INDIANAPOLIS, IND. – The GVSU women's volleyball team opens their season this weekend at the UIndy Invitational. The Lakers will play four games over the next two days, with three being key regional matchups.
Tournament Central
Friday, September 6th
UIndy: Live Stats |
Video | 12:00
IUP: Live Stats |
Video | 5:00
Saturday, September 7th
Kentucky Wesleyan: Live Stats |
Video | 12:00
Maryville: Live Stats |
Video | 6:00
GVSU is coming off their best season in almost a decade, going 27-5, claiming the GLIAC regular season crown and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. They return a strong nucleus of players, led by All-American
Jordyn Gates and All-GLIAC member
Kendall Stover. Also back are libero
Julia Blaney, middle
Brianna Stawski, and outsides
Meghan O'Sullivan and
Kate Goudreau. Six newcomers joined the squad this fall, two coming via transfer and four more enter as freshmen.
Leading off the weekend is a matchup with the hosts, Indianapolis. The Greyhounds were 18-11 a season ago, falling in the first round of the GLVC Tournament. UIndy returns several key pieces, led by the team's leading attacker in senior Sophia Parlanti, who tallied 340 kills a season ago. Also back are libero Ellie Sprang and setter Claire Morris, who dished out over 1,000 assists last year. The Greyhounds played very well on their home court a season ago, going 8-2, winning seven of their last eight on home turf.
Rounding out day one is a clash with Indiana (Pa.). The Crimson Hawks had a strong year last year, as they went 23-11 and played in the Atlantic Regional Championship game, falling in three sets to Clarion. IUP led the nation in blocks last year with 346, and return their top blocker in All-American Lauren Valentic, who was the nation's individual block leader at 175. Also back are All-Region performer Nyla Birch, libero Bailey Flowerdew, and setter Simay Memisoglu. Friday's game will mark the first ever matchup between the two teams.
Starting off on day two of the tournament will be Kentucky Wesleyan. KWU struggled last season, only going 7-23. Key returners to the team include top returning scorers Ava Rebarchick and Nicole Hughes, setter Julia Kupper, as well as Havanah John and Embry Burgess. This will be the first time these two teams have matched up since 2007, and just the third time overall, with GVSU leading the series 2-0.
In the final game of the tournament, GVSU will square off with Maryville. Coming off a 17-12 campaign and a second-round exit in the GLVC Tournament, the Saints have a strong nucleus of returning players. Their top five leading attackers are back, with Ella Brinkman and Caroline Glastetter both tallying over 200 kills. Setter Rachel Schipper was the second-leading assister last year as she is back, along with the team-leader in digs Taylor Hasbrook and leading blocker Hanna Dressing. This will also be the first time the Saints and Lakers have matched up in their program's history.
How to Follow
All games will be available to stream on the GLVC network. The first game with UIndy will be behind a paywall, but the final three games will be free to watch. The four games will also have live stats as well to follow along with. For full coverage of the game, including live in-game updates, follow @GVSUVOLLEY on Twitter and visit gvsulakers.com.
