GV Volleyball sees five players make All-GLIAC awards

The Grand Valley State University volleyball team (10-4) wrapped up their postseason play last week Tuesday, Nov. 16 against Davenport and now awaits NCAA Championship picks.

Coming out of the 2021 season, senior outside hitter Ali Thompson and junior setter Rachel Jacquay both made All-GLIAC First Team honors. Thompson’s fourth year included 288 kills, which makes her sixth in the conference, and a total 1.214 digs in her career. Jacquay totaled 1,036 assists this season, making her third in the conference and was selected All-Tournament team for the Midwest Region Crossover.

Making All-GLIAC Second Team was senior outside hitter Abby Graham and junior middle blocker Sarah Wight. Graham and Thompson made a great pair this season with Graham’s 288 kills and 307 digs on the season, while Wight saw 80 blocks this season for fifth in the GLIAC for blocks per game.

The Honorable Mention went to junior middle blocker Jaelianna Primus for her 166 kills, 64 blocks and 58 digs. Both Primus and Wight were selected for the Oredigger Classic All-Tournament Team while Graham and Thompson were both GLIAC Player of the Week this season.

Women’s Basketball wins on the road against Findlay

The Grand Valley State University women’s basketball team (3-0) continued their winning streak on Sunday, Nov. 21 against the University of Findlay (1-3). The Lakers began the first quarter strong, starting the excitement of the game with a fast break started by senior guard Quay Stanton for a layup and then a three pointer from junior guard Emily Spitzley. The Lakers were up 7-2 and never let go of the lead for the remainder of the game.

Heading into the second quarter, the Lakers went on a 10 point run, advancing their lead to 27-12 before Findlay could catch up. The Lakers maintained their lead to be 38-27 by halftime. An early jumper by Stanton started off the scoring for the Lakers before a steal by Spitzley allowed a fast break for junior forward Hannah Kulas to score on a jumper, followed by a three pointer from Kulas and Spitzley to advance their lead to 53-31.

Findlay went on a 7-point run to try and regain some momentum but was kept off by the Lakers for the remainder of the game. Kulas and Stanton both raked in 16 points each and Stanton had 11 rebounds at the end of the game. Freshman Riley Bisballe also contributed 11 points to the game from the starting line.

This week, the team travels to Florida to play the Rollins Classic on Friday and Saturday, Nov. 26-27 against Rollins College and Embry-Riddle University before they begin GLIAC play after Thanksgiving break.