Volleyball Wins Again To Improve To 22-2

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's volleyball squad won a key Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) road match with a decisive 3-0 shutout of Saginaw Valley State on Wednesday (Nov. 2) evening in University Center, Mich.

The victory officially clinched the 2011 GLIAC North Division Championship for the Bulldogs.  The divisional crown is FSU's first since the league went to two divisions in 1996.

The nationally 12th-ranked Bulldogs improved to 22-2 overall and 16-1 in conference play with the victory over the Cardinals, who fell to 15-9 on the year and 13-4 in GLIAC action.

Ferris State dominated the first set with a 25-15 win and then took the second and third frames by scores of 25-22 and 25-21, respectively.

The Bulldogs were led by junior outside hitter Aly Brecht's (Alma) team-high 11 kills in a balanced effort.  Senior outside hitter Ashley Huntey (Stanwood/Morley-Stanwood) contributed nine kills to go with 10 digs. 

Ferris State also received 23 digs by senior libero Lisa Tobiczyk (Marysville) while junior setter Samantha Fordyce (DeWitt) added 11 digs and 29 assists.

The Bulldogs hit .210 for the night, which included a blistering .414 figure in the first set with 16 kills on 29 attacks. 

FSU tallied 55 digs to 49 for the Cardinals and came up with six blocks to only three for SVSU in the match.  Ferris also had three service aces and three errors with Saginaw Valley State managing two aces and one error at the service line.

The Cardinals were led by Annie Buxton's match-best 15 kills.  Laura Ward totaled 16 digs while both Laurel Mattson and Julia Thomas had 10 digs each.  Sam Breault posted 33 assists.

Ferris State wraps up regular-season play this weekend as the Bulldogs visit Northwood on Friday (Nov. 4) for a 7 p.m. (ET) league encounter in Midland followed by a trip to Lake Superior State on Saturday (Nov. 5) with match time set for 2 p.m. (ET) in Sault Ste. Marie, Mich.

The Bulldogs have secured a home match for the quarterfinal-round of the GLIAC Tournament on Thursday, Nov. 10, and currently are tied for first along with Hillsdale in the overall standings.  FSU presently holds the tiebreaker edge over the Chargers heading into the final two regular-season matches and could potentially host the tournament semifinals and finals on Nov. 12-13.  Tournament pairings will be announced this weekend after regular-season play has concluded.