The No. 18 Grand Valley State University volleyball team (7-2) hosted a pair of matches at the Fieldhouse Arena against Lake Superior State University (0-6) Sept. 19 and Saginaw Valley State University (4-6) Sept. 20.
GVSU scored 3-0 in both matches, improving to 7-2 on the season, and beginning conference play with two victories. The Lakers displayed dominance from start to finish, easily taking all three sets. Sweeping Lake Superior with a final score of 25-13, GVSU dictated the pace of the contest throughout. Against Saginaw Valley, the Lakers went on to win the match 25-19.
Sports are often described as a game of runs, and the Lakers displayed their ability to go on long scoring runs of their own while also severely limiting Lake Superior from going on any themselves. In the first set, multiple four-point runs from the Lakers set the pace for how the match went for both teams.
The second set was the most back-and-forth of the three. Still, two separate three-point scoring runs served as the final six points for GVSU, and they carried that momentum into the final set, which was highlighted by an eight-point scoring run that essentially put the game on ice.
Notable stats from the performance against Lake Superior include that GVSU not only held a double-digit lead at some point in every set, but also never trailed by more than one point during the match. Along with these feats, GVSU did not let Lake Superior score more than two points in a row in any of the three sets.
In their Senior Night matchup against Saginaw, the Lakers yet again put on an exceptional performance, sweeping the Cardinals 3-0. Before the game, the team honored four seniors on the squad: McKenzie Johnson, Vienna Koenigsknecht, Meghan O’Sullivan and Kendall Stover, celebrating their achievements during their time at GVSU.
The team had even more to celebrate when the action began, with the Lakers taking the first set 25-19, with O’Sullivan and junior outside hitter Kate Goudreau tallying points.
Despite the team’s overall strong play, there were some aspects of the game that head coach Jason Johnson noted could have been improved. Notably, the number of service errors the Lakers committed throughout the first set leaked into the second.
“I don’t mind the errors as long as we’re going hard after serves, and I felt like a lot of our misses were short in the net tonight, which tells me we’re not hitting it as hard as we want,” said Johnson.
Even with the Lakers showing dominance and putting pressure on the Cardinals through powerful spikes, the second set included some real fight from Saginaw, with the Cardinals taking the lead 17-16 after a 5-1 run that forced Johnson to call a timeout.
Immediately following the timeout, GVSU retook the lead and stole all the momentum Saginaw had built up. The Lakers buried the Cardinals in the set when they responded to their scoring run, tallying nine points to win the set against Saginaw’s one point.
Junior middle hitter Kennedy Arp slammed the door on set two with three straight kills to get the Lakers rolling again, heading into set three, GVSU winning 25-18.
Johnson noted that was a real turning point in the match. He added what he tried to emphasize to the team in that moment.
“(I tried) to make sure they keep their focus on each other (and) keep the focus on staying connected,” Johnson said. “(We shouldn’t worry) about the errors we were making, but how we get better and how (to) stay in that moment.”
That set’s timeout turned out to be the turning point for eliminating any chance of an Saginaw comeback, with the Lakers picking up where they left off in the set prior. Deep into the set, GVSU had a 20-13 lead.
Despite a last-gasp effort from Saginaw, where they rattled off four consecutive points, the Lakers thwarted the run and held on, winning the final set, 25-19.
Stover and O’Sullivan discussed post-match what it meant to secure a win on Senior Night.
“It’s really like a wave of emotions, honestly, so for us to come out and win in three (sets) was huge for the seniors,” said Stover.
O’Sullivan expressed how satisfied she’s been with this start to the Lakers’ season, and felt it was a reflection of the team’s practice efforts.
“In general, it’s a really great start to our season, as well as being the first conference weekend at home,” said O’Sullivan. “We’ve been working really hard in practice, so starting off the season like this means a lot to us seniors, especially being together like this.”
The Lakers will next travel for their first conference road trip against Ferris State University (7-3) Sept. 26, followed by a match against Davenport University (5-4) Sept. 27.
