This weekend, the Grand Valley State women’s volleyball team traveled to Fort Lauderdale, Fla. to compete in the 2019 NSU Shark Invite II, where they finished the weekend with two wins and two losses.

The Lakers started off the tournament with a comeback win against Southern N.H. that went five sets. After losing the first two sets, GVSU came back from a 4-0 deficit in the 3rd set, and eventually held a lead of 13-9 before they went on to win by three points.

The fourth set also started with the Lakers at a disadvantage, having them first trailing at 5-0 and then again at 8-2. However, a comeback was in store for GVSU; they took control of the court and were able to gain a one point lead at 18-17 and eventually win the set as well. The fifth and last set against SNHU started with the Lakers once more in need of a comeback, they started with a 5-0 deficit but were eventually able to secure a 9-6 lead and later win the entire match.

The next team the Lakers faced was the Wayne State College Wildcat, who was No. 22 in the state. GVSU lost the first three sets against the Wildcats. The first set started with the Lakers quickly being lead by the Wildcats at 15-5 and later lost the set 25-14. The 2nd set also started with the Lakers being at a disadvantage of 7-5, which turned into a 17-6 deficit and eventually resulting in another loss for GVSU. The final set started with a change of pace, with the Lakers leading the Wildcats 7-2 and later kept the lead at 15-14 but eventually lost the lead due to attack errors. 

“Wayne State is a very good and seasoned team that did not make many errors,” said head coach Deanne Scanlon. “They’re a more experienced team, when there’s the opportunity to go hard they use it and when it isn’t there they make an opportunity for themselves.”

The next match for the Lakers was another nail bitter against the home team, the Nova Southeastern Sharks. The 1st set started with both teams at a 10-10 tie until GVSU was able to pull ahead and secure a 16-12 lead and later a win.

The 2nd set once again started with a tie, this time with the score a 11-11,  the two teams would continue to have one pull ahead and the other tie the score again until the Sharks were finally able to lock in a win. The Lakers took an early lead in the third set at 16-7 but were eventually overcome and fell to the Sharks again with the score of 29-27.

The fourth set would start with GVSU at a 5-0 lead that would later be challenged by Nova as they took the lead 19-18, however the Lakers did not give up as they came back to claim the set. The 5th and last set had the Lakers in the lead 11-9 but the Sharks fought back and gained the lead at 14-12 which eventually lead to them winning the set and the match.

“The Nova match we had some leads, we were up but ended losing a set,” Scanlon said. “When we have opportunities, you can’t sit back and coast your way to the win and as a coach you can tell your players that but experiencing it is different.”

The final match of the tournament was a successful one for GVSU that resulted in them winning all three sets against the Florida Tech Panthers. The first set started with the Lakers in the lead 14-7 and they ended up taking the win 25-16. During the second set the Lakers had another large lead that lead to them securing another win for that set at 25-17. The Lakers found themselves trailing 20-16 until they would come back and tie the score at 24-24 and again at 27-27, eventually GVSU scored two more points and ended the match as another win for them.

The end of this tournament marks the beginning of GLIAC play, as the Lakers will be having their season opening games at home against the Northern Michigan Wildcats on Friday, Sept. 20 and the Michigan Tech Huskies on Saturday, Sept. 21.