The Grand Valley State volleyball team earned a 3-1 win over GLIAC foe Purdue Northwest on Saturday night (Nov. 3) and will be the number seven seed in the GLIAC Tournament. With the win, the Lakers move to 13-14 on the season and 6-10 in the conference while the Pride fall to 3-26 and 0-16. 
 
GVSU will face either Ashland or Michigan Tech depending on the result of the Huskies match that is currently in process. 
 
The Lakers used a .213 hitting percentage to put down 59 kills on the night, while holding the Pride to just .135 and 41 kills. Senior Staci Brower put down a match-leading 18 kills while hitting an efficient .378. Fellow senior Jillian Butsavich tallied 12 kills herself while leading all attackers with a .550 attack percentage. Sophomore Ashlyn Kartes supplied most of those kill opportunities, tallying 46 assists on the night. 
 
Defensively, Kaylene Norris picked up a match-high 16 digs while Brower added three assisted blocks while Butsavich notched two solo rejections. 
 
GVSU got off to a quick start thanks to an opening ace that was followed by a Pride attack error and kills from Brower and Abby Graham to go up 4-0. The Pride quickly reigned in the Lakers and took a lead of their own, 9-7, just a little while later. After a 12-12 tie, GVSU went on a five-point run to take the 17-12 advantage late. That lead would be enough to get the Lakers the win down the stretch, as they would take the set 25-19. 
 
Much like the first set, GVSU used a quick start to take the lead on the Pride, this time going up 5-0. Following a 10-6 lead a few points later, the Pride would bring it within reach, cutting the lead to just one, 12-11. From there, the teams would play back and forth volleyball throughout the middle of the set, eventually bringing the score to 20-20 and then 22-22. Unfortunately for the Lakers, the Pride managed to put down the final three points to take the second set and tie the match at 1-1. 
 
Set three started off in the Lakers favor again, as they would hold leads of 2-0, 3-1, and 7-3 early on. A four-point run by GVSU after a 7-4 score would the Lakers some breathing room, 11-4. Following a 13-5 lead in favor of the Lakers, PNW scored three in a row to cut the lead to five, 13-8. GVSU would continue to play solid ball and they would go on to take the set 25-17 and go up 2-1 in the match. 
 
GVSU found themselves down early, 4-3, but would use a four-point run to nab the lead and go up three, 7-4. Two PNW points were then answered with another four-point run to take the five point lead, 11-6. Keeping the theme going, GVSU went on another run, this time five points, to take a big 17-8 lead. The Pride wouldn't make it easy for the Lakers, as they would claw their way back into it and cut the lead to just five, 20-15. GVSU held their composure however and eventually shut the late comeback attempt down, winning 25-17.