Aug. 11, 2008

The 2008 Grand Valley State volleyball team reported to campus today for its first practices of the new season. Starting today and running throughout the next two weeks, the Lakers will practice up to three times a day in preparation for their season-opening tournament on August 29th.

GVSU returns 12 letterwinners and four starters from a team that went 33-4 a year ago and advanced to the Elite Eight for the sixth time in the last eight seasons. The Lakers claimed their fourth straight GLIAC North Division title by posting a 17-1 record in league play.

Head coach Deanne Scanlon enters her 14th season at the helm of the Lakers, compiling a 354-98 record. Last year Scanlon received her fifth AVCA Great Lakes Region Coach of the Year award. Even though the Monday morning practice was the first of the new season, Scanlon and her staff were ready for the players to compete. "Our philosophy is for our girls to train hard," explained Scanlon. "We work a ton in 6-on-6 drills and we try to do it in game situations, so they're competing on the floor as much as possible."

Every drill of every practice has a purpose and Scanlon notes that every drill is just as meaningful as the last. "We give a winner and a loser in every drill and every run-through that we do," said Scanlon. "With rally scoring in effect now, every mistake means a point one way or another. This way, it keeps the competitiveness going. We want them competing every day and every practice."

The Lakers have to switch up their practice schedule with the way the calendar falls. Normally, the team has three weeks of practice before the school year gets underway. However, with school starting on August 25th, GVSU will have just two full weeks of practice before classes resume.

"Our number one goal, first and foremost, is to come out of preseason healthy," emphasized Scanlon. "That is our biggest thing. We work on team bonding as well. We have a lot of physical talent and we just try to develop that as the season goes along. At the end of preseason, we hope that everybody is healthy and we're headed in the right direction."

Grand Valley State returns four all-conference players, led by seniors Danielle Alexander, Jamie Ashmore, and Lauren Reber. Alexander, a 5-11 middle blocker, was a first-team All-GLIAC selection and named to the AVCA All-America third team. Controlling the offense is Ashmore, who will resume her duties as the team's setter. Ashmore was an All-GLIAC second team choice and named the GLIAC Tournament most valuable player. Reber, a 6-0 outside hitter, earned All-GLIAC honorable mention status.

Sophomore middle blocker Rebeccah Rapin will hold a more prominent role on the 2008 squad, as she was named both the GLIAC and Great Lakes Region Freshman of the Year. Rapin was the lone Laker honored on the Elite Eight All-Tournament Team.

GVSU opens the season with tournaments in Rolla, Mo. and Denver, Colo., where it will face some quality competition. In their first six matches, the Lakers will face three teams ranked in the top-25 of last year's final AVCA poll (Truman State, Pittsburg State, and Augustana). Grand Valley State was ranked seventh in the final poll.

Scanlon says her team and the entire program takes the anticipated success and the so-called "bulls-eye" in stride. "We take all of that with pride," noted Scanlon. "We worked hard to achieve that kind of status and we accept it. We know that it is hard to get to the top and it is even harder to stay there. Our players know that we can't become complacent. We get every team's best every time out on the floor. We expect that competition and that makes us better."