INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – On the first day of two-day tournament in Indianapolis, the GVSU women's volleyball team got off to a 2-0 start after sweeping Bentley to open the day and defeating Ohio Dominican 3-1 in the nightcap.
 
"I thought our team did a great job of competing today. With as inexperienced as we are together as a team, I thought our players found ways to get better together," remarked head coach Jason Johnson. "Our ball control and serving were areas of improvement from last weekend. I thought we did a good job with the tempo of our transition offense as well."
 
To begin the day, the Lakers beat Bentley 25-14, 25-22, and 25-22 again. In the first set Grand Valley had little trouble with the Falcons, racing out to an 8-3 advantage and never looking back from there, cruising to an 11-point set victory. The next two sets were more competitive, as the two teams traded points for most of the remaining gameplay. Bentley had battled back in the second set to bring them within one point, but consecutive kills from Jordyn Gates and Kendall Stover put the game away and gave GV the 2-0 lead. In the third set, Bentley got out to a 10-6 advantage, until the Lakers battled back to take the lead. With the Lakers holding a 23-22 advantage, Jaelianna Primus and Savannah Thompson put the game away with a kill apiece to secure the sweep for the Lakers.
 
Four Lakers recorded six or more kills in the first game, paced by nine apiece from Stover and Gates. Sarah Wight recorded seven kills and Primus added six. Rachel Jacquay dished out 20 assists and Gates added 13. Gates also added 13 digs, while Julia Blaney dug out 17 balls. Primus was force defensively at the net, tallying 5 block assists to deter the Falcon attack.
 
In the final match of the day, Grand Valley dominated the first set, before the next three were more competitive, before ultimately pulled out the victory 25-7, 25-15, 20-25, and 25-13. The Lakers had multiple long runs to take control of the set and take the commanding win. In the second set, Grand Valley raced out to 15-4 lead early on and were able keep pushing the lead out to take the second set. The Panthers bounced back in the third set and ended the game on a 7-0 run to take their first set of the match. Grand Valley responded in the fourth and final set, using a 7-0 run of their own to take a 9-3 lead, giving them control of the set, and allowed them to finish out the game and take the match.
 
Kendall Stover, Jaelianna Primus, and Jordyn Gates led the offensive attack for the Lakers, as all recorded 10 or more kills, with Stover getting 12, Primus 11, and Gates tallying 10. Gates was also helping her teammates, passing out 23 assists, while Jacquay had 19. Defensively, Blaney dug 25 balls and Primus again was dominant at the net, recording four block assists.
 
"Tomorrow will be a great test for us as we get to play against two physical opponents from the Northern Sun Conference," said Johnson, as his team prepares to face nationally ranked Minnesota-Duluth at 9am and Minnesota State-Mankato at 3pm.
 
Up Next
The Lakers continue the UIndy Invitational on Saturday in the final tune-up before conference play. They take on Minnesota-Duluth at 9am and Minnesota State-Mankato at 3pm. 

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.