For the sixth straight match, #16 Grand Valley State swept its opponent, this time being Saginaw Valley State in the GLIAC semifinals on Saturday afternoon (Nov. 15) in Allendale. All three sets were tight, but the Lakers prevailed with straight set victories of 25-20, 25-23, and 25-20. 

The top seed in the league tournament, GVSU moves to Sunday's championship match with an overall record of 23-4. Saturday's win was the team's 18th sweep of the year. Fifth-seeded Saginaw Valley State's season ends with a 17-11 record. The Lakers will take on #18 Ferris State in Sunday's 4:00 p.m. championship match, as the Bulldogs swept Findlay in Saturday's second semifinal.

Grand Valley State was very efficient on offense, posting 43 kills and a .217 hitting percentage. Senior Abby Aiken put down a match-best 13 kills and hit .281, while junior Kaleigh Lound recorded 10 kills, did not commit an error, and owned a .417 hitting percentage in the win. 

There were several early ties in set one before Saginaw Valley State pushed out to a 13-11 lead. From there, the Wolters' twins helped spur an 8-1 run to take command of the set. Kaitlyn Wolters, who would be named the 2014 GLIAC Player of the Year after the match, delivered a kill and then served up an ace to tie the score. Sister Kourtney Wolters teamed with freshman Sydney Doby for a combined block and then put down a kill on a pass from her sister to make it 15-13, GVSU.

Sophomore Carley Gross quickly followed with a kill and Doby and Aiken responded with consecutive putdowns to give the Lakers a 19-14 cushion. SVSU would only get as close as four points the rest of the way, as two late kills from Lound helped GVSU close out the set.

Set two was tied 10 different times, while Grand Valley State's 20-16 lead was the largest of the stanza. That came after back-to-back kills from Lound and Kaitlyn Wolters. The Cardinals, however, rallied and knotted the score at 23-23 after trailing 23-20. But SVSU then committed a service error and a bad set to give the Lakers a 25-23 victory.

Lound and Aiken put down early kills in set three, as GVSU scored the first five points of the set. Saginaw Valley State responded well and tied the score at 11-11 before Aiken and Lound teamed for a block and Ronda followed with a kill. After a combined block between Doby and Kourtney Wolters, the lead was up to 18-13 before SVSU again chipped away, making the deficit 19-17. Gross, Aiken, Lound, and Ronda all tallied kills and with the lead at 24-20, Ronda ended the match with a solo rejection.

Ronda picked up a match-best 20 digs, while adding eight kills. Kaitlyn Wolters totaled 35 assists, six digs, five kills, a .417 hitting percentage, and two aces on the same day she was also named the GLIAC Setter of the Year. Senior teammate Christina Canepa, who earned GLIAC Libero of the Year honors, recorded 17 digs.

The Lakers held SVSU to a .119 hitting percentage and 23 errors, while Grand Valley State owned slight edges in assists (39-36) and aces (4-2). Saginaw Valley State held a slim lead in digs (65-61) and blocks (6-5).

GVSU and Ferris State will meet up for the third time this season, as each team won on its home court. The Lakers topped FSU in four sets on Sept. 23 in Allendale, while the Bulldogs earned a 3-2 win over GVSU in Big Rapids on Oct. 28. Both teams have won their tournament matches by consecutive 3-0 sweeps. 

Laker Notes
- GVSU improves to 11-0 at home this season and the 11-match home win streak is tied for 10th-most in school history
- Grand Valley State is now 34-14 all-time in 19 appearances in the GLIAC Tournament
- The Lakers are 3-1 all-time against Ferris State in the conference tournament, with wins in 2005, 2006, and 2008
- GVSU and FSU have not met in the league tournament since the Lakers' 3-1 win in Allendale in 2008
- Grand Valley State has won GLIAC championships in 2000, 2002, 2005, 2007, 2008, and 2013
- Senior Abby Aiken now has 987 career digs. With 13 more digs, she will become the seventh GVSU player to reach 1,000 career kills and digs and the first since Megan Helsen (2003-06)
- Aiken (1,258 kills) also trails Helsen by nine kills on the GVSU career list, as Helsen recorded 1,267 kills during her career, currently eighth-most in Laker history