DETROIT -- With the season-opening tournaments in the rear view mirror, the Wayne State University volleyball team (4-4 overall) now turns its attention the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play.  The Warriors will host Saginaw Valley State on Friday at 7 p.m. before welcoming in 19th-ranked Grand Valley State on Saturday at 4 p.m.

Coach's Corner
"This week is a great way to kick off the GLIAC season with two conference rivals at home," said 13th-year head coach Tim Koth.  "Both teams are off to very good starts to their season, so it should be an entertaining weekend in the Matthaei."

Warrior Way
Starting on offense, junior Saige Martin (Westphalia, Mich. / Pewamo-Westphalia) has spearheaded the WSU attack so far with 123 kills (.216 hitting percentage), 32 more than the next-closest Warrior in senior Katie Smith (Macomb, Mich. / Utica Eisenhower).  Among the best the country has to offer, Martin ranks 12th in total kills, 30th in total attacks (301), 30th in points per set (4.39), and 31st in kills per set (3.84).  Also of note in the kill department have been Smith with 91 (.265) and sophomore Katerina Stout (Macomb, Mich. / Dakota) with 82 (.352).  As always, running point has been senior setter Kayla Dulgar (Warsaw, Ohio / River View), who ranks fifth in Division II for total assists (342) and nine in assists per set (10.69).  Behind the service line, Dulgar has asserted herself there as well with a team-best 10 aces, two more than rookie Doga Muhtaroglu (Izmir, Turkey / Okyanus Koleji).

Switching over to the defensive side of the ball, as expected, freshman Giselle Burlingame (Northville, Mich.) has been the most active with a squad-leading 95 digs and nearly three per set.  Also in that conversation have been sophomore Lauren Essenpreis (Amherstburg, Ont. / North Star S.S.) with 74, Dulgar with 70 and Martin with 68.  Above the net, Stout has been the most valuable Green and Gold performer and by a wide margin thanks to her 34 total blocks (five solo).  That number is good for 23rd in the nation while her 1.1 blocks per set are slotted in 37th.  Others with double-digit total stuffs so far include Martin with 19, Smith with 14, junior Nicole Dupre (Lake Mary, Fla. / Seminole) with 14, and Dulgar with 13.

Team wise, Wayne State is among the top 35 in the country for assists (11th - 407), kills (14th - 436), assists per set (27th - 12.72), blocks (29th - 63.5), and kills per set (35th - 13.63).

Scouting Saginaw Valley State
Saginaw Valley State, coached by third-year leader Lana Rybkowski (20-43 overall, .317 winning percentage), comes into this week at 6-2 overall after having won four straight matches.  The Cardinals began the season 2-0 with a pair of sweeps at the UIndy Invitational before going 0-2 the following Saturday.  Then this past week, SVSU ran the table to move four games above the .500 mark entering league play.

Individually, Saginaw Valley State's junior setter Taylor Smith was named GLIAC Setter of the Week following the 4-0 stretch.  Smith ran the offense with 148 assists on 399 total attempts with an assist percentage of .371. She also tallied 13 kills with a hitting percentage of .306 to go with 24 digs and 11 blocks.  So far, her distribution has been pretty even including five attackers with over 40 kills apiece.  That quintet includes redshirt junior Rachel Townsend (79 kills, .245 hitting percentage), junior Chloe Vanwinkle (52, .215), sophomore Marissa Roe (52, .294), senior Ruby Earl (47, .061), and junior Ava Decker (46, .292).  Behind the service line, Smith and Townsend have set the tone with 12 aces and 11 aces, respectively.

Senior Kendall White has spearheaded the defensive effort with a team-high 118 digs, or 4.37 per set, both of which rank fourth in the league.  Above the net, Roe has been the catalyst with 34 total blocks and 1.21 blocks per set, numbers that are good for 25th and 22nd in the country, respectively. 

Scouting Grand Valley State
Like Saginaw Valley State, Grand Valley State has also been victorious in six of its first eight matches of the season.  The Lakers started 3-1 at Bentley's tournament, the same mark they achieved the following week at Davenport's Hampton Inn and Suites Grand Rapids Downtown Classic.  Those six wins have given sixth-year head coach Jason Johnson 116 for his career alongside 43 losses for a .730 overall winning percentage.

Just like the Cardinals, and the Warriors for that matter, the Lakers have a stud running the show offensively in sophomore setter Gabby Orlet.  Orlet is among the top 25 nationally, 24th actually, for both total assists (297) and assists per set (9.90).  Kill wise, 337 of GVSU's 429 total kills are spread out amongst five players in freshman Finley Arp (77, .234), junior Grace Busold (66, .198), senior Paige Sanders (65, .430), senior Kennedy Arp (65, .349), and redshirt senior Brianna Stawski (64, .294).  Finley is the squad's only performer with double-digit service aces with 10 to her name thus far.

Defensively, sophomore Lexi Armstrong (135 digs), Kennedy (19 total blocks) and Sanders (19 total blocks) have been at the forefront of Grand Valley State's success. 

Up Next
Wayne State will be at top-ranked Ferris State on Tuesday for a 6 p.m. first serve before going to Lake Superior State the following Saturday for a 4 p.m. start time.