Ticket Prices & Match Times Set For NCAA-II Midwest Regional Volleyball Tourney
Big Rapids, Mich. - Ticket prices and match times have been set for the 2014 NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Volleyball Tournament, which will take place this Thursday thru Saturday (Nov. 20-22) in Allendale, Mich.
Ferris State, which is seeded second overall in the field, will go up against the tourney's number-seven seed Lewis (Ill.) on Thursday, Nov. 20, in quarterfinal-round action at the Grand Valley State Fieldhouse Arena. It will be the third of four quarterfinal matches at 5 p.m. (ET).
Third-seeded Grand Valley State will host the regional tournament from Thursday to Saturday. Semifinals will take place on Friday night with the championship match on Saturday.
Tickets will be sold at the door and will be $7 for adults and $5 for seniors and children under 12 years of age or $3 for college students of the competing teams with a valid ID card. The prices are based per session and no all-tourney passes will be available.
FSU's matchup with Lewis is a rematch of last year's regional quarterfinal won by the Bulldogs also at the Midwest Regional Tournament in Allendale.
Ferris State will be making its fourth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and has advanced to at least the regional semifinals each of the last three years. FSU's upcoming regional appearance will represent the program's 19th all-time.
Ferris State and Lewis have not faced each other yet this season. This year marks the third consecutive season in which the two teams have been matched up against each other in the opening round of the regional with the Bulldogs winning each of the last two seasons.
Ferris State, which is coached by 19th-year head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm, is presently 23-5 overall this campaign and has won 10-straight matches heading into the regional action.
The Bulldogs finished the regular-season as GLIAC Champions along with Grand Valley State as both teams compiled 17-1 league marks. It was the fourth-straight year in which FSU finished either first or second in the conference. Lewis owns a 22-7 overall record this season and competes in the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC).
The Division II Women's Volleyball Committee selected a total of 64 teams to participate in the 2014 Division II Women's Volleyball Championship. Eight teams were selected from each of the following eight regions: Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast and West.
The eight, eight-team regionals will be played at on-campus sites. Regional competition will be single-elimination, best three-of-five-set matches and will not include a third-place match. The winners of each of the eight regionals will advance to the national finals Dec. 4-6 at Knights Hall in Louisville, Kentucky.
Ferris State enters the tournament as the defending NCAA Midwest Regional Champions as the Bulldogs won three-straight matches a year ago in Allendale to claim the title and advance to the NCAA-II Elite Eight and the national quarterfinal round.
Along with winning this year's GLIAC regular-season crown, Ferris State also captured the 2014 GLIAC Tournament Championship on Sunday (Nov. 16) as FSU topped rival Grand Valley State 3-1 at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena to earn the program's first tourney title since 2004 and only the second in school history.
Here are the opening round of match-ups for the Midwest Regional Tournament, to be played on Thursday in Allendale.
12:00 p.m. - #1 Truman State (28-3) vs. #8 McKendree (20-13)
2:30 p.m. - #4 Rockhurst (26-4) vs. #5 Indianapolis (19-10)
5:00 p.m. - #2 Ferris State (23-5) vs. #7 Lewis (22-7)
7:30 p.m. - #3 Grand Valley State (23-5) vs. #6 Missouri S&T (18-13)
Friday's semifinal matches are scheduled for 5:00 p.m. and 7:30 p.m. start times.
Note: Ferris State would play the 7:30 p.m. match on Friday with a win on Thursday.
Saturday's championship is set for a 7:00 p.m. start.