After taking Saginaw Valley State University to five sets twice this season, the Grand Valley State University volleyball team could not overcome the Cardinals in Thursday’s GLIAC tournament quarterfinals, getting swept 17-25, 21-25 and 24-26.

The 3-0 straight-sets loss marked the end of the Lakers’ season, leaving them with an overall record of 14-13. It was an early exit from the playoffs for a team that entered the fall with high expectations.

“We talked about it all season, getting to the postseason and the fact that it is always now-or-never,” said sophomore middle blocker Abby Ebels. “We had to get the job done, no matter what. Nobody thought we were going to lose until the last point was done and we were shaking hands across the net. It was disappointing; we really wanted a chance to keep playing.”

Early in the first set, GVSU held a 4-3 lead thanks to a kill from sophomore outside hitter Lyndsey Holt. It was downhill from there as the Cardinals took a 10-9 advantage before going on a five-point run that included two aces and two GVSU attack errors.

“We could not stop making mistakes,” said junior middle blocker Eno Umoh. “No one had that fire, no one had that urgency and at one point they went on a run just because of little errors we made that could have been prevented.”

The final set saw the teams go back and forth with GVSU fighting to keep its season alive. The Cardinals held a 16-13 lead, but the Lakers showed resiliency. With the score at 24-23, and match point for the Cardinals, Aiken came through with a kill to knot it up again.

However, it was Saginaw Valley State senior outside hitter Annie Buxton who officially ended GVSU’s season with two straight kills, completing the sweep.

Aiken led the Lakers offensively, tallying a team-high 10 kills with a .348 hitting percentage, while sophomore libero Sacha Gill recorded 10 digs.

“As the game was going on, there was moments where we had hope that we could win the game,” Umoh said. “When it was done it was just disbelief. To go into the game and think we have a chance to win and keep our season going, then to have it end this way is just a shock.”

Meanwhile, playing in her final game, senior middle blocker Nicole Whiddon had a solid performance, capturing eight kills, a .333 hitting percentage and one block assist.

Aiken said the season was a learning year for the whole team.

“Probably half our season we played five-set matches, so we can take that away and learn exactly how to finish games,” she said. “Because we have so many people coming back, that is exciting. We have a lot of games under our belt and that will help us in the future because we know how good we can be.”

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