Tournament Central
Live Stats (All three matches)
 
The Grand Valley State volleyball team is ready to make the trip down to Indianapolis, Ind. for the 11th annual Midwest Region Crossover, the nation's largest collegiate volleyball tournament at one venue. This year's crossover will be held The Academy Volleyball Club and will feature 38 NCAA DII programs, including 14 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), 12 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), and 12 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC) programs. 
 
GVSU will enter the tournament as the #7 seed in the GLIAC, as they sport a 12-7 overall record and a 5-6 record against conference competition. The Lakers will open the weekend against #3 seed Tiffin out of the GMAC at 11:30 AM on Friday (Oct. 12) before a 5:30 PM battle against #3 Illinois-Springfield of the GLVC later that evening. GVSU will then jump back into action on Saturday (Oct. 13) at 1:00 PM as they will face #8 seed Bellarmine of the GLVC in their final match of the weekend. 
 
The Lakers, who have become accustomed to playing on the road as 15 of their 19 matches have been away from their home floor, were away once again last weekend. On Friday (Oct. 5) they fell to Saginaw Valley State, 3-0, before bouncing back on Saturday for a 3-1 win over Lake Superior State. Staci Brower continued her dominant play in the Lakers 1-1 weekend, recording 32 kills (4.57 kills per set) with a .429 hitting percentage. The senior is currently hitting a league-best .375 on the season. Ali Thompson (14), Jillian Butsavich (10), and Hannah Murdock (10) all recorded double-digit kills on the weekend as well. 
 
Ashlyn Kartes continues to be the Lakers main source of kill opportunities as she collected 40 more assists last weekend to bring her season total to 533. Frankie Cavallaro chipped in 27 assists as well, bringing her season total to 129. 
 
Defensively, Kendall Yerkes has collected a team-high 317 digs from the libero position, while Thompson (235) and Graham (180) continue to be essential in starting the Laker attack. At the net, Brower has rejected 53 attack attempts to lead the team, while Butsavich isn't far behind with 42 blocks of her own. 
 
vs. Tiffin (Friday, Oct. 12) – 11:30 AM
The Dragons, who were a member of the GLIAC until this year, have gotten off to a solid start in their new conference, posting an 11-2 record against GMAC teams to push their overall record to 16-5. They were particularly successful in the month of September, posting a 10-match winning streak to start the month before dropping their final two contests to Findlay (3-0) and Hillsdale (3-0) in the final weekend. Since then, the Dragons have rattled off three straight 3-0 victories over Lake Erie, Ursuline, and Cedarville. 
 
The Dragons have generated a majority of their offense through Jenna Huffman and Amanda Curry, who have accounted for 246 and 237 kills, respectively, which is over 100 more kills than the Dragons next attacker. Huffman has been particularly effective on offense, ranking second in the GMAC with a .384 attack percentage. The junior is also the league-leader with 1.13 blocks per set, collecting 80 total rejections. Not too far behind Huffman is sophomore Grace Schreiber with 65 blocks of her own (0.92 per set). 
 
Much like the Lakers, the Dragons have two setters who have seen plenty of time on the court. Emily Weithman (443) and Loryn Huffman (329) have accounted for nearly all of Tiffins assists. 
 
vs. Illinois-Springfield (Friday, Oct. 12) – 5:30 PM
The Prairie Stars boast a 15-4 overall record and an even more impressive 9-1 mark in GLVC play, falling to just Rockhurst in the middle of September. They are also in the middle of a nine-match win streak but face a tough Ashland team before the matchup with the Lakers. 
 
The Prairie Stars feature an attacking unit that boasts five different players with at least 145 kills, led by Taylor Bauer with 192 and Brianna Bush with 182. Alli Splitt has been the most consistent attacker however as she is hitting at a .422 clip with 159 kills to her name. 
 
Alyssa Hasler has been dominant at the net for the Prairie Stars so far this season as she leads the league in both total blocks (99) and blocks per set (1.50). Splitt has also been solid at the net, ranking fourth with 1.10 blocks per set and 74 total rejections. 
 
Jailyn Borum has handled the libero duties for Illinois-Springfield, tallying a team-best 368 digs, while Tiffany Wentworth leads the team with 650 assists offensively. 
 
vs. Bellarmine (Saturday, Oct. 13) – 1:00 PM
Bellarmine comes into the weekend with the most comparable record to the Lakers as the Knights are 12-8 overall and an even 6-6 against competition in the GLVC. Most recently, the Knights earned three wins in four days, taking down Southern Indiana, UIndy, and #15 Lewis. They will face Wayne State (GLIAC) and Malone (GMAC) before their Saturday showdown with the Lakers. 
 
Jacquie Hornung paces the Knights with 217 total kills (3.06 per set) but is hitting just .162 on the season while Bailey Roszman isn't far behind with 205 kills (3.01 per set) of her own while hitting .226. Supplying a majority of their kill opportunities is Kristen O'Toole, who has tallied 678 of the teams' 907 total assists. 
 
Abbie Oetting has racked up 49 total blocks to lead the way for the Knights with Katie Adams (34) and Roszman (31) just behind. Jordyn Kuchenbrod has picked up 477 digs on defense as well while Hornung has 209, and Karleigh Wilson has 167.