Headline: Home cookin’

Subhead: Werner, No. 14 Lakers dispatch Northwood, LSSU in straight sets

By Jay Bushen

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For Josie Werner and the No. 14 Grand Valley State University volleyball team, the recipe for responding to a tough loss called for a family-oriented road trip, two sweeps and breakfast quiche.

GVSU bounced back from its five-set loss to archrival Ferris State by notching a pair of road victories over the weekend at Northwood (25-22, 25-13, 26-24) and Lake Superior State (25-14, 25-20, 25-22). GVSU remains in a first-place tie with FSU atop the GLIAC standings with two games left.

“We’re on a high, we got back into the flow of the game after the Ferris loss,” said senior setter Kaitlyn Wolters. “It was good to get all of those hesitancies out, to get back on the court and play our game.”

Wolters’ ability to attack late in sets one and three gave GVSU an edge at Northwood on Friday night. The senior from Hudsonville, Mich. dished out a game-high 28 assists to go with four digs.

“We tried speeding up the offense a little bit more and tried different things, but ultimately our composure is what held our team together,” said Wolters, who also turned in a match-high seven kills.

Sophomore outside hitter Carley Gross provided seven kills as well, while senior outside hitters Kourtney Wolters and Abby Aiken chipped in with five apiece for the multidimensional Laker attack.

Aiken climbed into ninth-place in GVSU’s all-time kill ranks (1,211) with the performance.

Senior libero Christina Canepa also reached an impressive milestone in the victory. Canepa’s 10-dig outing increased her career total to 1,561, the second-most in program history.

The second contest of the weekend was against another team from the bottom fourth of the GLIAC standings. GVSU took on Lake Superior State, which entered Saturday’s match with a 1-11 mark in conference play.

GVSU coach Deanne Scanlon was able to rest a number of starters for most of the match. Kaitlyn Wolters, outside hitter Betsy Ronda and middle blocker Ally Simmons played in just one set.

“Any time you can really give the kids breaks, it’s huge physically and mentally,” Scanlon said.

The situation gave Werner, a sophomore from Sault Ste. Marie, Mich., a rare opportunity to crack the starting lineup in front of her family and friends – and she made the most of it.

Werner tallied a team-high eight kills and did not commit an error. The 6-foot-4 middle blocker also came up big defensively with a career-high eight blocks, the most by a GVSU player this season.

“It was really cool, we went to my house for breakfast beforehand and my mom cooked a big brunch,” she said. “I’ve played in that gym before, basketball and volleyball…It was neat. I really appreciate the opportunity to get a lot of playing time because Grand Valley is a long way away from home.

“It was a good job of everyone who came off the bench. Everyone contributed to both wins this weekend. We can’t always say that, but it’s cool when everyone on the team is making a contribution.”

Aiken tallied a match-high eight kills as well, while 15 different Lakers played at least one set for the second time in as many games. All three of the team’s setters – Wolters, senior Clair Ruhenkamp and freshman Katie Olsen – powered the Laker offense with 12, 11 and 13 helpers, respectively.

GVSU (19-4, 15-1 GLIAC) and Ferris State (18-5, 15-1) can clinch at least a share of the GLIAC regular season championship this weekend. The Lakers and Bulldogs will take turns hosting Wayne State and fourth-place Saginaw Valley State on Friday and Saturday.