Live Stats |
Video vs. Walsh (Aug. 31 – 7 PM)
The Grand Valley State volleyball team improved to 4-1 on the season on Friday afternoon (Aug. 31) when they took down the Bloomsburg Huskies in straight sets, 25-19, 25-19, and 26-24. The Huskies fall to 0-1 after the affair, while the Lakers will go down as the first team to ever face Bloomsburg as they are in their inaugural season.
The Lakers held the Huskies to just a .121 attack percentage, forcing 14 errors compared to 27 kills. GVSU also tallied three total team blocks, with
Jillian Butsavich tallying two solo rejections and
Ashlyn Kartes and
Staci Brower coming for one more. Kartes also led the team with 15 digs, while
Ali Thompson and
Abby Graham chipped in 13 apiece and
Kendall Yerkes added 10 more.
Offensively, Thompson and Graham led the way with nine kills each, while
Hannah Murdock and
Staci Brower put down seven apiece as well.
Emmalee Flagstead also got in on the action with four kills, while Kartes (two), Yerkes (one), and Clines (one) also added some offensive power. Supplying a majority of those kill opportunities was Kartes, who recorded a game-high 25 assists.
The first set started off as a back and forth affair until a 5-1 run by the Huskies pushed them out to a 9-5 lead. GVSU would bring the deficit to just two but over the next 12 points scored, they wouldn't be able to break through and take the lead. GVSU would finally get things going their way after an
Ali Thompson kill from Kartes sparked a seven-point barrage from the Lakers as they would jump out to a 22-16 lead. The Huskies would bring it back within four, 23-19, but the Lakers close it out with a kill from Graham and an attack error from the Huskies to take the 1-0 lead in the match.
GVSU would carry that momentum over to the second set, taking a quick 7-1 lead thanks to three kills, three attack errors by Bloomsburg, and an ace from Thompson. The Lakers would hold on to their lead through the middle of the set, never trailing by less than six the rest of the way. After going up 22-14, the Huskies had one more push, scoring five of the next seven points to bring it to 24-19 but a final kill from Murdock would seal the second set for GVSU, 25-19.
Unlike the second set when the Lakers were able to carry over their momentum from the previous win, GVSU would find themselves in the exact opposite position after going down 7-1 to the Huskies early in set three. After falling to an eight point deficit, 10-2, GVSU would use a huge 10-3 run to get themselves right back in it but still trailed 13-12. The Lakers and Huskies would trade points back and forth before Bloomsburg would make a push late and take the 21-16 lead. The Lakers maintained their composure however and used another clutch run of points, this time five, to take the 21-20 lead. The teams would then tie at 21, 22, 23, and 24 before back to back kills from Graham would secure the third set victory and the 3-0 sweep of the Huskies.
GVSU will be back in action tonight (Aug. 31) at 7 PM as they take on host school Walsh. Use the links at the top of the page to follow along with the action.
