Nov. 20, 2005

Grand Valley State will travel to Nebraska-Kearney for the NCAA Division II Volleyball National Championships. The Lakers will play Dowling (New York) in the Elite Eight on Dec. 1 at 12:00 CT. The trips marks the fifth time in school history the Lakers have advanced to the Elite Eight.

Grand Valley State advanced to the Elite Eight after defeating Rockhurst, 3-0, to claim the Great Lakes Regional Championship Saturday night. GVSU also won the GLIAC Tournament Championship and the GLIAC North Division title this season. Grand Valley made the Elite Eight in 2000-03 and made the Final Four in 2001-03.

The Lakers are 29-6 overall, while the Golden Lions of Dowling are 33-8 overall. GVSU and Dowling have played one time before. The Lakers swept the Golden Lions, 3-0 (30-24, 33-31, 30-25) in a tournament in Allendale in 2001.

Seven out of the eight #1 seeds in each region advanced to the Elite Eight this season.

The schedule for the Elite Eight matches on Dec. 1 is as follows:
Grand Valley State vs. Dowling, 12:00 p.m.
Concordia-St. Paul vs. Tampa, 2:30 p.m.
Lock Haven vs. California State L.A., 5:00 p.m.
Nebraska-Kearney vs. Truman, 7:30 p.m.