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#18 Grand Valley State faced off with Missouri S&T in the NCAA Midwest Region quarterfinals on Thursday night (Nov. 20) in Allendale, looking for revenge against the only team this season to defeat the Lakers in a 3-0 sweep. GVSU did just that in the opening round of the regional tournament, sweeping the Miners by a 3-0 final (25-22, 25-22, 25-17).

The Lakers, the third seed in the Midwest Region and the surprising host of this weekend's tournament, moved to 24-5 on the season and 12-1 inside the Fieldhouse Arena. With the win, Grand Valley State advances to Friday's semifinals against #17 Ferris State at 7:30 p.m., as the second-seeded Bulldogs knocked off seventh-seeded Lewis earlier in the night by a 3-1 final.

All four top seeds advanced to Friday's semifinals, as #1 Truman State swept #8 McKendree and #4 Rockhurst held off #5 Indianapolis in five sets. Truman State and Rockhurst will play in the first semifinal at 5:00 p.m., followed by the GVSU-Ferris State rematch at 7:30 p.m.

The last time Grand Valley State and Missouri S&T met was on Oct. 18 at the GLIAC-GLVC Crossover Tournament in Aurora, Ill. Missouri S&T swept the Lakers with all three sets being decided by identical 25-23 scores.

On Thursday, however, GVSU turned the tides on the Miners by connecting for a .289 hitting percentage and 50 kills. Only once this season have the Lakers totaled more kills in a three-set match; Grand Valley State put down 51 in the season-opening sweep over Minnesota State Moorhead.

Senior Abby Aiken delivered a double-double with a match-best 12 kills, while adding 12 digs. The Lakers had a pair of middle hitters put up great performances without committing an error. Junior Kaleigh Lound took 18 swings, nabbed 10 kills, did not commit an error and hit .556. She also had a match-high four blocks. Senior Ally Simmons put away seven kills in 12 attempts for a .583 percentage, while adding a pair of aces off the bench.

Despite the sweep, the match was close throughout the contest. There were a total of 29 tie scores, including nine in the first set and 10 in both the second and third stanzas. The lead changed hands seven times.

S&T led 6-5 before a five-point Laker run gave GVSU a 10-6 lead. Aiken delivered three kills and 2014 GLIAC Player of the Year Kaitlyn Wolters served up an ace during the run. The Miners then tied the score at 10-10 and although the Lakers went ahead 18-14, S&T again pulled within a point at 18-17. Later in the set, leading 21-20, GVSU used a kill from junior Betsy Ronda, a Ronda and Lound block, and a Lound kill to take a 24-20 advantage. Ronda's kill moments later gave the Lakers a 25-22 victory.

The Lakers found themselves down 18-13 in the second set, but started to chip away at the deficit and pulled within a point at 20-19 on an Aiken ace. Missouri S&T, however, scored the next two points to open a 22-19 cushion. From there, the Miners did not score again in the set. Junior Carley Gross put down a kill, Lound added a tally, and Simmons' ace knotted the frame at 22-22. Aiken put GVSU on top with a kill, followed by a combined rejection by Lound and Ronda. S&T's next attack was an error and the Lakers' six-point run gave them a 2-0 lead.

Grand Valley State was ahead 15-14 in the third set before utilizing another six-point run to blow open the stanza. Simmons recorded two kills, Ronda and Aiken each added one, and senior Kourtney Wolters tallied a solo rejection to help the Lakers take control with a 21-14 lead. A kill and an ace from Simmons put GVSU on top, 24-16, before Kourtney Wolters ended the match with a kill from sister Kaitlyn.

Kaitlyn Wolters handed out 37 assists, while adding 12 digs, and six kills (without an error) for a .429 hitting percentage. Ronda supplied 12 digs, seven kills, and four blocks, while Gross put away five kills in nine attempts.

Senior libero Christina Canepa nabbed a match-high 16 digs for the Lakers, who owned better dig (65-57) and block (7-2) totals than the Miners. GVSU's .289 hitting percentage was its fifth-best of the season.

The Lakers will meet Ferris State in Friday night's semifinal match, which is a rematch from five days ago when the Bulldogs won the GLIAC Tournament championship in Allendale by a 3-1 score. This will be the seventh meeting between the West Michigan rivals in the past two seasons - and the third in the postseason.

Laker Notes
- GVSU is 34-13 all-time in NCAA Tournament postseason play; the Lakers are now 27-6 all-time in regional matches
- This is the 15th NCAA Tournament appearance in Grand Valley State history and the 10th time GVSU has hosted the regional tournament in Allendale
- Grand Valley State improved to 20-3 all-time in Allendale in regional tournament matches
- Thursday's match was the first-ever meeting between GVSU and Missouri S&T in the NCAA Tournament
- The Lakers have played Ferris State just twice in the NCAA Tournament, with both meetings coming in Allendale. GVSU defeated FSU 3-1 in 1986; the Bulldogs won 3-2 in last season's regional championship match
- With Truman State and Rockhurst playing in the first semifinal on Friday, that means Saturday's 7:00 p.m. championship match will feature a GLVC team against a GLIAC school