This weekend, the Grand Valley State varsity volleyball team participated in two tournaments, the 2019 Queens Fall Classic on Friday, September 6, in Charlotte, N.C, and on Saturday, September 7. they played in 2019 UNC Pembroke Invitational in Pembroke N.C.

This week was a hectic one for our volleyball team, as not only due to their extensive traveling but also because of the uncertainty that was their schedule. Originally the team was supposed to play in the UNC Pembroke Invitational on both Friday and Saturday, however Friday’s games were all canceled due to the possibility of hurricane Dorian hitting North Carolina. After calling around, the Lakers were able to secure a spot in the Queens Falls Classic tournament for that Friday.

“The most challenging part of our weekend so far has been adapting to the long travel and the uncertainty of our schedule,” said senior Frankie Cavallaro before the matches. “But our focus is on what we want to accomplish by the end of the weekend,” 

Uncertainty did not stop the Lakers from making the best out of a sticky situation. According to head coach Deanne Scanlon, this weekend has been about more than just competing and playing volleyball, but really about bonding with one another.

“It’s really important to enjoy ourselves, we love to play, we love the team and we love being together,” said Scanlon. “We’ve had fun traveling and at the airport, it’s part of team bonding and experiencing things outside of the gym. We’re growing as a team and learning more about each other”.

Team bonding wasn’t the only thing the Lakers were thinking about. According to  Callavaro, one of the main focuses for Grand Valley State was improving with each match.

“Our expectations going into the weekend are to improve from match to match and continue to compete at the high level that we have been practicing all preseason,” Callavaro said. “We hope to start the year off with a winning record to set the tone for the rest of the season”.

Despite the goal of starting the season with a winning record, Friday’s tournament ended with two losses for the Lakers. The first being a five set match against Lander University with a loss of 2-3 and the second being against Lenoir-Rhyne University with the Lakers going 0-3.

However, on Saturday GVSU was able to rise up and brush off their losses at the Queens Fall Classic tournament and enter the Pembroke Invitational ready to play. The Lakers beat UNC Pembroke 3-2 in a nailbiter their first game, and also took a win in their second game against Coker with the score of 3-0. 

With these two wins under their belt, GVSU may just have the momentum they need to carry them into next week’s invitational at the 2019 NSU Shark Invite II in Fort Lauderdale, FL., where they’ll be competing in their last tournament before their conference season starts on September 20.