ALLENDALE, MICH. – After a brief stop back home for a game, the GVSU women's volleyball team is back out on the road this weekend to take on Saginaw Valley on Friday at 7pm, and then Saturday they are at Wayne State at 2pm.
 
Heading into the weekend matchups, Grand Valley is tied for fourth place in the GLIAC standings at 3-2 in conference, and 9-4 overall. Saginaw comes into the matchup in a tie for second place, having gone 4-1 to open conference play and 8-5 to start the season. Wayne State is one spot back of Grand Valley in the GLIAC standings at 2-3, and 8-5 overall.
 
The Lakers go into the weekend winners of three of their last four matches, beating Michigan Tech, Purdue Northwest, and Parkside, before falling to Davenport. With her career-high 19 kills on Tuesday, Kendall Stover continues to lead the team in kills with 136. Jordyn Gates and Rachel Jacquay continue to both guide the offense as they split time at setter, with Gates having 247 assists and Jacquay adding 237. The Lakers lead the league in digs (817) and digs per set (18.57), with Gates at the head of that with 184 and Savannah Thompson contributing 132 of her own.
 
Saginaw Valley has opened GLIAC play by sweeping Lake State, Parkside, Davenport, and PNW, before suffering their only loss in conference play this past Tuesday at Wayne State. Before Tuesday's loss, the Cardinals had won seven straight contests, only dropping one set over that stretch. SVSU is led by Madison Thompson, who currently has the fifth most kills in the GLIAC at 153 and reigning GLIAC Freshman of the Year Sarah Veale who has 119 kills. Peyton Gerstacker sets up the offense for the Cardinals, as she has 427 assists on the season, good for third in the conference. As a squad, Saginaw Valley is third in the conference in blocks at 101, led by Makaylah Roberts with 40, Patricia Pratt with 39, and Rylee Zimmer with 38.
 
Wayne State started GLIAC play by defeating Purdue Northwest, but then lost three straight matches to Ferris, Parkside, and Davenport before bouncing back to sweep SVSU this past Tuesday. The Warriors return five all-conference players from last year, including first team members Kamryn Duffield and Lauren VanderWal. Duffield currently ranks second in the conference with 448 assists, while VanderWal is third in the GLIAC with 181 kills. Wayne State is the second-best blocking team in the conference, and have two of the top blockers, led by Halle Shell (51) in first and Kayla Giroux (40) in third.
 
How To Follow
Live stats and live video will be available for this weekend's games. For full coverage of the game, including live in-game updates, follow @GVSUVOLLEY on Twitter and visit gvsulakers.com.