ALLENDALE, MICH. – The GVSU women's volleyball team takes a break from GLIAC play to take part the Midwest Regional Crossover Event down in Hammond, Indiana. The Lakers will play Northwood and Lewis on Friday, then their Saturday game will be determined by their Friday performance.
 
Northwood: Live Stats | Watch | 10:00 am EST
Lewis: Live Stats | Watch | 3:00 PM EST
 
The Lakers enter the tournament as one of the hottest teams going to Hammond, coming in on an eight-game winning streak and sitting at 14-1 overall. GVSU is second in the GLIAC at 8-1 and off to their best start since 2006, when they began the season 18-1. They swept both SVSU and Wayne State last weekend to complete the season sweep of both teams. Julia Blaney earned her first career GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week award, as she had 36 digs, averaging six digs per set, served four aces, and had a .929 service reception percentage. As a team, the Lakers continue to lead all of division II in opponents hitting percentage, allowing the opposition to only swing at a .085 clip. They are also second in the nation in offensive hitting percentage, hitting .310.
 
GMAC member Northwood presents the first matchup of the weekend for the Lakers. The Timberwolves are 12-6 and tied for third in the GMAC north standings. The two teams have played three common teams, with both defeating Northern Michigan, Ursaline, and Malone. Sydney Hasenfratz is one of the best players in the entire conference, leading in points (315.5), kills (265), and hitting percentage (.457). Olivia Ott and Kiana Martens also have tallied over 150 kills for the Northwood offense. The offense is run by setter Renee Brines, who has dished out 719 assists this season, averaging over 10 assists per set.
 
Lewis will be the first ranked opponent the Lakers will take on this season, as they are ranked 15^th in the latest AVCA poll. The Flyers are 13-5 overall and 5-1 in GLVC play, entering the crossover in third place in the conference. Their lone conference loss came to UMSL last Saturday, which was their first loss in three weeks. This season, Lewis has played six ranked teams and three more that were receiving votes, recording a record of 4-5 in those contests. Two Flyers have tallied over 200 kills this season, led by Megan Schlechte's 252 and Juliana Van Loo's 218. Lauren Stenman guides the offensive attack, passing out 698 assists this year. The Lakers and Flyers met up last year at the Crossover, with Lewis taking the match in three sets.
 
The teams will be re-seeded following all of the games on Friday, and the single game matchup on Saturday will be announced that evening.
 
How to Follow
All games this weekend will have live stats and live video. For full coverage of the game, including live in-game updates, follow @GVSUVOLLEY on Twitter and visit gvsulakers.com.