Sept. 7, 2008

Box Score

Denver, Colo. - The #7 Lakers finished off the weekend with a 3-0 sweep (25-11, 25-13, 25-16) of #19 West Florida on Saturday night at the Regis Premier Challenge in Denver, Colo. GVSU went 3-1 at the tournament, defeating a pair of top-25 opponents in the process.

After falling to #15 Augustana in a five-set marathon on Friday afternoon, the Lakers responded with a 3-1 win over Metro State in the evening. On Saturday, Grand Valley State recorded a pair of 3-0 wins, toppling #21 Chico State and #19 West Florida. Grand Valley State is now 6-2 on the year, as West Florida fell to 6-2.

GVSU won the 'Silver' bracket of the tournament, which included round-robin style matches on Friday and a tournament-type atmosphere on Saturday.

The Lakers came out on a mission, jumping out to a 7-0 lead, with all seven points served by junior Meredith Young. Grand Valley State never looked back, taking a 20-11 advantage, and scoring the final five points for the win. It was almost impossible for the Lakers to hit any better in the opening set. GVSU tallied 17 kills and only two errors for a .625 hitting percentage. The Argos connected at just a .038 clip.

In the second set, the Lakers went ahead 4-0 on a service ace from senior Jamie Ashmore. GVSU pushed the lead to 9-3 and eventually led 19-9 before closing out the set. Grand Valley State continued its strong offensive performance with 18 kills, only three errors, and a .333 attack percentage. West Florida was held to a .082 mark, with nine kills and five errors.

The Argos kept the third set close, trailing 17-13 midway through the set. Grand Valley State, however, closed out the set with an 8-3 run to win the match in a 3-0 sweep. It was the Lakers' third 3-0 victory of the 2008 season.

Offensively, GVSU was on top of its game, as it recorded 48 kills, only eight errors, and a stellar .404 attack percentage. The Lakers held West Florida to a .077 clip and forced the Argos into 17 attack errors. Grand Valley State also had more service aces (six) than errors (five).

Senior Lauren Reber totaled a match-high 13 kills, with just one error, for a .480 hitting percentage. Fellow senior Danielle Alexander recorded 11 kills without committing an attack error, as she connected at a .647 clip. Sophomore middle blocker Rebeccah Rapin also notched 11 kills and hit a .500 pace for the match.

The Lakers dug 54 balls, including 12 from Young and 10 from junior Katey Crichton.

After the tournament, Alexander and Reber were named to the Premier Challenge All-Tournament Team, which featured 13 players.

Facing one of the toughest early-season schedules in the country, GVSU has faced five nationally-ranked opponents in its first eight matches. The Lakers are 3-2 in those meetings, defeating #17 Pittsburg State, #21 Chico State, and #19 West Florida. Grand Valley State dropped contests to #3 Truman State and #15 Augustana.

The Lakers will compete in their home opener against Davenport on Wednesday (Sept. 10) at 7:00 p.m. ET at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.