FT. LAUDERDALE, Fla. – The Grand Valley State volleyball team split their two matches on Saturday at the NSU Shark Invite on the campus of Nova Southeastern University. In match one, the Lakers fell to the host, Nova Southeastern, in a five-set thriller by scores of 25-19, 23-25, 27-29, 25-22, and 15-17. GVSU bounced back in match two with a straight set victory over Florida Tech, 25-16, 25-17, and 29-27. The Lakers currently own a 4-4 record with GLIAC play beginning next Friday.
 
Nova Southeastern – Loss (2-3)
 
The match began with the two teams trading points and was tied at 10-10 before the Lakers took control of the set and led 16-12. Nova Southeastern would keep the set close, but the Lakers scored the final three points to win the set. Another back and forth set occurred early in set two. The two teams were tied at 11-11, then a Nova Southeastern 4-0 run gave them their biggest lead of the day. GVSU would tie the set on multiple occasions but could never recapture the lead.
 
GVSU led 16-7 in set three but the Sharks chipped away and cut the Laker lead to just two at 20-18. Leading 24-20, GVSU dropped the next four points and later fell 29-27 in the set. The Lakers, however, bounced back in set four. GVSU jumped out to a 5-0 lead to seize the momentum back. Nova Southeastern would take their first lead of the set at 19-18 but GVSU won five of the next six points to take control of the set.
 
In the winner-take-all set five, the two teams were tied six different times and the lead changed hands five times. The Sharks led 4-1 to begin the set but the Lakers regained the lead at 10-8. With the Lakers leading 11-9, Nova Southeastern went on a 4-0 run to lead 13-11. GVSU trailed 14-12 and were facing match point before taking the next three points to take a 15-14 lead. However, the Sharks took the final three points to win the match.
 
The Lakers led in most major statistical categories including; kills (64-62), aces (10-9), blocks (15-9), assists (62-57), and digs (80-72).
 
Redshirt freshman Emma Clines continued to perform well as she had 19 kills, while sophomore Ali Thompson and freshman Karlie Kucharczyk each had 13 kills. Freshman setter Rachel Jacquay recorded 55 assists. Defensively, freshman Jaeli Primus totaled 10 blocks and senior Kendall Yerkes and Thompson had 18 digs each.
 
Florida Tech – Win (3-0)
 
GVSU was able to bounce back in dominating fashion against Florida Tech in the final match of the NSU Shark Invite. The Lakers never trailed in set one or two. In set one, GVSU jumped out to a 14-7 lead and did not allow the Panthers to get any closer than seven points. The Lakers led by as many as 11 points in set two and capitalized on several Florida Tech attack errors. GVSU trailed much of set three as they saw themselves down 10-5 early. The Panthers held a 20-16 lead late in the set before a Laker run brought the deficit to just 23-22. GVSU would tie the set at 24-24 on a kill by Thompson and then the two teams traded points to get to 27-27. Another Thompson kill and an attack error by Florida Tech ended the match in straight sets.
 
GVSU ended with a .233 attack percentage while holding the Panthers to just a .075 percentage. The Lakers had 48 kills compared to just 27 for Florida Tech, while also holding the advantage in aces (7-2), blocks (8-6), and assist (40-26).
 
Primus had a career-high 13 kills to lead the team and Clines added 12 kills and three blocks in the front line. Jacquay tallied 36 assists, while Yerkes had a team-high 17 digs.
 
The Lakers next match will be the GLIAC and home opener on Friday, September 20 against Northern Michigan at 7:00 P.M.