Ferris State Volleyball Pulls Out Triumph In Five-Set Thriller

Big Rapids, Mich.-  The Ferris State University women's volleyball team defeated Wayne State by a score of 3-2 on Saturday (Oct. 19) afternoon in an exciting five-set contest at the Ewigleben Sports Arena.

The Bulldogs improved to 15-4 overall with the win and are now 10-1 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Conference (GLIAC).  The loss dropped the Warriors to 8-11 overall and 5-6 in the conference.

FSU started off hot by winning the first set in a 25-13 contest. The next three sets would be traded by the two teams with Wayne State taking the second (25-20) and fourth sets (25-12) and Ferris winning the third (25-17).

The Bulldogs then pulled away in the final set to claim a 15-12 victory.

Ferris State was led by sophomore outside hitter Alexis Huntey, who totaled a match-high 21 kills. Teammates Angi Kent and Courtney Rehm added 12 kills apiece to help the Bulldog cause.

Senior libero Brandi Merren contributed 17 digs and three service aces with sophomore outside hitter Caroline Heitzman tallying five total blocks in the FSU win.  Freshman Stephanie Sikorski had 44 assists.

The Warriors were led by setter Madison Reeves with 31 assists to go along with three digs.  Senior outside hitter Kristen Bulkiewicz added 10 digs of her own to go along with 10 kills in a double-double showing.  Meanwhile, Macy Steenhuysen also added to the action with two service aces and eight digs while Candice Ottey compiled 10 kills.

As a team, Ferris State tallied 57 kills, 54 assists, 41 digs and 8 team blocks.  They would hold the Warriors to a .172 hitting percentage for the match and a low .143 percentage in the fifth and deciding set.  Ferris hit .300 for the match overall.

The Bulldogs will next take part in the 2013 GLIAC/GLVC Crossover on Friday and Saturday (Oct. 25-26) in Aurora, Ill.  The official match times and pairings will be announced soon by the conference office.