Big Rapids, Mich. - The nationally third-ranked Ferris State University women's volleyball team opened play in the nation's largest collegiate tournament with an impressive showing on Friday (Oct. 16) as the Bulldogs beat a pair of regional foes at the Midwest Region Crossover in Aurora, Ill.
The Bulldogs, seeded first among the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) schools in the regional competition, topped Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) foe McKendree (Ill.) by a 3-1 score in the opening match of the day before sweeping Ohio Valley out of the Great Midwest Athletic Conference in the evening session.
With the two wins, Ferris State improved to 19-1 overall this season. The Bulldogs will wrap up the event at the Great Lakes Center with a showdown against the GLVC's top seed in Rockhurst (Mo.) on Saturday (Oct. 17).
In the opening match versus McKendree, FSU bolted out to a 2-0 lead with a 25-16 and 25-22 triumph in each of the first two frames, respectively. The Bearcats came back to win the third set 25-23, but the Bulldogs sealed the win with a 25-19 victory in the fourth.
FSU was led in the first match by senior middle hitter Caroline Heitzman, who netted 12 kills. Senior outside hitter Megan Vander Meer added 11 kills and senior hitter Alexis Huntey chipped in with 10 for Ferris State.
The Bulldogs also received a squad-best 20 digs from junior libero Danielle Dowd to go with 15 by freshman Katie Placek. Both Vander Meer and Huntey had nine digs apiece in the triumph while Placek added four block assists at the net and Huntey contributed three service aces. Finally, junior setter Stephanie Sikorski produced 41 assists as FSU hit .215 overall with 49 kills.
Ferris State then rolled past Ohio Valley in the second match of the day as FSU won by scores of 25-11, 25-7 and 25-12. The Bulldogs hit a blistering .405 for the match.
Huntey paced FSU against OVU with 12 kills while Dowd added 10 digs. The Bulldogs also received five kills each from sophomore Ayanna Buckley along with redshirt freshman Nicole Malouhos. Vander Meer added eight digs and Huntey had seven while Sikorski netted 18 assists and the Bulldogs' Jenna Way totaled 11 in the winning effort.
Mizuno is serving as the title sponsor for the regional volleyball event which pits 16 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) volleyball teams, 16 institutions representing the Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) and, for the first time in 2015, four programs from the Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC).
The two-day tournament features 54 matches conducted on nine courts at one of the top volleyball facilities in the country. The event, designed to increase competition between teams from the two leagues in the NCAA Division II Midwest Region, has previously been held in Indianapolis, Ind. and Lansing, Mich.
Ferris State and Rockhurst will square off on Saturday at 2 p.m. (ET).
