Drury University Athletics

HAMMOND, Ind. – No. 16 Grand Valley State utilized a strong defensive effort to outlast Drury volleyball in three tightly-contested sets (19-25, 24-26, 19-26), handing the Panthers their second defeat of the day at the Midwest Region Crossover Friday afternoon at Hammond Sportsplex.

GVSU (17-4) limited Drury to .123 hitting while the duo of Grace Busold and Paige Sanders combined for 22 kills and eight blocks to lead the Lakers to victory.

Drury (14-6), which saw its three-match win streak come to an end with a five-set loss to Hillsdale College earlier Friday, benefited from Skylar Hilton's team-leading eight kills and four blocks.
 

HOW IT HAPPENED

• GVSU grabbed control of an opening set that featured seven ties and three lead changes with a 5-1 run, building an 11-7 advantage.
• DU responded with a 7-2 spurt to seize the lead, but the Lakers turned the tide for good by claiming seven straight points for a 19-14 lead.
• The Panthers would get no closer than three points the rest of the way, as Brianna Stawski led all hitters with four kills, and Sanders tallied four blocks in the 25-19 GVSU win.
• Drury battled back from a pair of four-point deficits, outscoring the Lakers 10-5 down the stretch, taking a 24-23 lead on back-to-back kills from Hilton and Gwen Kubik to cap the run.
• But GVSU claimed three points in a row, taking advantage of a Sanders kill, a Lexi Armstrong ace and a DU error to seal the 26-24 decision.
• Sanders recorded five kills and hit .625 in the second stanza to lead GVSU 
• The Lakers once again used a big run to gain the lead in the third, this time with an 8-2 spurt to claim a 12-6 advantage.
• The Panthers clawed back to within 19-17, but would get no closer, as Busold helped close out the win with six kills in the set.

NOTABLES

• With the setback, Drury dropped to 1-2 all-time vs. Grand Valley State.
• Four Panthers -- Hilton, Kubik, Gracie Kimrey and Sydney Walker -- finished with seven or more kills; Walker's seven kills and .375 hitting percentage marked Drury career highs for the freshman, while Kubik's seven kills was just one shy of her career best.
• Jacy Bray tallied 32 assists to go along with nine digs.
• Amelia White also added a team-leading 10 digs.

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