Box Score

For the second straight match, #17 Grand Valley State swept an Ohio school inside the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena, as the Lakers topped Walsh by a 3-0 score (25-19, 25-14, 25-14) on Saturday afternoon (Sept. 20). The victory comes on the heels of Friday night's 3-0 win over Malone in the 2014 home opener.

GVSU has won four straight matches - all league contests - while dropping just two total sets during that stretch. The Lakers are 6-2 overall and 4-0 in GLIAC action, while Walsh drops to 0-8 on the year and 0-4 in league play.

It was a combination of both strong offense (41 kills, .300 hitting percentage) and dominant defense (12-2 edge in blocks, 56-44 advantage in digs) that helped Grand Valley State notch its fourth straight win. 14 different Lakers saw playing time on Saturday, while nine GVSU players recorded a kill. 

The teams were pretty even in the first set until a 4-0 Laker run pushed the home team out to a 16-10 advantage. That stretch was capitalized by a rare kill from senior libero Christina Canepa, an ace from senior Kaitlyn Wolters, and a kill from junior Betsy Ronda. The teams traded points the rest of the way until an Audrey Oake kill ended the set in GVSU's favor, 25-19.

Walsh jumped out to a 7-4 lead in the early part of the second stanza before a set-changing run by the Lakers. Grand Valley State ran off nine consecutive points, including kills from freshman Sydney Doby, senior Abby Aiken, and sophomore Carley Gross and a solo rejection by Aiken. Trailing 13-7, Walsh pulled back within a few points at 14-11, but another 5-0 GVSU run opened up the set. There were four straight kills - two from junior Kaleigh Lound, one from Wolters, one from Ronda, and another solo block by Aiken to put the Lakers on top, 19-11. Grand Valley State hit .414 with 15 kills in the second set.

GVSU used an early 13-5 run in the third set to open a 16-8 cushion midway through the frame, as Doby's service ace gave the Lakers an eight-point lead. Doby continued to dominate the final set, as she provided four of GVSU's final five points - three kills and a solo rejection. The true freshman put down back-to-back kills to end the match and cap her day with nine kills, a .350 hitting percentage, and four blocks.

Aiken led the way with 10 kills, a .261 mark, nine digs, and three blocks (two solo). Ronda picked up 12 digs, seven kills, three blocks, and an ace, while Lound took 10 swings and recorded five kills and zero errors. Like Aiken and Ronda, Lound also blocked three shots. Wolters was again strong with 30 assists, 10 digs, and four kills in four attempts. She served two of the Lakers' four aces.

Grand Valley State held Walsh to a .043 hitting percentage after the Lakers forced Malone into a .061 attack clip on Friday night. The highest hitting percentage in any of the six sets for Walsh or Malone was a .118 mark for Malone in Friday's second set.

The Lakers have a quick turnaround with a Tuesday night (Sept. 23) match against their West Michigan rivals. GVSU and Ferris State - both undefeated in conference play - will square off at 7:00 p.m. on Tuesday inside the Fieldhouse Arena in a rematch of the 2013 Midwest Region championship.