Grand Valley State Volleyball finished the 2021 Capital Classic in Springfield, Illinois with a weekend record of 3-1. The Lakers finished the tournament with a sweep over the University of Illinois Springfield and Lake Erie College. 

"It was a great day for our volleyball team," said head coach Jason Johnson. "We got off to a strong start against Illinois-Springfield and I believe it was the first time this year that we led a set at the five point mark. We have been a slow starting team at the beginning of matches and sets, something we are going to be working on. So it was great to see our team start off fast and have such great energy on the court and from our bench."

GVSU started the day with a victory over UIS in match one (25-23, 25-20, 25-13). Junior Sarah Wight led the Lakers with 11 kills and four blocks, followed by senior Ali Thompson with 10 kills and senior Abby Graham with 15 digs. Junior setter Rachel Jacquay finished the match with 35 assists. 

The Lakers swept Lake Erie in the final match of the tournament, bringing GVSU to an overall record of 4-4 this year. After taking home the first set (25-17), the Lakers led all of set two with a final score 25-12 and defeated the Storm in the third set 25-12. Grand Valley State held the advantage in kills (36-22) and finished with a .346 kill percentage. 

Senior Cameryn Brown and juniors Jaelianna Primus and Lisa Sullivan each tallied seven kills. Abby Graham finished with nine digs and Rachel Jacquay dished out 21 assists. 

"Lake Erie did a great job of making us work for our points," said Johnson. "They are in a rebuilding situation with a new head coach, but I thought their team played hard and made us work for our victory. We were able to change our line up to get a lot of our players some much needed and earned playing time." 

The Lakers will begin conference play on Friday, September 17, against Michigan Tech University in Houghton, Michigan.