ALLENDALE, Mich. – The Grand Valley State volleyball team opened up the season with a sweep of Parkside, 25-21, 25-11, 25-21, on Friday night at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. The two teams will meet again tomorrow afternoon at 4:00 PM.
 
Junior Ali Thompson hit an impressive .393 with 13 kills and two service aces to lead the Lakers, while setter Rachel Jacquay dished out 32 assists. Junior Brooke Binkley had a team-high 11 digs and the reigning GLIAC Freshman of the Year, Jaelianna Primus, recorded five total blocks. As a team, the Lakers held the advantage in kills (39-28), aces (7-3), assists (37-27), and digs (41-33).
 
Parkside jumped to an early 11-4 lead in set one before the Lakers went on a 9-2 run to tie the set at 13-13. The teams traded points until GVSU took advantage of a service error and ended the set on back-to-back aces by sophomore Haley Blaney.
 
The second set was all Lakers. GVSU built a 12-3 lead early and finished the set on an 8-1 run to cruise to a 25-11 victory. The Rangers battled in the third set and led 12-10 before the Lakers answered and re-took the lead. Leading 23-21, Thompson finished off the match with consecutive kills, both set up by Jacquay.