GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. – The Panthers opened their busy week off on a great note by defeating rival Grand Valley State 3-1 in the DU Student Center. Davenport dominated the match, winning all the important long rally's throughout. The Panthers hit .281 as a team over the four sets, including a blistering .394 in the second set. The fans showed up in numbers for the game, with a solid 554 spectators watching the match. Davenport improves to 3-1 all-time against the Lakers.
 
GAME INFORMATION
Final Score: Davenport 3, Grand Valley State 1
Location: Grand Rapids, Mich.
Records: Davenport 6-6 (1-2), Grand Valley State 7-4 (0-3)


 
HOW IT HAPPENED
-SET SCORES: 25-17, 21-25, 25-19, 25-21
-The Panthers set the tone early in the match and that all started in the opening set. Davenport took a 11-5 lead following an attack error by the Lakers, which capped off a five-point run for DU. The lead grew to seven for the Panthers after another attack error by Grand Valley. Davenport scored three straight to make the score 24-16 by a service ace from Ashley VanderHorst. The set-winning point belonged to freshman Megan Herr, her kill was assisted by Kasey Stehouwer.
-Grand Valley bounced back in the second set, holding a four-point lead for a majority of the set. The Panthers nearly spoiled the set for the Lakers late. With the score 21-17, in the Lakers favor, Davenport scored three straight to cut the lead to one point. After a timeout by Grand Valley they scored four of the final five points to even the set count 1-1.
-The Lakers scored the opening three points of the third set, but the Panthers quickly erased that lead and built a 7-4 lead of their own after scoring five unanswered points. Davenport was absolutely clutch down the stretch of this set. The Panthers trailed 17-18 and then rallied off four straight to take a 21-18 lead. During the stretch Jen Kay Vander Meer had one kill, Jessica Marvin added a kill and VanderHorst had a service ace. Grand Valley was able to squeak one more point in during the set before Davenport rallied off another four points to take the third set and a 2-1 lead. The set-winning point belonged to freshman Nina Rudnitsky on a service ace that hit the net and just made it over for the point.
-Grand Valley again got off to the better start in the fourth set, but Davenport scored the points down the stretch when it mattered the most. The Panthers scored six unanswered points to go from four points down to a two-point lead after a kill by VanderHorst. The most important run of the set was when the score was 19-18 in the Panthers favor and DU scored four straight to deflate the Lakers. The match-winning point belonged to VanderHorst, who was assisted by Sydney Tracer after a decently long rally.

STAT LEADERS
Kills-Vander Meer (15)
Aces-VanderHorst (2)
Blocks-Marvin (4)
Assists-Tracer (27)
Digs-Vander Meer (21)
 
DOUBLE-DOUBLE
Vander Meer: 15 kills and 21 digs
Sami White: 19 assists and 10 digs


 
UP NEXT
The Panthers remain at home this Friday and Saturday. Davenport hosts Parkside on Friday, September 14^th for a 7:00 p.m. first serve in the DU Student Center.
 
Story by: Devin Steiner
 
Picture credit: Alexis Hoffman