vs. Saginaw Valley State (Oct. 5 – 7:00 PM)
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vs. Lake Superior State (Oct. 6 – 2:00 PM)
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The Grand Valley State volleyball team will once again hit the road for a couple of GLIAC matches against Saginaw Valley State and Lake Superior State on Friday and Saturday (Oct. 5-6). Following these conference matchups, the Lakers will have a break from league play as they are scheduled to head to Indianapolis, Ind. for the Midwest Region Crossover tournament on Oct. 12-13. The Lakers currently boast an 11-6 overall record and a 4-5 record against conference competition and will face a 12-5 (6-3 GLIAC) Saginaw Valley State team and a 3-14 (2-7 GLIAC) Lake Superior State team.
Last weekend the Lakers earned a split on their home court, sweeping Northwood 3-0, before falling to #6-nationally ranked Ferris State, 3-1. Senior
Staci Brower, who now leads the GLIAC and ranks 34th nationally with a .366 hitting percentage, was once again the main cog in GVSU's offensive attack. The middle blocker racked up 28 more kills last weekend to bring her season total to a team-best 187 and 3.07 kills per set. Fellow senior
Hannah Murdock continues to be a mainstay in the Laker attack as well, as she is second on the team with 140 kills so far this season to go along with a .286 attack percentage. Freshman
Abby Graham and
Ali Thompson continue their impressive inaugural seasons, totaling 127 and 126 kills so far this season, respectively.
Brower has also been a problem at the net for opposing offenses, ranking second in the league with 16 solo blocks and 11th in total blocks with 48. Not too far behind Brower is fellow senior
Jillian Butsavich with 38 total blocks of her own (9 solo, 29 assisted). When Brower and Butsavich don't get their hands on an opposing attack however, junior libero
Kendall Yerkes has been at the back line collecting a team-best 284 digs. Thompson (205), Graham (166), and setter
Ashlyn Kartes (142) have also been a major part of the Laker defense.
The Lakers will head to University Center, Mich. to take on a Saginaw Valley State team that has won four of their last five matches, falling to just #6 Ferris State two weekends ago. In the most recent weekend of play, the Cardinals swept Wisconsin-Parkside and Purdue Northwest to improve to 12-5 overall and 6-3 in GLIAC action. SVSU has made a strong turnaround from a 2017 season that saw them finish 6-21 overall and 4-12 in conference action.
The Cardinals are a well-rounded team overall, ranking in the top half of the league in most statistical categories. Their 2,551 total attacks are tops in the league, while their 842 kills in fourth and their 12.38 kills per set is eighth. Defensively, they rank fourth in total digs (1,146) and fifth in both solo blocks (29) and total blocks (129). Their 200 assisted rejections ranks fourth.
Leading that offensive attack in junior outside hitter Sarah Tabit. She has racked up 206 total kills and 3.12 kills per set while hitting .214 on the season. Emily Friesl and Maria Vukaj have also been instrumental in the Cardinal attack, supplying 164 and 151 total kills, respectively. Supplying a majority of those attack opportunites this season has been junior setter Hannah Tabit, as she has accounted for 537 of the Cardinals 790 assists this season.
Three Cardinals have picked up at least 30 blocks this season, led by Friesl with 54 (50 assisted, four solo). Following her is sophomore Haley Clum with 39 (32 assisted, seven solo), and Hannah Tabit with 33 (32 assisted, one solo).
After dropping their first seven conference matches, the Lake Superior State Lakers earned two straight wins over Purdue Northwest and Wisconsin-Parkside by identical scores of 3-2. With the wins, the Lakers improved to 3-14 overall and 2-7 against GLIAC schools. GVSU will be putting their 50-match winning streak against LSSU on the line, having not dropped a match to the rival Lakers since 1989.
LSSU has struggled both offensively and defensively so far this season, ranking near the bottom of the league in most categories. Their 635 total kills and 9.48 kills per set both rank last in the conference, while their 430 errors are the second most. Defensively, they rank eighth in solo (21) and assisted (156) blocks with their 99 total rejections is ninth overall.
Junior outside hitter Amanda Reid has accounted for a team-high 191 kills and 2.85 kills per set so far this season, while middle hitter Kelly Walter is the lone other LSSU attacker to tally 100 kills as she's put down 104. Lauren Lukasik and Halle Grulke have seen split time at the setter position, tallying 262 and 206 assists, respectively.
Freshman Kelly Walter leads the LSSU Lakers with 39 total blocks (32 assisted, seven solo) and is followed closely by Camdyn Odykirk with 34 (28 assisted, six solo) and Amanda Reid with 31 (28 assisted, three solo).
Following this weekend's matches, GVSU will have a weekend break from conference play, as they are slated to head down to Indianapolis, Ind. for the Midwest Region Crossover on Friday and Saturday (Oct. 12-13).
