The Grand Valley State volleyball team finished the second day of the Raven First Serve Invitational with a win over Franklin Pierce in the morning before falling for the first time in 2018 to Tampa. The Lakers will head back to Allendale with a 3-1 overall record after going 2-0 on the first day of competition. 
 
GVSU had an impressive showing against host school Franklin Pierce in their morning matchup, winning 3-0 by scores of 25-15, 25-16, and 25-19. The Lakers then fell to Tampa, who improves to 4-0 on the season, 3-1, by scores of 25-23, 12-25, 22-25, and 16-26. The Lakers will hit the practice floor for a few days before heading back out on another road trip, this time to North Canton, Ohio to take part in the Cavalier Classic, hosted by Walsh University. The Lakers will once again play four matches over a two day span. 
 
vs. Franklin Pierce (W, 3-0)
 
Against the Ravens, the Lakers posted an impressive .326 hitting percentage on the attack while holding Franklin Pierce to just a .060 hitting percentage in comparison. While nobody on the Laker squad eclipsed the double-digit kill mark, 11 different Lakers recorded a put-down, led by senior Staci Brower with seven. Once again Ashlyn Kartes was the facilitator for the Laker attack, as the sophomore posted a match-high 28 assists, while putting down four kills in the process. GVSU also held the slight advantage in blocks, 3-2, with Kartes, Brower, and Emma Clines all recording solo blocks. 
 
In the first set, GVSU took a quick 3-0 lead courtesy of a bad set from the Ravens, an Ali Thompson ace, and a Hannah Murdock kill. The Lakers kept their early success rolling, as they would eventually build a 10-3 lead over the Ravens. After a 3-1 run by Franklin Pierce, GVSU used a five-point run to jump out to a comfortable 15-6 lead. The Ravens wouldn't be put down however, as they fought back in another 4-1 run but much like before, the Lakers answered with a run of their own, this time a five-point swing to take the commanding 21-10 lead. The Lakers would close the first set victory out with a Raven attack error to win 25-15. 
 
In the second set the Lakers exploded for eight straight points and never looked back. For the rest of the set, GVSU's lead would never dip below four and they would eventually hush the Ravens and take set two, 25-16. 
 
GVSU kept the pressure on Franklin Pierce in the third set, jumping out to a quick 4-1 lead before eventually pushing it to a 10-5 advantage. The Ravens just couldn't slow down the Lakers, and GVSU steadily built their lead to a set-high eight points, 21-13. After a three-point Raven run to make the score 21-16, the Lakers quickly closed out the set 25-19 to secure the 3-0 sweep. 
 
vs. Tampa (L, 3-1)
 
The Lakers and the Spartans both entered the match 3-0 and it showed, as the first set opened up as a back and forth affair. After Tampa took a 5-4 lead, they managed to score four straight to push their lead to five, 9-4. The Lakers held their composure however, and battled back and forth until they eventually took a 20-19 lead thanks to two straight attack errors from Tampa. The Spartans also weren't dead, and scored three straight points themselves to take the 23-20 lead. The Laker timeout helped out however, and GVSU answered with the final five points to take the close 25-23 first set victory. 
 
After another close start to the second set, GVSU just couldn't get anything going in the second half of the set. After Tampa took an 8-6 lead on the Lakers, they would outscore them 17-6 the rest of the way to take set two and tie the match at 1-1. 
 
Once again, the teams were neck and neck to start the third set before GVSU managed to rattle off four straight after going down 20-18 to push their lead to two, 22-20. Tampa wouldn't be deterred though, as they scored the final five points for the 25-22 victory and the 2-1 lead in the match. 
 
Unfortunately for the Lakers, they got into a hole early in the fourth set and wouldn't be able to dig themselves out. Tampa took quick 10-3 lead and didn't' look back the rest of the way, winning the set 25-16 and taking the 3-1 victory in the match.