Grand Valley State and Hillsdale played a terrific back-and-forth match on Friday night (Sept. 16) in both teams' GLIAC opener, with the Chargers prevailing in the five-set battle on their home floor. Hillsdale took the opening two sets before GVSU rallied to win sets three and four. A fifth set that was tied six different times saw the Chargers finish the match with a two-point victory.
 
In a match that was tied 28 times and saw 12 lead changes throughout the five sets, Grand Valley State fell by scores of 22-25, 20-25, 25-22, 25-13, and 13-15. The result puts the Lakers at 5-4 on the year and 0-1 in GLIAC play. GVSU's four-match win streak was snapped in the defeat. Hillsdale is now 7-1 on the season and 1-0 in the conference.
 
Offensively, the Lakers tallied a season-high .302 hitting percentage, including three sets above .300. Although Hillsdale hit .230 in the contest, the Chargers owned a 69-67 advantage in kills and a 65-63 edge in assists. GVSU held slim leads in digs (70-69) and total blocks (9-8), while Hillsdale totaled five aces to the Lakers' one.
 
Grand Valley State had two players reach double-digits in kills and two outside hitters nearly post double-doubles in kills and digs. Sophomore Staci Brower paced the Lakers with a season-high 19 kills and added a match-best six kills (two solo), while hitting .429 in the contest. Freshman Jayci Suseland posted 16 kills, six digs, and a pair of blocks in her first GLIAC match.
 
Sophomore Brooke Smith supplied a match-high 18 digs and nine kills, while freshman Kendall Yerkes tallied 16 kills, nine kills, three blocks, and the team's lone ace.
 
Hillsdale scored the first five points of the match, but GVSU rallied back to tie the score at 8-8 on consecutive kills from Yerkes and Brower before taking a 10-8 advantage. The Laker lead would grow to 13-10 before the score would be tied at points 16, 17, 18, 19, and 20. Smith and Suseland connected for back-to-back kills and a 22-20 advantage. From there, however, the Chargers would score five straight points to end the set at 25-22.
 
Set two was tied at 5-5 after a Yerkes kill, but Hillsdale scored six consecutive points to take an 11-5 cushion. The teams would trade points throughout most of the set before GVSU rallied to within 21-17 on a Suseland kill. That four-point deficit was as close as Grand Valley State could get before Hillsdale took a 2-0 lead with the 25-20 victory.
 
A third set that was tied a dozen times went the Lakers' way. Trailing 10-8, GVSU used back-to-back kills from Yerkes and Brower and a Charger error to take an 11-10 edge. The Lakers still led 17-16 when Brower posted three consecutive kills to up the advantage to 20-16. A combined block from Suseland and Yerkes kept Grand Valley State in front 23-18 before Suseland ended the set with another combined rejection, this time with sophomore Shannon Winicki to end the frame at 25-22.
 
That momentum carried over into set four, as GVSU raced out to an 8-2 advantage in set four. Brower recorded a pair of kills and Suseland, Winicki, and sophomore Taylor Stewart each added one during the opening surge. Hillsdale remained close at 12-9, but the Lakers took control with a 6-0 run that included back-to-back kills and a solo rejection from Brower. Late in the set, Yerkes served up an ace and Suseland put down the final kill to send the match into the pivotal fifth frame.
 
In set five, Hillsdale recorded consecutive attack errors and a Winicki kill made the score 3-0 in GVSU's favor. Trailing 4-2, the Chargers responded with four straight points and a 6-4 lead. Kills from junior Sydney Doby and Suseland - along with a bad set by Hillsdale - brought the Lakers back to an 8-8 tie. The next three GVSU points all came on Brower kills, keeping the score tied at 11-11. A Winicki kill put the Lakers in front 12-11 before Hillsdale scored the next three points and took a 14-12 edge. After the Chargers committed an attack error, they finished the match with a kill and a 15-13 win.
 
Junior setter Katie Olson delivered 42 assists, while adding eight digs, three kills in in nine attempts, and a block assist. Winicki supplied seven kills and just one error for a .353 attack clip, while adding two blocks. Stewart passed for 14 assists and picked up six digs, while senior Amanda Glaza notched a dozen digs.
 
The Lakers stay on the road and conclude their season-opening 10-match homestand on Saturday evening (Sept. 17) at Northwood. GVSU and the Timberwolves will square off at 5:00 p.m. from Midland.