INDIANAPOLIS, IND. - Coming off a productive four game road trip, the GVSU women's volleyball team is right back at it this weekend, as they travel to the University of Indianapolis for the UIndy Invitational. The Lakers will play four games over the span of Friday and Saturday, facing off against Bentley (11:30am) and Ohio Dominican (5:30pm) on Friday and Minnesota Duluth (9:00am) and Minnesota State-Mankato (3:00pm) on Saturday.
 
Grand Valley has begun the season with a 3-1 record, beating Notre Dame College, Mercyhurst, and Malone to open the Gannon/Mercyhurst Invite before falling to Gannon. Seven new faces made their debuts last weekend, but it was a returner who was at the front of the Laker attack. Jaelianna Primus tallied 33 kills on a .338 hitting percentage and blocked 12 opponent attacks over the weekend. Newcomers Jordyn Gates and Emily Holbrook also played well over the four games. Gates recorded 28 kills, 67 assists, and 72 digs in her Laker debut, and Holbrook had 54 digs and two service aces in her first appearance since transferring to Grand Valley.
 
The Lakers start the tournament by taking on the undefeated Bentley Falcons. Bentley is coming off the Sandy Hoffman Memorial Tournament, in which they went 4-0 and only lost one set. The Falcons swept Holy Family, Purdue Northwest, and Valdosta State to open the tournament before beating American International 3-1. Junior outside hitter Ellie Wheeler led the Bentley attack, recording 46 kills on a .266 hitting percentage. Two other players tallied over 30 kills, with Amanda Parker notching 33 and Ingrid Murphy recording 32. Setter Natalie Thom dished out 72 assists and Parker had 59 on the weekend.
 
To cap off the first day of the tournament, GVSU will play Ohio Dominican. The Panthers went 2-2 at the Kentucky State Invitational. Ohio Dominican was swept by Edinboro to open their season before rebounding to sweep West Alabama. On Saturday they lost to Maryville 3-1 and swept host Kentucky State to end the weekend. Junior right side Olivia Kirksey was the focal point of the offense, tallying 44 kills, good for a 3.34 kills per set average. Setter Sage Avery passed out 61 assists while Gabrielle Kirker has 41.
 
Opening play on Saturday, the Lakers take on nationally ranked Minnesota Duluth. Duluth is ranked 21^st by the AVCA and is undefeated after beating Drury, Oklahoma Baptist, Ashland, and Seattle Pacific in the St. Cloud State/Concordia St. Paul Tournament. The Bulldogs have a balanced offense, with five players with 38 or more kills. Sydney Lanoue and Cianna Selbitchka are tied for the team lead in kills with 43, with Samantha Paulsen (42), Grace Daak (40), and Hope Schjenken (38) all right behind them. Setter Madison Gordon had a good weekend, dishing out 174 assists over the four games.
 
GVSU will close out the tournament with a matchup against Minnesota State-Mankato. Mankato went 1-3 at the Rockhurst Classic last weekend, losing to Missouri Western and Hillsdale on the first day, before beating Black Hills State 3-1 and falling to Rockhurst on Saturday. Toryn Richards and Kiya Durant were the leading attackers for the Mavericks as they each recorded 35 kills on the weekend. Makayla Snow and Brooke Bolwerk were the top setters, with Snow notching 85 assists and Bolwerk dishing out 69.
 
How To Follow
Live stats and live video will be available for both games this weekend. For full coverage of both games, including live in-game updates, follow @GVSUVOLLEY on Twitter and visit gvsulakers.com.