#13 Ferris State Volleyball Rolls To First Win Of 2014 Campaign

Big Rapids, Mich. - The nationally 13th-ranked Ferris State University women's volleyball team rolled to its first win of the 2014 campaign with a 3-0 triumph over Tusculum on Friday (Sept. 5) at the Tampa Classic in Tampa, Fla.

The Bulldogs recorded a decisive 25-16, 25-18, 25-16 win to even their record at 1-1 overall following two days of action in the three-day event.

FSU hit an impressive .248 for the match with 38 kills and only 13 errors on 101 total attempts. They also tallied 46 digs and had eight service aces.

Meanwhile, Tusculum was limited to a .069 attack figure with 26 kills and 19 errors on 101 attacks. TU had 44 digs with eight service mistakes and no aces.

Sophomore outside hitter Megan Vander Meer led a balanced FSU attack with nine kills while junior Caroline Heitzman tallied eight and freshman Ayanna Buckley had seven on the day. Junior Alexis Huntey chipped in with six kills and senior Courtney Rehm totaled five.

The Bulldogs' Danielle Dowd netted a team-high 15 digs with Rehm recording nine digs and sophomore setter Stephanie Sikorski totaling eight. Huntey added seven and Vander Meer contributed five digs to aid the effort.

Dowd also led FSU at the service line with four aces and Sikorski finished with two.

The Bulldogs also had a strong day at the net with 10 block assists and two solos. Buckley tallied a team-best three assists while Rehm had both a solo and an assisted block.

Tusculum was paced by Megan Hasse and Rachel Garnett, who both totaled seven kills. Hannah Berling distributed 23 assists and Moriah Jones had a match-high 16 digs in the losing effort.

Ferris State wraps up action at the Tampa Classic with a pair of matches against nationally-ranked teams on Saturday (Sept. 6). FSU faces fifth-ranked Central Missouri and 24th-ranked Indianapolis at 10 a.m. (ET) and 2:30 p.m. (ET), respectively.