ALLENDALE, MICH. – The main portion of nonconference play is over and the GVSU women's volleyball team will open conference play this weekend with a trip up north to take on Northern Michigan on Friday at 7pm and Michigan Tech Saturday afternoon at 3pm.
 
Grand Valley heads into GLIAC play with a 6-2 record after going 3-1 at both the Gannon/Mercyhurst Invite and the UIndy Invite over the past two weekends. After a huge weekend in which she recorded 46 kills, Kendall Stover is the team leader in kills with 76 for the season. Jordyn Gates and Jaelianna Primus sit close behind with 65 apiece. Gates is also second on the team in assists with 135, just behind Rachel Jacquay who has 142. 
 
On Friday, the Lakers are in Marquette to take on a 7-1 Northern Michigan squad. The Wildcats opened the season by going 3-1 at their home tournament and followed that up with a 4-0 record at the Kentucky Wesleyan Tournament. The Wildcats were voted sixth in the GLIAC preseason coaches' poll and return everyone from last season's team that went 7-8 in conference play. NMU is led offensively by sophomore outside hitter Jacqueline Smith who leads the GLIAC in kills (138) and kills per set (4.18). Setter Lauren Van Remortel is fifth in the conference with 220 assists. Defensively, defensive specialist Alli Yacko's 132 digs rank third in all the GLIAC.
 
The Lakers follow that up by heading northwest to Michigan Tech to face off against the nationally ranked Huskies. MTU is 6-1 and comes into the weekend ranked #19 by the AVCA for the second straight week.  The Huskies started the season at the Cal State Monterey Bay Tournament, where they went 4-0, winning every game via a sweep. The next weekend, they were at the Parkside tournament, going 2-1, with their lone loss coming at the hands of McKendree University. MTU has three players with 50+ kills, led by Jillian Kuizenga (71), followed by Meg Raabe (58) and Lindy Oujiri (53). The offense is controlled by senior setter Lina Espejo-Ramirez who has dished out 215 assists this season.
 
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.