vs. Davenport (Sept. 11 – 7:00 PM)
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The Grand Valley State volleyball team is set to take on the Panthers of Davenport on Tuesday, Sept. 11 at 7:00 PM. It is a quick turnaround for both teams, as they each played matches last Friday and Saturday, but luckily for the Lakers, the Panthers are just on the other side of town. Use the links above to follow along with the action tomorrow night.
GVSU will enter the contest with a 7-3 overall record and an 0-2 mark in conference play after dropping their first two matches of the opening weekend of GLIAC action to Wayne State and Ashland. The Lakers fell to the Warriors 3-1 (25-10, 25-18, 19-25, 25-23) on Friday night (Sept. 7) before dropping a 3-0 decision to the Eagles the following day. Despite the lopsided final score against Ashland, the match was much closer than one might think. The Lakers dropped the first two sets by just four combined points as both ended in a 26-24 final before GVSU dropped the third set 25-17 in the tough road matchup.
The Panthers have posted a 5-6 record to start the season and have a matching 0-2 conference record with the Lakers as well. Davenport, GVSU's travel partner, also fell to the Eagles and Warriors to open conference action. Ashland earned the 3-1 victory over the Panthers on Friday before DU fell the following afternoon to the Warriors by a 3-0 margin. The Panthers got off to a tough start to the season, dropping their first three matches and combining to win just one set. Following the rough start however, Davenport rattled off five straight wins to move to 5-3 before dropping their next three, including the losses to Ashland and Wayne State.
On the offensive attack, both the Lakers and Panthers rank right in the middle of the GLIAC. GVSU is averaging 12.61 kills per set to rank seventh in the league while DU is just slightly higher at a 12.90 clip per set to rank sixth. Both teams are also putting down successful attacks at similar rates, with the Panthers ranking fifth in the league at .209 and the Lakers ranking sixth at a .198 success rating. The biggest discrepancy in the two teams is in the ability to block at the net. The Panthers are averaging a league-best 2.23 blocks per set, while the Lakers rank eighth at 1.53 rejections per set.
Senior middle blocker
Staci Brower wrapped up the weekend just four kills short of the century mark, as she leads the team with 96 kills through the first 10 matches. Her 2.67 kills per set also leads the team while her .316 attack percentage is fifth in the conference. Freshman
Abby Graham and
Ali Thompson aren't far behind the senior, as they have tallied 78 and 76 kills, respectively, while fellow seniors
Hannah Murdock and
Jillian Butsavich rank fourth and fifth on the team with 67 and 58 kills, respectively.
Frankie Cavallaro made her season debut after suffering an injury before the season started and racked up 62 assists on the weekend. Sophomore
Ashlyn Kartes took over setter duties while Cavallaro was out and has tallied a team-best 270 helpers this season.
Libero
Kendall Yerkes is averaging 4.39 digs per set to lead the team as she has dug out 228 balls. Thompson (158) and Graham (138) along with
Kaylene Norris (98) have also been solid in getting the offense started for GVSU.
The Panthers have three players averaging at least 2.5 kills per set, with Ashley VanderHorst leading the way at 2.87 (112 total). Just behind her is Jenn Kay Vander Meer at 2.82 kills per set (110 total) and Hayley Kreiger with 2.54 kills per set (99 total).
On the back line, Kasey Stehouwer leads the Panthers with 172 digs with Vander Meer just behind with 136 herself.
Leading the rejection category for the best blocking team in the conference is VanderHorst, as she has picked up 43 block assists and 4 solo blocks for a total of 47 rejections. Following her is Jessica Marvin with 34 total blocks, Kreiger with 27, and Vander Meer with 14.
Following the contest, the Lakers will finally head to the friendly confines of GVSU Fieldhouse Arena for the first time this season with matches against Purdue Northwest and Wisconsin-Parkside. The Lakers will take on PNW on Friday, Sept. 14 at 7:00 PM before a 4:00 PM contest against Parkside on Saturday, Sept. 15.
