D2 Finals Recap: GRC affirms its top spot in sweep of Lakewood

<p>The Lakewood volleyball team had put up an impressive resume during the 2020 season and had many believing that the Vikings were the team to beat in Division 2.</p> <p>Grand Rapids Christian may have felt a little disrespected.</p> <p>The two-time defending state champions reminded everyone who the standard was in D2 on Saturday when the Eagles defeated Lakewood 25-20, 25-20, 25-19 to claim a third consecutive state title.</p> <p>“We knew Lakewood wanted our head on a platter. They pretty much told us that many times. Our message today was just ‘love each other above all else.’ If we did that, we would be fine. No breaking apart. We are going to face some adverse moments, but we are going to love each other through it, and they did that today and I am extremely proud of them,” Grand Rapids Christian coach Tiffannie Gates said.</p> <p>The Eagles were able to use their offense as their best defense. Their mixing of hitters, combined with their defensive focus kept Lakewood from being able to consistently get aggressive swings at the net.</p> [caption id="attachment_126652" align="alignright" width="282"]<img class="size-medium wp-image-126652" src="https://prephoops-uploads.s3.amazonaws.com/pd/uploads/2021/01/Stephanie-Stewart-2-282x300.jpg" alt="" width="282" height="300" /> [player_tooltip player_id="50328" first="Stephanie" last="Stewart"][/caption] <p>Junior setter <strong>Alyssa DeVries </strong>kept Lakewood guessing while utilizing middle hitter <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50328" first="Stephanie" last="Stewart"] </strong>for some key stretches.</p> <p>“Christian was really good today. They were multi-dimensional. Their middles did more than I have ever seen their middles do,” Lakewood coach Cam Rowland said. “We came into the match expecting to not have to respect them and we were going to be able to go stand in front of Addie (VanderWeide) and Evie (Doezema) and defend them and be able to commit out there, but Alyssa did a really good job of getting the ball to their middles.”</p> <p>DeVries took over the starting setter roll for [player_tooltip player_id="14094" first="Jordyn" last="Gates"] this season and developed throughout the year. Saturday was her finest hour, as she put up 43 assists to lead GRC to the victory.</p> <p>“I think she had the best match of the season,” Gates said of her setter. “I am getting choked up just thinking about it. She had big shoes to fill and she came in and worked her butt off. We did extra practice with her every day of the regular season. She transformed into a completely different player from the first day until today. I am extremely proud of her.”</p> <p>Defensively, GRC focused on their block on middle <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="14185" first="Aubrey" last="O’Gorman"] </strong>when she was on the floor, then turned their attention to outside <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="24871" first="Maradith" last="O’Gorman"] </strong>when Aubrey was on the bench. Lakewood finished the match hitting just .117 as a team.</p> <p><strong>[player_tooltip player_id="14203" first="Addie" last="VanderWeide"] </strong>had 19 kills and 11 digs to lead the Eagles in the victory while <strong>Evie Doezema </strong>finished with 16 kills, and Stewart tallied nine. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="50307" first="Lauren" last="Peal"] </strong>led the defensive effort with 17 digs.</p> <p>[player_tooltip player_id="14185" first="Aubrey" last="O’Gorman"] had 17 kills and three blocks to lead Lakewood on the night, while [player_tooltip player_id="24871" first="Maradith" last="O’Gorman"] finished with eight kills and 15 digs. <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="66296" first="Skylar" last="Bump"] </strong>put up 23 assists and 14 digs while <strong>[player_tooltip player_id="110318" first="Carley" last="Piercefield"] </strong>had 14 digs.</p>