The Grand Valley State Lakers will be on the road for the second straight weekend to start the 2018 campaign, as they are set to travel to North Canton, Ohio for the Cavalier Classic, hosted by Walsh University. Just like last weekend, the Lakers will be facing four different opponents during the two-day tournament, with two matches on Friday, Aug. 31 and two more on Saturday, Sept. 1. On Friday, the Lakers face Bloomsburg (0-0) at Noon before a 7:00 PM showdown against host team Walsh (0-4). On Saturday, GVSU will take on Pittsburgh Johnstown (2-0) at 11:00 AM and Virginia Union (1-3) at 3:00 PM. 
 
The Lakers opened up the new season at the Raven First Serve Invitational in Rindge, N.H., hosted by Franklin Pierce, and came back to Allendale with a 3-1 record. They got off to a nice start on the first day, taking down Wilmington 3-0 before a hard-fought 3-2 victory over New Haven to go 2-0. On the second day, they earned another quick 3-0 victory, this time over Franklin Pierce, before falling to Tampa – who is now the #25 ranked team in the nation – 3-1.
 
On the year, the Lakers have tallied 181 kills and 82 errors for a .190 attack percentage, which is being pulled down by a tough performance against Tampa, where they hit just .075. Against Wilmington and Franklin Pierce however, the Laker offense was churning out kills to the tune of a combined .321 hitting percentage on 86 kills and just 25 errors. Despite a couple of lackluster offensive performances so far this season, the GVSU defense has been solid, holding opposing attackers to a .143 percentage and also hold a 23-21 total block advantage as well. GVSU has also out-dug opponents 239-219. 
 
Individually, 2017 First Team All-GLIAC honoree Staci Brower is leading the Laker attack. The senior has put down a team-high 40 kills (2.67 kills per set) at an efficient .333 clip. Also getting off to a solid start, both to the season and her career, is freshman Abby Graham. In her first four matches, the outside hitter has tallied 30 kills (2.00 kills per set), which is second on the team. Senior middle blocker Jillian Butsavich isn't far behind Graham as she has put down 28 kills herself. Freshman middle blocker Ali Thompson (22), sophomore setter Ashlyn Kartes (21), and senior right side hitter Hannah Murdock (16) have also been big contributors to the Laker kill total as well. 
 
Defensively, Butsavich leads the team with nine total blocks (six assisted, three solo), while Brower has tallied five of her own, all of which have been solo. Graham has also been strong around the net, collecting four total blocks, while Thompson (three), Murdock (two), and freshman Emma Clines (one) have also gotten in on the action. In the backcourt, junior libero Kendall Yerkes has collected a team-high 57 digs, followed closely by Kartes with 50. Thompson, Graham, and senior Kaylene Norris have also all chipped in at least 30 digs as well. 
 
Here is a brief preview of GVSU's weekend at the Cavalier Classic:
 
Bloomsburg – Friday (Aug. 31) – 12:00 PM
The Bloomsburg Huskies are in their inaugural season in 2018, as the program was announced as an addition to the Huskie varsity sports lineup on March 7, 2017. By the Fall of the same year, Dan Krieger was named as the head coach. Krieger came to the Huskies after four years as the head coach as fellow Pennsylvania State Athletic Conference (PSAC) member Lock Haven University. The Huskies first crop of student-athletes features 30 total players – 25 freshman, two sophomore, one junior, one senior, and one redshirt senior. 
 
GVSU will be the first ever opponent of the Bloomsburg volleyball program at Noon on Friday, Aug. 31. 
 
Walsh – Friday (Aug. 31) – 7:00 PM
 
The Walsh Cavaliers will enter the weekend 0-4 after they dropped their first four matches by identical 3-0 scores at the Illinois-Springfield Capital Classic. The Cavaliers were picked as preseason favorites to win the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (GMAC). Last season, the Cavaliers posted a 21-11 overall record and a 13-5 conference record before falling in their conference tournament semifinal match.
 
The Cavaliers haven't yet found their stride on offense, as they are averaging just 9.89 kills per set and are hitting .079 as a team. Individually, four players have accounted for a vast majority of kills for the Cavaliers, led by junior outside hitter Lauren Loucks with 32. She is also averaging a team high 2.67 kills per set and has tallied two blocks as well. Hallie Schroeder and Justine Coffman aren't far behind, as they have accumulated 21 and 21 kills, respectively, while Coffman is tied for the team lead in blocks with six. Alexis Gilland has accounted for 17 kills so far this season, averaging 1.89 per set, which is second on the team. 
 
Placing a majority of those kill opportunities is senior setter Olivia Zanolli. The fourth-year veteran has accounted for 99 of the squads 107 assists, averaging 8.25 per set in the process. Senior defensive specialist Amanda Adoranti, along with Schroeder, have been the main backcourt players for the Cavaliers, accounting for 50 and 35 digs, respectively. 
 
Pittsburgh Johnstown – Saturday (Sept. 1) – 11:00 AM
 
The Pittsburgh Johnstown Mountain Cats are currently 2-0 to start the 2018 campaign, getting wins against Holy Family and Fairmont State, 3-1 and 3-2, respectively. Last season, the Mountain Cats posted a solid 27-9 overall record and a 13-5 conference record and advanced to the NCAA Regional Tournament Semifinal match where they fell, 3-1, to Gannon. They were chosen to finish second in the central division of the PSAC. 
 
As a team, Pitt.-Johnstown is hitting .220 while their defense is holding opponents to just a .137 clip. They have also tallied 22.0 blocks, while also giving up 22.0 themselves. 
 
Individually, Maura Brehl and Noelle Carota have been a majority of the Mountain Cats offense, tallying 27 and 25 kills, respectively, while hitting .263 and .191. Not far behind that pair however, is the duo of Caitlin Vrabel and Anna Johns, who have put down 19 and 15 kills, respectively, to rank second and third on the team and the only other Mountain Cats with at least 10. Johns also leads the squad with a .355 hitting percentage, having only four errors in her 31 attempts. On the defensive side, Johns also has a very wide margin in blocks on the team, accounting for 15 of the teams' 22 total blocks, which is 11 more than the next highest. In terms of digs, Erin Carmody leads the way with 43 (4.78 per set) while Brehl has also dug up 24 balls. 
 
Also, the Mountain Cats have used the rotation of J.C. Longeville and Morgan Yurkovich at setter. Longeville has helped on 40 kills and Yurkovich has helped on 38 to combine for 78 of the squads 91. 
 
Virginia Union – Saturday (Sept. 1) – 3:00 PM
 
The Lakers final match of the weekend will be against the Virginia Union Panthers. The Panthers went 1-3 to open their season last weekend after closing out 2017 with a 15-11 overall record and an even 8-8 conference record. 
 
The Panthers are struggling on the attack early this season, hitting just .042 with 79 errors and 95 kills, but are also holding their opponents to a .199 mark on defense. Individually, Jada Starling leads the Panthers with 26 total kills, attacking at a .136 clip, and also leads with 2.17 kills per set. Behind Starling, Ambryanna Moore and Taurie Magee have each added 19 kills, while moore leads the squad with a .255 attack percentage. Contributing to a majority of those kills is setter A'rmaira Wright, who has accounted for 44 kills, while Minne Masoe has also added 32 as well. 
 
Defensively, Moore has tallied a team-best 10 kills, while Magee has added nine, Zaquae Downton has added seven, and Kamryn Young has added six. Jamaica Adams and Sterling have tallied 33 and 32 digs, respectively, to lead the team, while Masoe (24), Wright (24) and Akira Baker (22) have also chipped in a fair amount as well. 
 
This is the last weekend on nonconference play before the Lakers jump into GLIAC action on Sept. 7 at Wayne State. The Lakers will then head over to Ashland, Ohio to take on the Eagles on Saturday (Sept. 8) before coming back to West Michigan for an away contest at Davenport on Tuesday, Sept. 11. GVSU's first home match of the season will take place on Friday, Sept. 14 and will serve as GVSU's annual Military Appreciation Day.