Box Score

Grand Valley State responded very well on Saturday morning (Sept. 6), after a tough five-set loss on Friday night, as the #14 Lakers handled Dominican (Calif.) by a 3-0 score (25-16, 25-20, 25-12). It was the third match for GVSU at the Oredigger Classic in Golden, Colo.

The one-hour, seven-minute win pushes the Lakers to 2-1 on the year, while Dominican drops to 0-3. On Friday, Grand Valley State swept Minnesota State Moorhead and won the first two sets against #20 Wayne State (Neb.) before falling in the match, 3-2.

Saturday's win over Dominican saw GVSU hit .305 and put down 45 kills, while the Penguins managed just a .049 hitting clip and committed 18 hitting errors.

After the opening set was tied at 6-6, the Lakers took over. A combined block from senior Kaitlyn Wolters and junior Kaleigh Lound, followed by a Wolters kill, started a 12-4 run that pushed GVSU out in front, 18-10. The final two points of that surge came on service aces from junior Betsy Ronda, two of the four aces for the Lakers in the first frame.

Ronda tallied four kills, four digs, and the two aces in the opening frame. GVSU forced Dominican into six attack errors and just a .069 hitting percentage to start the match.

Grand Valley State trailed 14-11 midway through the second stanza before the Lakers scored seven straight points to regain control with an 18-14 advantage. Lound had two kills and again combined with Wolters for a block during the 7-0 run.

GVSU stayed out in front, as kills from senior Abby Aiken, Ronda, and junior Jessica Majerle finished the set at 25-20. The team hit .353 with 17 kills in the second frame.

With the third set tied at 9-9, the Lakers put together another 7-0 run to open up a 16-9 cushion. Back-to-back-to-back putaways from Lound, Aiken, and Ronda started the streak, which also included an ace from senior Christina Canepa. Consecutive kills from senior Ally Simmons upped the score to 18-10, with GVSU cruising to its second win in three matches.

Ronda finished off a very solid match by tallying another double-double. The 2012 GLIAC Freshman of the Year put down 10 kills (without an error) in 19 attacks for a .526 hitting percentage, while adding 10 digs. Lound notched nine kills, a .500 mark, and three block assists.

Aiken recorded eight kills, while Simmons put down six kills in 11 swings. Wolters dished out 36 assists to go with eight digs, five kills, and a pair of blocks. Canepa picked up 15 digs and two aces.

GVSU will close out the weekend on Saturday afternoon against Augustana (S.D.) at 2:00 p.m. MT (4:00 p.m. ET).