vs. Northwood (Sept. 28 – 7:00 PM)
Live Stats
Video (ESPN3)
vs. #6 Ferris State (Sept. 29 – 4:00 PM)
Live Stats
Video (ESPN3)
The Grand Valley State volleyball team will host GLIAC foes Northwood and #6 Ferris State in a couple of weekend home contests on Friday and Saturday (Sept. 28-29) as GVSU looks to improve upon their 10-5 overall record and 3-4 record in conference action. The Lakers are currently sitting in fourth place in the GLIAC South Division while the nationally ranked Bulldogs (12-3, 7-0 GLIAC) lead the way in the north with the Timberwolves (6-9, 3-4 GLIAC) holding down the fourth spot in the north as well.
Last weekend the Lakers made the long trip to the U.P. where they earned a hard-fought split, taking down Northern Michigan (10-5, 2-5 GLIAC), 3-1, before falling to Michigan Tech (12-3, 6-1 GLIAC), in three sets. Against the Wildcats, GVSU used a solid offensive performance, tallying 52 kills and a .227 hitting percentage, and a huge blocking game (11.0 team blocks) to secure the big conference win by scores of 25-20, 20-25, 25-23, and 25-21. The Lakers held NMU to a .198 attack percentage and held the advantage, 8-4, in service aces. Against the Huskies the following afternoon, GVSU managed a .200 attack percentage and six blocks, while MTU hit .236 and picked up five rejections. The Huskies held a 46-37 advantage in kills and fired down 18 more attacks than the Lakers (123-105).
Much like they have all season, the Lakers come into this weekend's contests ranked right in the middle of the conference in most offensive categories. Their 12.83 kills per set and 693 total kills rank sixth and eighth in the league, respectively, while their 11.91 assists per set is also sixth. Where the Lakers have excelled in point-getting categories is in their serves, as they lead the league in both total aces (107) and aces per set (1.98).
Defensively, GVSU also leads the conference with 36 solo blocks but falls to seventh in blocks per set (1.70) and eight in total blocks (92).
Despite a middle of the pack offensive attack overall, senior
Staci Brower took over the conference lead in individual hitting percentage after hitting .448 and .409 in two matches last season to bump her conversion rate up to .355. Brower also holds the team lead with 159 total kills and 2.94 kills per set.
Not far behind her teammate is fellow senior
Hannah Murdock, who has picked up 125 kills and 2.36 kills per set to go along with a .228 hitting percentage. A pair of freshmen join the two seniors at the top of the stat sheet in kills, as
Ali Thompson and
Abby Graham have opened up solid starts to their careers. Thompson has knocked down 114 kills on the season while Graham has notched 111 of her own, which rank third and fourth on the team, respectively.
Brower also leads the team with 14 solo blocks and 28 block assists for a total of 42 rejections on the season and .78 per set. Fellow senior
Jillian Butsavich has also been a force at the net for GVSU, as she has tallied 36 blocks of her own (eight solo, 28 assisted) to go along with her 86 kills offensively. Four other Lakers have notched double-digit blocks this season, as setter
Ashlyn Kartes has 20, Graham has 19, Murdock has 15, and Thompson has 12.
GVSU's first opponent of the weekend will be the Northwood Timberwolves, who will enter the contest with a 6-9 overall record and a 3-4 record against conference teams. The Timberwolves broke a four-match losing streak in their final match of the weekend last Saturday (Sept. 22) as they defeated Lake Superior State, 3-0.
Northwood comes in as one of the lower ranking teams in the conference offensively, as they rank ninth with a .139 attack percentage and 10th in both kills (584) and kills per set (11.02). Leading that attack is sophomore outside hitter Mackenzie Kepler, who has racked up 124 total kills and 2.48 kills per set to go along with her .138 attack percentage. Mary Gallagher and Colleen Mayer are the other Timberwolves who have tallied at least 100 kills, with their 104 and 102, respectively. Mayer leads the squad with a .298 hitting percentage.
Defensively, the Timberwolves are also in the bottom portion of the conference in the blocking and dig categories. Their 14.81 digs per set ranks 11th in the league while their 1.53 blocks per set is ninth.
Ferris State may turn out to be the Lakers toughest test this season, as the Bulldogs come in ranked #6 in the country with a 12-3 record overall and an unblemished 7-0 mark in the GLIAC. The Bulldogs will carry a seven-match winning streak into the weekend but will make the short trip over to Davenport on Friday (Sept. 28) before heading to Allendale for their matchup with the Lakers at 4 PM on Saturday (Sept. 29).
Allyson Cappel, Mekayla Carey, Katie O'Connell, and Courtney Brewer all lead a Bulldog attack that ranks third in the league with a .229 attack percentage and fourth in the conference with 13.30 kills per set. Cappel has been FSU's main source of offense, as she led the team with 194 total kills and 3.59 kills per set. Carey, O'Connell, and Brewer have all also surpassed the 100+ kill mark for the Bulldogs as well, while Carey has a team-best .293 attack percentage.
The Bulldogs have shined defensively at the net this season, averaging a league-high 2.35 blocks per set, while their 127 total rejections are fourth. Carey has accumulated 56 total blocks (14 solo, 41 assisted) to lead the Bulldogs while Samantha Hermann (48 total) and Brewer (31 total) round out the top-three.
