ALLENDALE, MICH. – The Grand Valley State women's volleyball team returns home for two GLIAC contests this weekend. With just three weeks left in the regular season, the Lakers will take on Michigan Tech and Parkside on Friday and Saturday.
 
Michigan Tech: Live Stats | Video | Tickets | Friday | 6:00
Parkside: Live Stats | Video | Tickets | Saturday | 3:00
 
GVSU is coming off a 1-2 weekend at the Midwest Region Crossover Tournament. They fell to Cedarville in the opener, before bouncing back to defeat Drury in a sweep. On Saturday, the Lakers dropped a five-set match to UMSL to close out the event. Paige Sanders earned All-Tournament Team honors, as well as GLIAC Defensive Player of the Week. Sanders totaled 35 kills, reaching double-digits in each of the three matches, adding 17 total blocks, while hitting .358 for the weekend. GVSU dropped to 19^th in the AVCA rankings and they were third in the first NPI Regional rankings. With six games to play, the Lakers are 17-5 overall and 9-1 in GLIAC play.
 
This will be the first time this season that GVSU and Michigan Tech will face off this season. The Huskies are .500 in league play at 5-5, while they are 10-11 overall. Last week at the Crossover, MTU went 1-2, sweeping Findlay, before dropping matches to UMSL and UIndy both in five sets. Tech has one of the best attackers in the conference, with Rachel Zurek leading the conference with 342 kills, while raking second with 4.12 kills per set. She has been the favorite target of setter Madelynn Kreider, who is first in the league and 10^th in the country with 838 assists. Defensively, the Huskies struggle to block attacks at the net, registering only 1.5 a set, which ranks 10^th in the conference. This has helped opponents hit .219 against them. On the road, MTU has posted just a 2-5 record, dropping their past two road contests.
 
The Lakers and Rangers faced off earlier this season in Kenosha. The match went to five sets, with GVSU pulling it out on the road. After the teams traded taking the first four sets, the Lakers pulled out the fifth set 15-8. Four players reached double-digit kills, led by Brianna Stawski's 18. Finley Arp had 17, while Paige Sanders recorded 15, and Sara Pahl 14. Gabby Orlet distributed 61 assists, with Lexi Armstrong adding 26 digs. GVSU hit .330 as a team across the five sets.   
 
After starting the season 12-5, Parkside has stumbled over the past couple weeks, dropping three of their previous four matches. At the Crossover, the Rangers were swept by UIndy, swept Walsh, then fell to Ohio Dominican in four sets. Also, at 5-5 in the GLIAC, Parkside is fighting to get into the upper echelon of the conference for the right to host in the first round of the league tournament. Despite being the worst blocking team in the league, Parkside still fields a good defense, thanks in large part to libero Natalie Harris. The reigning two-time GLIAC Defensive Player of the Year, is making a case for her third straight, as she leads the conference in digs (466) and digs per set (5.83), which has helped Parkside lead the GLIAC in digs. On the offensive side, the Rangers have a two-headed attack, with both Avary Polavin and Sierra Kilbourne having over 250 kills. GVSU has won the previous 11 matches over the Rangers, including six straight in Allendale.
 
How to Follow
Both games this weekend will be available to follow along with via live stats or live stream through FloSports. For full coverage, follow along on social media @gvsuvolley and online at GVSUlakers.com.