>> Welcome back to an all new episode of the Grand Valley State sports report on WGVU.

I'm your host Jake lead the Lakers soccer hit the road and dominated against Park site in Kenosha, securing their 16th consecutive glee act fall regular season title GSU football at another Mark into the win column as they defeated Michigan Tech during the homecoming celebrations this weekend.

GSU volleyball split their games this week going one on one against some tough competition in Allendale our feature this week highlights the Laker football team and what their student athletes are accomplishing off the field.

Rocket in Laker nation is the Grand Valley.

State sports report starts right now.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] The number one Grand Valley State Lakers won their 6th straight game and earned a 3rd consecutive shutout with the 6 road win over the Parkside Rangers Friday afternoon.

The Lakers improved to 15.

'01, 1, to clinch their 16th consecutive fall.

Ugly act regular season championship.

It's now to talk about the team's head coach Jim common coach.

We talked about all year.

This was step one, a conference championship mission accomplished.

Congratulations.

Was that mean to you and your team.

>> Thank you.

I mean, is excited obviously intend to win championships.

And in this program has a longstanding history and tradition of of winning.

And so excited for the players, especially the seniors who chose to come back here and make sure that the program continues to move forward in the way it has been built so great step, but we're looking to make sure we continue to improve and take more steps forward.

>> He kept finding ways to win throughout the middle portion of the season.

We talked about that stretch 7 goals in 4 games that you turn around.

Now 3 consecutive shutout.

What's been the key to the defense of resurgent chair of the last couple of weeks.

>> Yeah.

I think the players have done a good job of kind of focusing in making sure that we understand what our roles are from the forward line all the way to the back line and making sure our team defense is shored up all 11 of us on the same page.

So excited to continue playing a quality brand of soccer offense to the indefensible.

>> Kendall Roberts is taking over in goal the last few games.

What are you seeing?

The growth of your freshman in that.

>> Yeah.

Cano's perform well for us lately who's coming into our own going into her own.

We have the great privilege of having many great goalkeepers on the roster right now.

Kind of just get it done for us.

>> Let's talk about this game at Parkside one, nothing at halftime going to Los does it again.

That's 9 straight games now coach that you're super cells found a way to score.

>> Yeah.

I think everything comes down to each of our women understanding what their role is and their part with in the team.

But that is find yourself in good places and her teammates are getting the ball in the right moments and just put them on the back of the neck.

I think we have multiple goal scores again this past Friday.

And I think that's a tribute to the team.

That is how the balls get moved around and people put them on the back of the net when the opportunity arises.

>> Yeah.

5 different Lakers scored in that 6 nothing when a player.

This really bounced back as of late Kennedy beard and get up to touch a hot start goalscoring kind of went away.

Little bit.

The middle of the season.

Now here towards the end right in time for postseason seem like one of the other big offensive threat is coming back around.

>> Yeah.

I think, you know, Kennedy's going to be a great asset for us.

We would ask Kennedy do a lot of different things, some of which were not exactly in front of the net in that middle part of the season.

We also know that there's a lot of people know Kennedy is in.

So we're just trying to make sure that we continue to put all of our players in the right spot and think you look at to Kennedy and Katie have come on recently and put them on the back of the net and finding their way within what we're asking of them.

>> This was the second time playing parks.

I was kind of a similar situation in that 1st half of that was the game back in September had ton of offensive chances just couldn't quite find that connecting past to turn around like he did in the 2nd half rattle off 5 goals really find some good connections between your players.

Was that say about the growth maybe or the adjustment your teammate offensively.

>> Yeah.

I think they will start moving a little bit more off the ball started getting the ball flying around the field Parkside very organized team.

And we just we're trying to use our movements to get ourselves and better positions.

And I think the ball just kind of ended up where we needed to in front of the net and like that.

We've got off several goals in the 2nd half, which was which was nice.

But it all comes down to the moving discipline and dedication about women.

>> A player that doesn't maybe show up on the stat sheet has been watching the live stream to me.

Coach really stood out sets 9 washers cute and defending Parkside counterattacks now looking into setting up your offense really transition to what you want.

>> Yes, as a doing a great job for us.

You mentioned earlier we're trying to be efficient, offensively and defensively.

She's a big part of that transitional moment.

We're transitioning from offense.

Defense, defense to offense and that helps to set the tone for that team chemistry in both those facet offensive and defensive.

This S has been very good for us.

>> She's good matter where you put it on the field, but he's a three-time All American at center back has put a lot that role.

But also lot.

You're holding midfield position as well this year.

What has she done differently.

Maybe what have you seen her growth as that holding mid kind of that key piece to the start of the defense in the transition.

>> Yeah.

I think again, going back to the point of the women are responding.

What we're asking of them.

And incest is a tremendous center back.

But we've got to do maybe play a little bit different role that helps us facilitate.

What we're trying to do and I think her soccer eyecue and leadership really does help everyone else around or the back line behind or the her fellow midfielders and the players up top understand where we need to be positionally.

So.

>> Cessa doing a great job for us speaking oppositional.

You know, you'll be the one seen the glee actor.

Matt, you clinch ugly act regular season championship but still 2 pretty big games to come this week before we hit postseason host northwood on Friday night and go to fare state on Sunday.

Tell us what we can expect this weekend.

What is the message knowing that there's still stuff to play for regionally nationally seating wise.

You know, the glee X already locked up.

>> Yeah.

I don't think that the message changes.

I think the message is we're going to get better one game at a time.

We don't look at the scoreboard.

A look at the rankings were going to try and make sure that we are better on Friday than we were last Friday.

We're going to continue time be better on Sunday than we are Friday and continue to look within ourselves to maximize our potential.

>> That's awesome.

To hear the new turn around the following week post season is here.

Coach to what we're getting ready.

Fort Worth's ay proposes in soccer back in Allendale once again will be great to have you back there and congratulations on ugly act championships, 16th fall in a row.

It's pretty incredible.

Great job.

Thank you.

We'll be right back with more of the Grand Valley.

State sports report right after this.

On wdvm [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] the number 7 Grand Valley State claimed a 14 to 9 glee at homecoming victory over Michigan Tech and lab or stadium.

Saturday.

GSU improved to 71 overall and 4 in one ugly AK action.

The victim was also the Lakers 3 100th all-time ugly act play now to talk about the team's head coach Matt Mitchell and coach.

Let's start there.

Milestone number 300 conference wins in just 50 seasons.

>> He put that in perspective for us.

Yeah, it's crazy.

Just obviously speaks to the history traditions football program.

You know, I saw the Granite State football Lakers put out of the top 100 players of all time.

So it's kind of checking that out Saturday morning before the game and matches really awesome to see so many great players in the take a look at some of the former head coaches that we've had here at Grand Valley.

And and it's just been we really haven't had any dips or downs throughout the course of 50 years been pretty consistent performance and to reach that milestone.

You know, I'm really proud to be the head coach here.

Part of that of those winds, 2 guys that could find themselves in that top 100 County Marshall, the lake County who was inducted into the Hall of Fame on Friday and then Tyler Bradfield with the Clery act scholar of the athlete of the year for Grand Valley State this week as well.

But that mean honor those 2 at the Hall of Fame that it was great to be there.

You know, obviously a Tyler is there to support him.

Just a real like 3.9 a GPA and he's doing really, really well, which was kind of playing this fall, but he's doing some great things professionally.

So to be here with him.

His family was a kind of cool to reconnect with him and then an emotional moment.

Counties, family gone, you know, too soon.

But you watch his highlights.

The only 3 time All American and grant about football history.

3 time glee act.

If it's one of the year you kind of saw some of the highlights on the screen.

It was just brought best memories.

I was.

Here's senior year to see how dominant he was in the school attack and then they go to see these 2 children and his mom kind of their daughter.

But I thought I thought department Kerry backer did a great job with the tribute to him.

>> Big key almost doesn't cover when you see some of those highlights how great he was talk about the game on the field this weekend.

I think Peterson summed it up best after the game.

It wasn't pretty.

But you got the job done.

>> Yeah.

You know, start on the defensive side, the ball, give them an adjustable amount of credit.

That was our best game defensively.

We played with with a high level of energy effort, a very physical and it was our best game of execution of our defensive game plan.

I think we had a really good defensive game plan that we execute a really high level really hard in college football to hold somebody out of the end zone.

We take our first line of a defensive starters.

We played Michigan Tech twice due to the fact that we always played twice in the regular season with the glee X scheduling.

It will give up 2 touchdowns with our starters it in total 2 games, I think says a lot and I give Michigan Tech a lot of credit.

I think our first game up there.

That's program has a lot of feel pride and tradition to and the score in the way without their home field.

They came in with a lot of energy and really try to change things up for us on both sides.

The ball.

But our defense was on point all the time in to point out some specific players.

I thought savior.

Washington is finally getting healthy.

Played his best game.

A defensive end, you know, TJ Crosby and apes wants and continue to be consistent performers week in week out, definitely conference players.

And then we really had some phenomenal play out to freshman safeties million Kelly gets the 2 turnovers which really big in a football game and then to Montana created a great job of coverage and tackling in the back end.

And so, you know, to freshen safeties that we've seen a lot of growth throughout so great job by our defense offensive Lee.

You know, I think probably think most disappoint on is, you know, some of our 3rd and 4th down conversions.

The opening drive, you know, Jake, after of a suspect spot on a second completion of Jake Miller.

You know, we couldn't convert the 3rd to 4th down.

I think that would have been really key to get off to that start like we have to get off that start getting up 7 nothing.

And in the 2nd half, we just did a very good job converted 3rd, 33rd and 4th downs got, you know, too many 3 and outs.

You know, some take a look at it again.

Some of that is Michigan Tech and some things they did up front that was was I thought the kids but really hard.

Some that's on us to some things that we have to do better to try to convert some of those 34 counts.

You knew they were going to stress your secondary just off the things that happened the last few weeks to see them step up the way they did.

They had to be huge for this team going.

It was huge.

You know, and I think they threw everything at us.

As you mentioned, you know, we had a reverse, we had a reverse pass.

We had a couple double moves.

You know, have a lot of things are kind of coming at us.

And you know, the whole back and I thought play with a tremendous amount of I control and discipline which is really big factor in that.

And we talked about in some of the show's leading up to the contest.

The coach's show that you and I do stopping the run was going to be part of Michigan tack.

We never give up around over 12 yards the entire day.

So 0 explosive runs and I thought we did a good job stayed persistent will arc and just like the first time around.

We've got some hits on him.

Create a fumble had some sacks, you know, get some different things to try to keep him off balance as a 5th year senior quarterback while the things only 2 weeks left in the regular season already to go on the road this week to Wayne state.

That's a game that ended your season back in 2019.

Tell us a look at SPECT over Detroit this week.

I think Wayne state is better than the record identifies.

If you go back and take a look at their scores.

I mean, they've they've had so many games have been a one-score game and play people.

Incredibly tight, you know, to the teams we played pretty tied here last 2 games.

Northern Michigan, Michigan, Tech.

They they people close ball games with them that a freshman tailback last week that broke the school record of 327 yards rushing.

I'm so well, obviously that lot of confidence, the rushing attack heading into game.

I think that's going to be really key component is is bottled up there.

Their freshman has played really well right now.

And as you mentioned, like, you know, things are still in play.

The regional rankings come out.

Us don't dissipate will probably be in that 3 spot with the opportunity, maybe host a home playoff game.

If if if we are able to be successful his last 2 games.

And so really after the first defeat become have to monitor your skin.

Sure want to know this every week we're going to go for to finish the season for gets to be one of 28 on has invested in pretty last 2 weeks.

But we wanted our team is stuck together and we're 2 and on our quest to go for now.

Is this opportunity over Detroit to try to kill go 3.

Know this for a stretch to finish the season, try to find ourselves.

One of 2863 division to 3 division.

2 football schools to play football.

Try to be one of 28 when the elections come out.

>> Football isn't always pretty.

So it's great to see you guys able to grind out and get wins in different ways and things that you aren't going as well as they were offensively early on to congratulate another great homecoming.

When coach best of luck this week.

We'll talk to real soon.

Okay.

Thanks.

Don't go.

The Grand Valley State sport continues right after this.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> Grand Valley state split a dual meet with northern Michigan.

Friday October 29th at the GSU pool.

The Laker men claim to one 65 1.35 victory for the Wildcats.

Women claim to one 71 1.29 victory over the Lakers.

Here's some sights and sounds from the pool in Allendale.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] It is his swimming and diving.

We back in action on Friday.

November 5th as we take on Oakland University in Rochester Hills, Michigan.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] >> The Lakers volleyball team split their weekend in Allendale dropping a match against their state on Friday before winning 3 to one against Davenport on Saturday afternoon and is now to talk about the team's head coach Jason Johnson coach was a very busy weekend.

Your final home weekend of the regular season had all the alumni back Hall of Fame weekend.

How was it to have everybody back in on campus for this weekend.

>> It's a tiring and emotional.

It was great to see everybody.

You know, we had our OS senior banquet on Sunday as well.

So we had to kind of cap off the weekend talking about our seniors and talking about the crews they had, but it put it in context when John was on the floor Saturday with coach Scanlon with myself and with really almost 3 decades worth of players out there, too.

And knowing that you are around for a good portion of that was really like I said, an emotional tiring fun.

You know, exciting time.

>> Not to make it even more emotional for you.

If you could speak to the senior class.

What they meant.

Obviously you are with them as an associate head coach for 3 years.

And you know, coach them and their final year as their head coach.

What is this class mean to you in this probe.

>> Just the head.

>> I've tried to put into context we have made the NCAA tournament since 2015.

And so it's been 6 years and it's something for a program that we take pride in being one of the top programs in the region every year that we had to build this back up again.

And I think it started with this class that came in suffered through some difficult times, some usefulness, >> a pandemic and now being able to realize that you're this close.

And if we can finish off the next couple weeks and then get into the tournament when a couple games there.

I think that will help us improve our stock to be able to get into the tournament.

So the leadership, the commitment to what we're doing by and to a vision was really impressed with this group.

>> Let's talk about the games this past weekend.

Start with the one against Paris ton of energy in the gym on Friday and you could feel it and came out such a hot start to that person to tell us about what we saw from that match.

>> That really excited the way we started.

You know, again, I think the difference between the 2 teams right now for us to think about a 13 match win streak.

They're very comfortable with what they do and they make you play additional points.

They make you play multiple balls over the net.

And the one thing we keep preaching to our kids is value the ball.

You know, we can't make errors at the level at which we do.

We talk about the hitting errors, but it could be blocking serving ball-handling whatever those areas that creep in the higher the number, the more you're giving away points without the other team earning it and I felt like in all 3 sets this weekend.

He started off great.

We got into about the middle of the side and those air just started creeping in where we couldn't contain and stay under control and our side of the net.

>> Lisa Sullivan pushed back into that bigger role this weekend as well as the much was very efficient on the outside for you.

>> Yeah.

You know, we made a couple adjustments offensively trying to free some people up a little bit about your role as job offensively getting getting to kills.

We needed a coming up, big under pressure when we needed her.

Unfortunately, I said as a whole we just weren't able to do enough.

>> We talk about the senior leadership alley Thompson at the end of that 3rd set against Paris.

Unfortunately, it doesn't wind up going your way.

But she really did put the team on her back there for a stretch to get you guys back even actually take a lead late in that 3rd set her leadership even though you got one of losing the set like that was picked your team going.

>> Yeah.

I think again, we talk about seniors and what it means to them to finish things off.

And I thought you saw the urgency late not set, but we didn't want to drop in 3 women want dropped match at all.

But you could see her finding ways to generate points for some porch.

Light is probably a little too late.

We need to be able to have a little bit of that earlier on in the match and not just from alley but from our whole team in general.

>> So you fall in that when you turn around the very next day.

Take on Davenport.

Another crosstown showdown.

Another team that is in this area in the U.S. compete for the cruise is a big game for you guys as well to bounce.

Back to what you did.

How important was that incredibly port.

And again, I.

>> It was very pleased with not only the wind but the way in which we we handle that.

I thought our energy level was great about the execution level in the first 2 sets was fantastic.

I think the end of the scores don't look quite as impressive as what the first 2 sets work.

We had quite a drop-off in set 3.

You know, again, we talked about everything going on in the in the arena that day honoring the 2000 team honoring coach kalen is retirement how emotional it was.

And I thought of kids lost a little bit of their focus and what they were doing.

You know, as we talked during be set between sets.

Lean forward.

Just had the flash and move on and get back to work inside for which I thought we did.

>> I would say the biggest turnaround probably statistically was middle blockers can Friday to Saturday is that fear?

Is that a fair assessment of what you saw on the floor.

It is.

>> We made a move made that adjustment going from Friday to Saturday.

We had jail.

Wesley come in and perform on Saturday.

We felt that, you know, blocking has been an issue for us all season just have not been as strong as I think we need to be here.

Want to be.

So we made some adjustments there.

We brought jail and to play the middle position.

And I thought she had a fantastic night.

>> She certainly did snow.

You turn your attention to the road you come in, you come through this now 8, 4, in glee actor playing as they go to park site and put in northwest the final 2 games of the regular season.

Not going to look past anybody but it seems like you put yourself by splitting this weekend, at least put some pretty solid position to a top 4 spot in the cleanup, which was the goal going into absolute.

>> You know, you want to be minimally in the top 4 spot to be able to host the first round matchup and then see what happens and then we're going to go after that.

But like you said, we have 2 more matches.

We have to finish.

We have to go to produce this weekend and then we're able to come back and we go over the Parkside to an ugly act regular season and Parkside is always played great a home, you know.

And they're they're a team that matches up well with us.

We're going to have to play at a high level to be able to get that win.

But I think if we can finish those 2 matches out.

>> We should guarantee yourselves of a top-four spot.

And then from there we'll see what the tournament looks like as we look forward into the NC double A's.

You've talked a lot about being on the road made it hard to teach early on.

So now having this home week.

Now to just single match weeks with a quick travel across the lake basically all that gives us an opportunity really teach a little bit more here.

Heading into postseason, right.

Yeah.

We have a lot more time just to.

>> Know that we can prepare for something, you know, and knowing we only have one match on a weekend to we're not having to worry as much about the fatigue through practice.

So our kids are healthy on Friday and Saturday.

We can worry about just one match.

So I think from that standpoint I've been looking forward to these 2 weeks to be able to get back in the gym.

Hope that, you know, kind of redefine what it is we need to get better at.

Take a look at some of our struggles that we've had obviously this past Friday.

And so the things we struggle with their.

>> And what we're going to need to play against the top 3 teams in the region are in the conference.

Once we get to the conference tournament as well.

2 weeks away crunch time is here.

Coach best of luck the next couple of weeks.

Thanks as always for your time.

Thank check.

Appreciate it.

Don't touch that remote.

We'll be right back with more from the Grand Valley.

State sports report right after this.

[MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] [MUSIC] The GSU football team is having a successful season on the field.

But off the field student athletes are making strides academically GSU Tom Cleary has the story.

>> With the reduction in the number of teams currently with membership in the Great Lakes conference this football season features 2 games with one league opponent ever Grand Valley.

That team is Michigan Tech.

While the Lakers won an earlier contest in the hope that Mitchell spent this past week before the second game alerting his team to the challenge of facing the school in squad of players who was athletic and academic achievements.

He admired greatly.

>> To take a look at our graduation rates.

Academic success.

Rates were top schools likely act for that much better than, you know, most every floor Peninsula school in regards to the things we've done.

So, you know, Grande Valley is a challenging economic environment.

We've got make sure recruit the right type of a student athletes that can manage both the expectations from a football standpoint and academically.

That's probably very similar to Michigan to act.

>> On the football field this year.

Lakers Dean and Wesley is a linebacker who lives for tackles in quarterback sacks.

It's off the field.

He's the president of sacked, the student athlete advisory committee.

It is also the football team liaison to administrators on mental health issues.

>> Meaning those Lisa rose right now is help me.

So that when I got here in the real world that are had been to the experiences.

I can apply everything that went through in college, you know, like a high school complied.

So I get out here in the real world.

So like it or even fish after missing out on the season in 2020.

>> Other Laker defenders have used their time in the classroom to go beyond the educational finish line like defensive end Jake lava expects to finish a graduate degree in business by year's end.

>> And defensive back.

John Taylor swift whose academic load includes a double major.

That's and so many talented guys and begin with the man this guy's definitely be in the lead some day.

But then obviously those guys are just.

>> On the street now we're just working a normal 9 to 5 job.

So, I mean, you definitely got to prepare for life beyond football because even if you do, if we like the average for years, 3 years or something.

Self got to be prepared for that.

And yeah, and I think it's a great job.

>> So they set me up for the for me, education changed my whole life.

Like a nobody really my family, you know, in the college degree and I could potentially walk out.

I can send, you know, so I can be able to get my kids kids opportunities that I didn't have a generational wealth.

This stuff like that winning supporting Graham ballots, big part experience, but also is.

>> That education piece and growing and developing and then really did not spring board that when you're playing career is done.

If most of our guys, it's the college last game.

They're prepared to kind of transition next phase not left wandering around trying to aim is to figure out life that we hopefully prepared for the transition.

>> There's a kinship between the Lakers and Michigan Tech.

That goes back to 2004 Grand Valley play the Huskies at Michigan Stadium before a crowd of over 50,000.

Again, that raise money for Tech's athletic program that contest helped convince leaders and hope to stay the course with football, which it has done ever since.

And what Michigan Tech annually, graduates Corps of Engineers who go on to become leaders in their field Grande Valley's own engineering program has prospered as well.

Like football.

It's an example of the friendly competition that is strengthen the bonds between these 2 universities in the early states.

Sports report by the time we're done.

[MUSIC] >> That's all the time we have this week on the Grand Valley State sports report the GSU football team travels to Wayne state in Detroit on Saturday.

Kickoff is scheduled for 01:00PM Lakers.

Soccer will round out their regular season as they take on northwood at home on Friday.

November 5th at 07:00PM but then travel to fare state for a 01:00PM game on Sunday November 7 Laker volleyball hit the road for one game this week as they take on Purdue Northwest at 03:00PM on Saturday.

November 6.

The GSA cross country teams will compete for an n C a Midwest Regional title in Evansville, Indiana on Saturday.

November 6.

The races are scheduled to start at 10:30AM.

>> But coming games as well as live broadcast of every Laker athletic program, visit GSU Lakers dot com to see more of this show it to our youtube channel at youtube.

Dot com slash WGVU 35 it is stride, but you get updated video highlights all year long for the entire crew here at WGVU.

I'm Jake leading.

Have a great week.

Laker nation and as always and corrupt.

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