vs. Wisconsin-Parkside (Friday, Nov. 2 – 8:00 PM)
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vs. Purdue Northwest (Saturday, Nov. 3 – 2:00 PM)
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The Grand Valley State volleyball team is looking to secure their spot in the GLIAC Tournament this weekend with a couple of matchups with the Wisconsin-Parkside Rangers and Purdue Northwest Pride. The Lakers (12-13 overall, 5-9 GLIAC) will take on Parkside at 8:00 PM on Friday (Nov. 2) before a 2:00 PM contest against the Pride on Saturday (Nov. 3).
The Lakers currently hold a one-match lead over Northern Michigan, Northwood, and Parkside as they all sit with a 4-10 conference record. With a win over the Rangers, the Lakers will clinch the eight seed in the tournament but a loss may bring it down to tiebreakers between the teams. Currently, Ferris State (14-0), Michigan Tech (13-1), and Ashland (13-2) have all secured home court advantage in the quarterfinals while Saginaw Valley State (10-5), Wayne State (10-5), and Davenport (7-7) have all secured at least a spot in the postseason action.
After a promising 7-1 start to the season, the Lakers have been trying to get out of a rut the past few weeks after dropping their last six matches. On the season however, the Lakers have picked up more total kills (1,116 – 1,112) than their opponents and are hitting .200 compared to the oppositions .189. GVSU has also tallied more total blocks than their opponents with a 153 – 134 margin.
Senior
Staci Brower has posted a solid final season for the Lakers as she leads the squad in kills (285), kills per set (3.24), attack percentage (.348), as well as all blocking categories (22 solo, 52 assisted, 74 total). Fellow senior
Hannah Murdock has been on her game lately as well. She ranks second on the team in kills in the last six matches and has tallied 213 so far this season for a 2.48 kill per set average.
Jillian Butsavich, who is also a senior, is fifth on the squad in total kills with 132 and second in all blocking categories after picking up 54 total blocks so far this season.
The freshman duo of
Ali Thompson and
Abby Graham have been major components of the Laker offense this season, as they have tallied 290 and 153 kills to rank third and fourth on the team, respectively. They have also contributed 302 and 230 digs as well.
The Rangers are coming off of a weekend that saw them drop two 3-0 contests against Ashland and Wayne State. Prior to that, the Rangers won 3-0 over Purdue Northwest for their fourth conference win of the season. When the teams played back in September, the Lakers defended their home court in a 3-1 contest.
Parkside comes into the contest with three main offensive threats. Lexie Calloway leads the way with 333 kills (3.40 per set) and is followed by Rachel Hedman with 265 kills (2.70 per set) while Katie Adams 255 (2.60 per set). All three of them have played in and started in every match this season.
Elizabeth Mavis has been a force at the net on defense, picking up 106 total blocks (1.10 per set) this season. GVSU will also have to look out for Carlee Behnke (61 blocks) and Jazmine Neal (50 blocks) while attacking as well.
The Pride have been struggling down the stretch as they have dropped eight of their last nine contests, including a couple last weekend to Wayne State and Ashland. Prior to the Lakers contest with the Pride on Saturday, PNW will face Davenport in a Friday night contest.
They have struggled to get a consistent offense going this season as they are hitting just .116 on the season. Despite the low hitting percentage, Jenna Dal Santo has had a good season, picking up 230 kills and 2.37 kills per set so far this season while also picking up 25 service aces as well. Jenna Pasko has also been a threat on the attack as she's tallied 211 kills herself.
Defensively, Annie Pulizos has picked up 54 blocks (39 assisted, 15 solo) while Brook Carter has 51 and Pasko has 47.
