(Tournament Homepage)

FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. - The Grand Valley State volleyball team will head south for the second consecutive weekend as they are set to travel to Ft. Lauderdale, Florida for the NSU Shark Invitational. Similar to last weekend, the Lakers will play two matches on Friday and two matches on Saturday with all four of the matches being played at Nova Southeastern University. On Friday (Sep. 13), GVSU will face Southern New Hampshire at 11:30 before a 4:30 matchup with Wayne State (Nebraska). The Lakers will then take on the host, Nova Southeastern, at 12:00 on Saturday (Sep. 14) followed by a match with Florida Tech at 2:30.
 
GVSU opened their season a week ago in North Carolina where they competed in two separate tournaments. Last Friday at the Queens Fall Classic, the Lakers dropped matches to Lander University (3-2) and Lenoir Rhyne University (3-0) before winning both matches on Saturday at the UNC Pembroke Invitational over UNC Pembroke (3-2) and Coker College (3-0).
 
On the year, the Lakers have tallied 192 kills and 98 errors for a .159 attack percentage, while averaging 12 kills per set. The defense is holding their opponents to just a .083 attack percentage and also hold a 35-21 total block advantage as well. GVSU will look to improve upon their serves as they totaled 42 service errors last weekend.
 
Individually, 2018 All-GLIAC Honorable Mention honoree Ali Thompson has led the way for the Lakers, leading the team in both kills (44) and digs (49). Redshirt freshman Emma Clines has put down 40 kills and freshman Jaeli Primus has added 35 kills. Freshman setter Rachel Jacquay has a team-high 95 assists, while senior Frankie Cavallaro has recorded 66 assists.
 
Below is information on the four opponents for this weekend at the NSU Shark Invite:
 
Southern New Hampshire – Friday (Sep. 13) – 11:30 A.M.
 
The Penmen of Southern New Hampshire enter the weekend with a 2-0 record after straight-set wins over Merrimack and Saint Michael's. SNHU went 10-13 a season ago with an 8-6 Northeast-10 Conference record.
 
Southern New Hampshire returns Third Team NE10-Conference honoree Irem Bat from last season.
 
#22 Wayne State (Nebraska) – Friday (Sep. 13) – 4:30 P.M.
 
The Wildcats come into play with a 4-0 record this season and ranked 22^nd in the AVCA DII Coaches Poll. Wayne State defeated Cameron University, Southwestern Oklahoma State University, Black Hills State University, and Colorado State-Pueblo in their opening weekend of play. Last year's squad finished with a 22-9 record but failed to make the NCAA Tournament after a first round Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference Tournament loss to Southwest Minnesota State.
 
Tarrin Beller leads the Wildcats attack with 42 kills, while Kelsie Cada and Jaci Brahmer (2018 NSIC All-Conference Second Team honoree) have added 39 and 36 kills respectively. Setter Rachel Walker has recorded 153 assists and Hope Carter leads the team in digs with 46.
 
This lone meeting between GVSU and Wayne State (Nebraska) happened in 2014 when the Wildcats defeated the Lakers 3-2 in a match played in Golden, Colorado.
 
 Nova Southeastern – Saturday (Sep. 14) – 12:00 P.M.
 
The Sharks finished the 2018 season with a disappointing 6-24 record but find themselves with a 4-0 record to start the 2019 campaign. NSU hosted the first Shark Invitational last weekend and earned wins over Shaw, Millersville, Truman State, and Puerto Rico Mayaguez.
 
NSU has put down 201 kills in four matches and are hitting at a .225 percentage, while only averaging 1.2 errors a set. Ally Ford has recorded 55 kills to lead the team.
 
GVSU and NSU's lone meeting occurred in 2009 when the Lakers defeated the Sharks in straight sets at a neutral site in Canyon, Texas.
 
 Florida Tech – Saturday (Sep. 14) – 2:30 P.M.
 
The Panthers are currently 0-4 on the season but three of those loses have come to ranked opponents. Florida Tech fell in straight sets to #13 Wheeling Jesuit, #24 University of West Florida, #3 Western Washington University, and Spring Hill College. The Panthers went 9-22 a season ago.
 
Audrey Keenan leads the Florida Tech attack with 35 kills, while setter Sheila Villagrasa has recorded 88 assists.
 
This will the first meeting between GVSU and Florida Tech.
 
Be sure to follow gvsulakers.com and @GVSUVolley on twitter for in-game updates and recaps throughout the weekend.