As once put in the movie Friday Night Lights, “Perfection is being able to look your friends in the eye and know you did everything you could not to let them down.” As the Grand Valley State women’s volleyball team played on senior night, it is difficult to let them go, but it is easy knowing they put their all into every play of the game.

The four seniors for the 2018 season are Kaylene Norris, Jillian Butsavich, Hannah Murdock and Staci Brower. Each senior has put their heart and soul onto the court and proved what it really means to be a Laker.

Each senior has contributed their own part that makes the team what it is today. Norris was an all-GLIAC Academic Team honoree and is a major component for both the front and back row. Butsavich, another all-GLIAC academic excellence team honoree, is a big hitter for the front row. Murdock leads most games from the front row. Brower, an all-Midwest region honorable mention, dominates the front row for the Lakers.

On Saturday, Oct. 27, the Lakers played the Davenport Panthers for their last home game of the season. The Lakers lost with scores of 13-25, 18-25 and 17-25, putting GVSU’s record at 12-13 overall and 5-9 for the GLIAC.

Ali Thompson led the team with seven kills, one ace and one block. Frankie Cavallaro led with 22 assists and libero Kendall Yerkes led with 14 digs. The Panthers led with kills overall 44-29 and had nine less errors than the Lakers (19-10). 

In the first set, the Lakers started off slow, falling behind 0-10 which would cause them to constantly play catch up the whole game, giving the Panthers and easy lead.

While the first two sets started out with DU taking the lead, GVSU started strong the third set with a 3-1 lead. A four point kill streak allowed DU to take the lead 5-3 with the game constantly being a back and forth affair before the Panthers would eventually finish the game.

The Panthers came out with their claws out and found the Lakers’ weaknesses throughout the three sets. While the Lakers fought hard offensively and defensively, the Panthers managed to fight harder and put the ball down faster than the Lakers could pick up. 

GVSU struggled with an offensive attack system and the Panthers picked up on that and managed to use that to their advantage.

The Lakers travel to play Parkside on Friday, Nov. 2 and then Purdue Northwest on Saturday, Nov. 3. These will be the final two games of the season before the GLIAC tournament begins on Wednesday, Nov. 7.