Coming off an emotional win over rival Ferris State University, the Grand Valley State University women’s volleyball team went into the weekend hoping to keep the momentum rolling.

The Lakers did just that by sweeping a pair of GLIAC foes in Ohio, improving their record to 9-2 (7-0 GLIAC).

“Overall, it was a great weekend,” said GVSU coach Deanne Scanlon. “We played our best match of the year against Ferris and I feel like that propelled us into this weekend. We are starting to execute better, everything seems to be coming together.”

The Lakers began their weekend by defeating Ohio Dominican University in three sets (25-19, 25-17, 25-14). In a unique occasion, GVSU senior Abby Aiken went up against her younger sister, Ashlin Aiken, who is a freshman at Ohio Dominican.

“It was a surreal experience seeing her on the opposite side of the court,” Abby Aiken said. “My whole life we have played alongside each other, so to see her playing against me was somewhat strange. It was definitely an experience that I won’t forget.”

The Laker defense dominated Ohio Dominican, as the Panthers posted a negative hitting percentage (-.018). GVSU senior setter Kaitlyn Wolters, who was coming off a triple-double against Ferris State, led the Lakers with 24 assists and nine digs.

The following day, the Lakers traveled across the state to Tiffin University, where their hot streak continued. GVSU defeated the Dragons in straight sets (25-15, 25-18, 25-16).

“Our chemistry is getting better with each game we play, and I think that it’s showing on the court,” Wolters said. “Chemistry is huge because it’s hard to be a good team without communication, and I think these two games this weekend really allowed us to work on our communication.”

The win over Tiffin allowed for 16 GVSU players to see game action. GVSU controlled almost all aspects of the game, and posted a .275 hitting percentage in comparison to Tiffin’s mark of .010.

“It’s always good when everyone has a chance to play,” said senior middle blocker Ally Simmons. “We played a really clean game overall. Hopefully that will continue into the rest of the GLIAC season.”

The team’s evenly distributed attack on Saturday was led by freshman middle blocker Sydney Doby in kills (nine), senior libero Christina Canepa in digs (10) and Wolters in assists (15). The Lakers were also impressive around the net, as they out-blocked Tiffin 10-3.

“This weekend somewhat showed how diverse our offense is becoming,” Scanlon said. “We have a handful of girls on the bench that are expected to be ready to come in at any time and contribute. That helps take the pressure off our team as a whole.”

The Lakers host a pair of GLIAC matches this weekend against Lake Erie College on Friday at 7 p.m. and Ashland University on Saturday at 4 p.m.