Ferris State Volleyball Wins GLIAC Tournament Championship!

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Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's volleyball team won the 2014 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament with an exciting 3-1 win over archrival Grand Valley State in the league final on Sunday (Nov. 16) evening at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale.

The Bulldogs earned the 25-13, 23-25, 25-22, 25-22 win over the Lakers to win the tournament title and receive the league's automatic bid into the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament set for Nov. 20-22 at a site to be announced.

The official NCAA Tournament selections will be announced Sunday night at 10 p.m. (ET) at www.ncaa.com. Fans are invited to join the Bulldogs at Buffalo Wild Wings in Big Rapids for the live selection announcement.

Ferris State's victory was its 10th straight win of the season as the Bulldogs topped the Lakers for the second time this year. The two teams had shared the GLIAC's Regular-Season Championship with identical 17-1 conference records.

Senior outside hitter Courtney Rehm tallied a match-high 17 kills in leading Ferris State to the win. For her efforts, she claimed tournament Most Valuable Player Award accolades.

The Bulldogs had two others also receive all-tournament team honors in junior outside hitter Megan Vander Meer and junior middle hitter Caroline Heitzman. Both had strong outings against GVSU with 16 and 13 kills, respectively.

Ferris State hit .215 for the evening and came up with 56 kills and 18 errors on 177 total attacks in the four-set victory. FSU also netted 96 digs, four service aces and nine total blocks in the triumph against the Lakers.

Junior libero Danielle Dowd came up with 29 digs for FSU out of the back row while junior hitter Alexis Huntey finished with 20 digs and also added seven kills. Sophomore setter Stephanie Sikorski contributed 16 digs and Vander Meer tallied 12 for Ferris State. Sikorski also notched 47 assists from the setter role.

The Lakers were limited to a .153 attack percentage with 54 kills and 26 errors on 183 attempts. They totaled 92 digs with nine blocks and three aces, but also had nine service errors including a pair of key ones down the stretch late in the fourth set.

Kaleigh Lound registered a team-high 14 kills in leading GVSU while Abby Aiken added 10 kills. Libero Christina Canepa finished with 21 digs and was one of five Lakers to reach double-digit digs. Kaitlyn Wolters paced the Lakers' offense with 42 assists.

Sunday's victory marked the second time in the last three meetings in Allendale in which the Bulldogs have claimed a championship on GVSU's home floor as FSU also won the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional to advance to the Elite Eight a year ago over the Lakers in a thrilling 3-2 match at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena.

Ferris State won the GLIAC Tournament for the second time in school history and first since beating GVSU 3-0 in 2004 at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena. Overall, the Bulldogs were making their 17th-straight GLIAC Tournament appearance.

The Bulldogs' showing in the tournament title match marked the first time FSU has reached the championship round since 2011 and it was the sixth time in school history in which Ferris State played in the league final.

Ferris State, which is currently 23-5 overall this year, will await the NCAA Selection Show later this evening. The Bulldogs, by virtue of their automatic bid, will receive the 19th all-time NCAA Tournament berth in school history and it will mark the fourth-straight year in which FSU has advanced to the national tournament.