Ferris State Volleyball Motors Past Northwood In Conference Opener

Ferris State Volleyball Motors Past Northwood In Conference Opener

Big Rapids, Mich. – The Ferris State University women's volleyball team turned in a strong performance as they defeated divisional rival Northwood by a score of 3-0 on Friday (Sep. 20) night in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) opener for both teams.

Ferris State won in three straight sets (25-21, 25-14, 25-16) to improve to 6-3 overall on the season. With the loss, Northwood fell to 5-4 overall.
 
The Bulldogs had several strong performances and were led by junior outside hitter Courtney Rehm, who finished with a team-high 12 kills and 8 digs.  In addition, FSU received nine kills and 14 digs from sophomore Alexis Huntey while senior libero Brandie Merren totaled a squad-best 19 digs in the match.
 
Meanwhile, freshman setter Stephanie Sikorski added balance to the Bulldog attack by adding 29 assists.  FSU also received 14 digs from sophomore Megan Vander Meer.
 
On the other side, the Timberwolves were led by senior outside hitter Julia Pakhomenko, who tallied 17 kills and 19 digs.  Senior setter Jordan Dunn chipped in 29 assists along with 11 digs while Elizabeth Barker contributed 15 digs.
 
Ferris State finished with 34 kills to go along with 63 digs, 32 assists, nine services aces and 10 team blocks.  FSU hit .188 for the match, but posted a .200 attack percentage or better in each of the last two sets.
 
Northwood was limited to a .154 attack percentage and posted 40 kills, 35 assists, 62 digs, six blocks and five service aces.  They were limited to a .081 attack percentage in the final third set as the Bulldogs finished off the victory.

Ferris State also held a decisive edge in service errors as Northwood totaled nine for the match to only one for the Bulldogs. Caroline Heitzman tallied three aces for FSU as the Bulldogs picked up their second-straight win of the year and improved their record in home contests to 4-1 this season.

At the net, senior Angi Kent paced the Bulldogs with a solo block and four assisted efforts while Vander Meer notched four block assists and Heitzman had three.

The Bulldogs will wrap up their weekend homestand by hosting Hillsdale on Saturday (Sep. 21) afternoon at 3 p.m. (ET) in the Ewigleben Sports Arena.