DETROIT -- The next stage of the 2026 season is here for the Wayne State University volleyball team is here and it comes in the form of the GLIAC Tournament. Drawing the seven seed, the Warriors will travel to second-seeded and 20th-ranked Grand Valley State on Wednesday for the quarterfinals with the opening serve scheduled for 6 p.m. inside the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.
COACH'S CORNER
"Postseason tournament time is always an exciting, fun time of year," said head coach
Tim Koth. "GVSU is an excellent team and has had a very successful season. We have had some ups and downs, but are playing well - having the second-best overall record of anyone in the second half of the season. At this point though, we are all 0-0 and playing to advance to the next round. That's why it is fun, and should be exciting volleyball on Wednesday."
KOTH'S GLIAC TOURNAMENT HISTORY (6-7, .462%)
2016: L, 2-3 at Ashland
2017: W, 3-2 at Grand Valley State; L, 1-3 at Ferris State
2018: L, 0-3 at Saginaw Valley State
2019: W, 3-1 at Saginaw Valley State; L, 0-3 at Ferris State
2021: W, 3-0 vs. Saginaw Valley State*; L, 1-3 vs. Ferris State (in Houghton)
2022: L, 0-3 vs. Michigan Tech*
2024: L, 1-3 vs. Michigan Tech*
2025: W, 3-0 vs. Michigan Tech*; W, 3-1 vs. Parkside (in Big Rapids); W, 3-1 at Ferris State -
TOURNAMENT CHAMPIONS
* Home Match
QUARTERFINAL PAIRINGS
1 - Ferris State (27-0, 16-0 GLIAC)
8 - Parkside (15-12, 7-9 GLIAC)
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2 - Grand Valley State (22-6, 14-2 GLIAC)
7 - Wayne State (15-12, 8-8 GLIAC)
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3 - Northern Michigan (13-14, 9-7 GLIAC)
6 - Saginaw Valley State (17-11, 9-7 GLIAC)
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4 - Davenport (17-9, 9-7 GLIAC)
5 - Michigan Tech (14-13, 9-7 GLIAC)
WARRIOR STRONG
Starting on offense, Wayne State has spread the love when it comes to the hitting attack. The five players at the top of the kill department are senior outside hitter
Katie Smith (339 kills), junior opposite
Kyleigh Weck (230), sophomore outside hitter
Lauren Essenpreis (199), sophomore middle hitter
Katerina Stout (194), and junior outside hitter
Saige Martin (173). Weck and Stout rank eighth and ninth in the league, respectively, for hitting percentage at .321 and .320. Senior setter
Kayla Dulgar continues to lead the Green and Gold in assists with 908 despite missing the rest of her season due to injury. Next women up, freshman
Abby Parrish and sophomore
Abby Baushke, have 116 assists and 104 assists, respectively. Smith has paced the service ace department with 34, but is one of six with at least 10. The other five are freshman
Doga Muhtaroglu with 33, rookie libero
Giselle Burlingame with 26, Dulgar with 21, Essenpreis with 20, and freshman defensive specialist
Bryn Mullins with 10. Defensively for the Warriors, Burlingame (390 digs) and Stout (89 total blocks) are the squad's frontrunners.
SCOUTING GRAND VALLEY STATE
Not only is Grand Valley State one of the best offensive teams in the GLIAC, but in the country as well. Nationally, the Lakers rank 16th in hitting percentage (.277), 26th in total kills (1,422), 31st in kills per set (13.67), 34th in total assists (1,304), and 37th in assists per set (12.54). With that being said, GVSU is also 43rd in total blocks (216), 50th in opponent hitting percentage (.153) and 51st in blocks per set (2.08).
Grand Valley State is coached by sixth-year leader, Jason Johnson. In those five-plus seasons, Johnson has accumulated records of 132-47 overall (.737 winning percentage), 76-22 in league play (.776) and 7-5 in the conference tournament (.583) with three appearances in the event's finals.
Individually, starting on offense, five Lakers have 200-plus kills -- Finley Arp (255), Paige Sanders (254), Kennedy Arp (231), Grace Busold (225), and Brianna Stawski (213). Gabby Orlet has run point for the attack with 1,040 assists while F. Arp (42 aces) and Orlet (36 aces) have been the most potent behind the service line. Defensively, Lexi Armstrong (513 digs), K. Arp (85 total blocks) and Sanders (82 total blocks) have been the most effective.
LAST TIME OUT - VS. GRAND VALLEY STATE - SEPT. 12 (L, 0-3)
- Wayne State finished the match with an .095 hitting percentage -- 32 kills and 22 errors on 105 total attacks.
- Grand Valley State came to play with a .356 efficiency -- 41 kills and nine errors on 90 attempts.
- The Lakers were at their best in the deciding set at .545 (18-0-33).
- The Warriors opened with a .167 (12-6-36) in the first period.
- Starting on offense, WSU's kill leaders were
Kyleigh Weck and
Katie Smith, each with nine.
- Weck hit .350 on 20 swings (two errors) while Smith finished at .138 on 29 attacks (five errors).
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Kayla Dulgar dished out 26 assists while her (one service ace) and Smith (three aces) were the best behind the service line.
- Defensively,
Giselle Burlingame (14 digs),
Nicole Dupre (three block assists) and Weck (two block assists) were at the forefront.
LAST TIME OUT - AT GRAND VALLEY STATE - OCT. 2 (L, 0-3)
- Wayne State finished the match with an .053 hitting percentage -- 32 kills and 26 errors on 113 total attacks.
- Grand Valley State countered with a .250 efficiency -- 35 kills and 12 errors on 92 attempts.
- The Lakers were at their best in the deciding set at .296 (10-2-27).
- The Warriors hit a match-high .077 in the second period (11-8-39).
- Starting on offense, WSU's kill leaders were
Katie Smith (10) and
Saige Martin (8).
- Smith hit .185 on 27 swings (five errors) while Martin finished at .250 on 16 attacks (four errors).
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Kayla Dulgar dished out 21 assists while Smith (three aces) was squad's the best behind the service line.
- Defensively,
Giselle Burlingame (11 digs),
Katerina Stout (three block assists) and
Lauren Essenpreis (three block assists) were at the forefront.
UP NEXT
If Wayne State wins, it will face either Northern Michigan (2-0 this season) or Saginaw Valley State (0-1) in the semifinals on Saturday. If the Warriors lose, their season will be over.
