ALLENDALE, MICH. – After being on the road for a majority of  September, the GVSU women's volleyball team opens up the month of October back in the Fieldhouse Arena to take on Saginaw Valley and Wayne State this coming weekend.
 
SVSU: Live Stats | Video | 6:00 PM
Wayne State: Live Stats | Video | 3:00 PM
 
GVSU is 12-1 overall and 6-1 in conference play, sitting in second place in the league standings, one game back of first, and two games clear of the three teams tied for third. Last weekend, they dispatched Parkside in three sets, before winning a five-set match over Purdue Northwest, as they closed out September winners of six straight matches. After tallying 42 kills, 62 assists, and 27 digs, Jordyn Gates earned her second GLIAC Offensive Player of the Week award of the season. She now leads the Lakers with 156 kills and is second with 237 assists and 118 digs.
 
In the first matchup of the season between the Lakers and the Cardinals, GVSU took the match in four sets. SVSU won the first set, but the Lakers answered back, winning the last three sets to take the match. Gates, Kendall Stover, and Meghan O'Sullivan all tallied 10 or more kills in the win. The Lakers also beat the Warriors the first time these two programs met this year, as GVSU won via a sweep. The first two sets were closely contested, but the Lakers cruised to the set three victory, led by a 14 kill, 15 assist effort by Gates.
 
The Cardinals are on a rough stretch, losers of 12 straight games and winless since conference play started. They are 2-13 this season and 0-7 in the league and they have not had a win since the first of September. Madison Thompson leads the Cardinal attack with 131 kills and the SVSU front line is one of the best blocking units in the GLIAC, blocking over two attacks per set. The Cardinals have the worst attacking unit in the GLIAC, recording just a .138 hitting percentage and a league-worst 10.20 kills per set. The Lakers have won three straight and six of the past seven matchups in the Battle of the Valleys.
 
After a rough start to their season, Wayne State has turned it around as of late, winning two of their last three and moving to 5-10 on the year and 2-5 in conference play. Setter Kayla Dulgar's 528 assists rank second in the league as do her 9.60 assists per set. Molly Miller and Kayla Giroux are both in the top ten in the GLIAC in kills, as Miller is third with 184 and Giroux's 156 rank eighth. Serving and service receiving have been issues for the Warriors this year, as they rank eighth in the league with 1.5 service aces per set and they are second in the GLIAC with 111 reception errors.
 
How to Follow
Both 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.