for the Lakers, on an otherwise rough attacking day, as she posted 17 kills to four errors and hit .394 throughout the match. Brower also assisted on five blocks defensively. Fellow middle blocker Sydney Doby posted 10 kills of her own while chalking up four block assists, while Jillian Butsavich also assisted on four blocks.
 
Sophomore Sydney Benchley led the squad in digs with 14 and also pitched in three aces as well. Senior setter Katie Olson tallied 27 assists to go along with her 10 digs and defensive specialist Kaylene Norris also served up three aces while picking up eight digs.
 
The Lakers got off to a rough start in the first set, as the Wildcats opened up an early 7-1 lead over GVSU. Grand Valley State then answered with five straight points, as Brower put down a kill, Doby served up back to back aces, Northern recorded an attack error, and Brower put down another kill.  The Wildcats wouldn't give up the lead so easily though, as they pushed the score out to 16-11 in their favor. After a few back and forth points, GVSU found themselves down 22-18 and proceeded to use an unbelievable 8-1 run to stun the Wildcats and secure the 25-23 victory.
 
The second set opened up much more competitively than the first, as the teams were tied 7-7 early on. After Northern Michigan took a 13-11 lead, they used an 8-5 run for the 21-16 lead late in the set. GVSU wouldn't manage to overcome the deficit and fell in set two, 25-19.
 
GVSU got off to a hot start of their own in set three, as they went up 12-6 early. The large deficit didn't faze the Wildcats however, as they battled back to tie the match at 17-all. The teams then tied at 18, 19, and 20 before the Lakers closed it out by scoring six of the final seven points for the 25-21 victory.
 
The fourth set started off much like the first, as Northern opened up an early 11-5 lead. Once again, the Lakers didn't break down and tied the match at 15-15. The teams would trade points until the 21-21 mark, when the Lakers scored three straight for the 24-21 lead. After two points from Northern brought the score to 24-23, the Lakers used a final kill from Doby to secure the 25-23 fourth-set victory and the 3-1 win in the match.
 
GVSU will have a few days to rest up before their next match, as they are scheduled to travel to Ferris State next Friday (Oct. 6) and Northwood on Saturday (Oct. 7). Following next weekends matches, the Lakers will take part in the annual Midwest Region Crossover Tournament in Aurora, Ill.