Grand Valley State capped off an unbeaten weekend at the Vulcan Invitational in California, Pa. on Saturday (Sept. 10), as the Lakers earned their fourth straight victory and third straight sweep. GVSU made quick work of Winston-Salem State on Saturday afternoon, topping the Rams 3-0 (25-12, 25-13, 25-13).
 
The Lakers' 4-0 weekend started with a tough 3-2 victory over East Region semifinalist Adelphi on Friday afternoon. Grand Valley State then won nine consecutive sets over Davis & Elkins, the host school California (PA), and Winston-Salem State. Most of those sets were lopsided, as GVSU won five of the nine stanzas by 10 or more points.
 
With the victory, the Lakers improve to 5-3 on the season with GLIAC play beginning next week. Winston-Salem State drops to 3-4 on the year after going 3-0 at its season-opening tournament last weekend.
 
The story for the weekend was Grand Valley State's offensive production, led by sophomore middle blocker Staci Brower. After not hitting over .165 in any of their four matches last weekend, the Lakers hit .274, .275, .297, and .295 in their four contests at the Vulcan Invitational.
 
Against the Rams on Saturday afternoon, GVSU put away 45 kills and only 14 errors for the .295 clip, while Winston-Salem State managed just 17 kills and 12 errors for a .056 hitting percentage. Defensively, the Lakers held three of their four opponents this weekend to under a .100 attack clip.
 
For the fifth consecutive match, Brower paced Grand Valley State with double-digit kills. She took 24 swings on Saturday afternoon and totaled 14 kills, only three errors, and a .458 hitting percentage, while adding two blocks. Brower recorded 17, 15, 13, and 14 kills in the four tournament matches.
 
Sophomore Shannon Winicki had the team's highest hitting percentage with a .538 clip, as she posted eight kills in 13 attempts. She also added three digs and a pair of blocks. Junior setter Katie Olson passed for 24 assists and picked up six digs.
 
On the outside, sophomore Brooke Smith tallied a team-best 18 digs, while adding seven kills. Freshman Kendall Yerkes supplied seven kills in an errorless 14 swings for a .500 hitting percentage. Yerkes added seven digs. Senior Amanda Glaza notched 15 digs and served up three of the Lakers' five aces in the win.
 
An early 5-0 run in the opening set was emphasized by a solo rejection by Winicki, who then teamed with Brower for a second straight block on the next point. Brower put down two kills and Olson added her only kill to push GVSU to a 12-5 lead. The advantage was 18-12 when the Lakers scored the final seven points of the frame. Brower delivered back-to-back-to-back kills, Winicki added a pair of putaways, and Glaza served her second ace of the set to help Grand Valley State get out in front in the match.
 
Another Glaza ace capped off an opening 8-2 run in set two for the Lakers, who received a kill and a solo block from Brower and individual kills from Winicki and freshman Jayci Suseland in the surge. The Rams pulled within 8-5 before Yerkes posted consecutive kills and Brower added two more before a kill from sophomore Danielle McCormick made the lead 14-7. Smith and Suseland tallied kills before freshman Maura Smith (making her Laker debut) delivered a service ace, upping the cushion to 18-8. Winicki and freshman Madilyn Keller posted late kills to put GVSU ahead, 2-0.
 
Set three was tied at 8-8 before Grand Valley State took control. Brooke Smith and Yerkes notched consecutive kills and Olson served an ace to open an 11-8 advantage. Winicki, sophomore Jillian Butsavich, and Yerkes provided kills in a 4-0 run to up the Laker lead to 15-9. With the Rams getting within six at 17-11, GVSU ran off six straight points - all on kills from Winicki, Brower, Brooke Smith, Keller, Brower, and Keller again. Brooke Smith's final kill ended the contest and put an exclamation point on the undefeated weekend.
 
Sophomore Taylor Stewart handed out 13 assists and picked up six digs, while Keller recorded three kills in just five attempts.
 
The Lakers start GLIAC play next weekend, again on the road. GVSU will face Hillsdale on Friday night before taking on Northwood on Saturday evening, capping off the season-opening 10-match road trip.