GRAND RAPIDS, MICH. – The Grand Valley women's volleyball team traveled across Grand Rapids to take on rival Davenport and thanks to a strong defensive effort, the Lakers came out with a 3-1 victory.
 
"I am very happy and impressed with the grit and determination our team showed tonight after a tough weekend," remarked head coach Jason Johnson. "They did such a nice job of just playing each point in the moment, not allowing the environment or the past mistakes to impact the way they kept performing throughout the match. I thought our team showed up to compete for a full match."
 
The first set was a close to begin with, as neither team could gain much traction until a 6-1 Davenport run put them up 10-9. But the Lakers responded right back with a 4-0 run to retake a lead that they would never relinquish and went on the take set one 25-20. After trading points to begin set two, the Panthers went on a scoring run to take a 17-12 lead, however the Lakers were able to claw back once more, battling back to tie it at 21, then scored the final four points of the set to win 25-21. Set three went the way of the Panthers 25-22, thanks to a set ending 10-4 run. Both teams traded mini scoring runs throughout set four, as neither team led by more than three until the Lakers scored three straight points to go up by four late in the match and they held on from there winning the final set of the match 25-21.
 
Jordyn Gates filled up the stat sheet tonight, totaling 15 kills, 27 assists, 16 digs, and four blocks. Kendall Stover contributed 14 kills and six digs, while Sarah Wight and Meghan O'Sullivan each had nine kills. Rachel Jacquay handed out 21 assists and dug out 13 balls, and Mattie McCabe has six kills and seven blocks. As a team, the Lakers had 12 blocks and held the Panthers to just a .134 hitting percentage, a mark that went down each set, culminating in a .077 swinging percentage in set four.
 
Grand Valley moves to 15-10 overall and 8-6 in GLIAC play, while Davenport falls to 19-7 and 10-4 in league play.
 
Up Next
The Lakers have two more matches this weekend, traveling to Big Rapids Friday evening to play Ferris State at 5pm, then coming back home for a matchup with Lake Superior State Saturday afternoon at 4pm.