Oct. 13, 2009

Allendale, Mich. - Grand Valley State will head to the second annual GLIAC-GLVC Crossover Tournament this weekend (Oct. 16-17) in Lansing, Mich., where the Lakers will face three of the top teams from the Great Lakes Valley Conference. Last year, GVSU went 3-0 at the Crossover Tournament, which is believed to be the biggest volleyball tournament in the country.

On Friday (Oct. 16), Grand Valley State will play a pair of matches. The Lakers will open up with Rockhurst at 11:00 a.m. and not play again until Friday night when they will square off with Lewis at 6:30 p.m. GVSU will close the weekend with a 12:30 p.m. match against Missouri-St. Louis on Saturday afternoon.

The Lakers are the #2 seed from the GLIAC, as based on conference record through last weekend's matches. GVSU, 12-7 overall, is in a four-way tie for first place in the North Division with an 8-3 league record, but owned the tiebreaker due to victories over the other three teams (Ferris State, Saginaw Valley State, Northern Michigan). Last season, with the tournament held in Indianapolis, Ind., the Lakers defeated Indianapolis and Northern Kentucky in four sets on Friday (Oct. 17) and swept Bellarmine, 3-0, on Saturday (Oct. 18).

To start the tournament, GVSU is matched up with Rockhurst, the #5 seed from the GLVC. The Hawks are 12-10 overall with a 5-3 conference record. Rockhurst dropped its last match to Missouri-St. Louis after winning its previous three matches and seven of its last nine contests. RU is third in the GLVC in hitting percentage (.237), fourth in service aces (1.59) and digs (15.01) and sixth in opponents' hitting percentage (.175). The two teams have met just one other time in program history. On Nov. 19, 2005, the Lakers defeated Rockhurst in Fieldhouse Arena, 3-0, in the Great Lakes Regional Championship match. Just a few weeks later, GVSU won the program's first-ever Division II National Championship.

One of the marquee matches of the weekend will occur when the Lakers meet up with Lewis on Friday night. The Flyers are ranked 13th in the country and own the GLVC's #1 seed. LU is 18-3 overall with a perfect 8-0 conference record and have won 15 straight contests. The only three losses for Lewis came in a one-week span at the end of August and beginning of September and all three teams are ranked in the Top-25 of this week's AVCA Poll (#4 Central Missouri State, #6 West Texas A&M, #24 West Florida). In terms of conference rankings, the Flyers are first in kills (14.08) and digs (16.72) and second in hitting percentage (.240) and opponents' hitting percentage (.151). The two teams last met on Nov. 17, 2007 when GVSU defeated Lewis, 3-2, to win the Great Lakes Regional Championship and advance to the NCAA Elite Eight. Grand Valley State leads the all-time series over the Flyers, 22-11.

Finishing off the weekend for the Lakers will be a Saturday meeting with Missouri-St. Louis, the #3 seed from the GLVC. UMSL is 15-7 overall with a 6-2 conference tally and have won three straight contests. The Tritons rank third in the league in kills (13.28), blocks (2.11), and digs (15.54), while placing fourth in opponents' hitting percentage (.168), and fifth in hitting percentage (.229). GVSU owns a 4-2 record all-time against Missouri-St. Louis, although the teams have not met since Sept. 2, 2000 when the Lakers defeated UMSL, 3-0.

Grand Valley State will then return to conference play with an Oct. 23 showdown with West Michigan rival, Ferris State, in a 7:00 p.m. match in Fieldhouse Arena.

Click here for the GLIAC-GLVC Crossover Volleyball Tournament webpage.