Fifth-Ranked Bulldogs Rally Back To Beat Rival GVSU In Instant Classic

Allendale, Mich. - Nationally fifth-ranked Ferris State University rallied back to pull out a thrilling 3-2 victory over archrival Grand Valley State on Tuesday (Nov. 3) night in Allendale as the Bulldogs swept their regular-season volleyball series against the Lakers in an instant classic.

Host GVSU won the opening two frames by identical 25-23 scores over the Bulldogs to grab a 2-0 lead in the match, but FSU battled back for the victory. Ferris State took the third set 25-21 and then pulled out a 25-22 triumph in the fourth frame to force the deciding set five.

In the fifth and final set, Grand Valley State jumped in front early, but FSU rallied again. Ultimately, the Bulldogs won the set 15-13 to improve to 24-2 overall this year and 13-1 in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) play.

The Bulldogs found themselves in a grim 2-0 hole to the Lakers as GVSU hit over .300 in the first two sets. It was the first time the Bulldogs had lost four consecutive sets, dating back to the last match against Northern Michigan, all season.

It took until midway through the third set for the Bulldogs to find the break they needed.

With the score tied at 13-13 in the third set, senior outside hitter Alexis Huntey went diving into the scorers table to keep the play alive, Freshman outside hitter Katie Placek nailed the kill and the Bulldogs found themselves riding a wave of momentum.

Ferris State took the third set 25-21 on a kill by Huntey to cut the Laker lead to 2-1 in the match.

The fourth set continued the wire-to-wire action, and senior outside hitter Megan Vander Meer ended it with a kill to give the Bulldogs a 25-22 lead to tie the match at two wins apiece.

In the fifth set, the Lakers jumped out to a 5-2 lead, but the Bulldogs came on strong and Vander Meer put the Bulldogs up 8-7 as the team's switched sides. Finally, junior setter Stephanie Sikorski ended the match on a tip-play to give Ferris State a 15-13 set win and cap the 3-2 victory.

The win was FSU's second in as many matchups with the Lakers this year. It was also FSU's second in the last three matchups at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena dating back to last season.

Vander Meer had a big night for the Bulldogs as the Grand Rapids native tallied a match-high 25 kills to go with 18 digs in leading the Bulldogs. She also added three service aces and two solo blocks in the victory.

Along with Vander Meer, Huntey recorded 17 kills with senior middle hitter Caroline Heitzman adding 12 in the rivalry match. Sophomore middle Ayanna Buckley finished with 11 digs as four Bulldog players recorded more than 10 kills in the win.

A total of five Bulldogs reached double-figures in digs with junior libero Danielle Dowd garnering a match-high 35 digs in the triumph. Along with Dowd and Vander Meer, Placek totaled 20 digs with FSU also receiving 16 from Huntey and 14 courtesy of Sikorski, who paced the Bulldogs with 64 assists overall.

Ferris State recorded a .254 attack figure with only 18 errors on 209 total attacks. The Bulldogs also compiled 110 digs and had five aces along with 10 block assists and three solo blocks. FSU did have 14 service mistakes in the contest.

The Lakers, who dropped to 16-9 overall and 10-4 in the GLIAC, posted a .225 attack figure and had 105 digs with eight block assists, three solo blocks and four service aces. GVSU also had eight service errors.

Grand Valley State was led by Kaleigh Lound, who totaled a team-high 17 kills and hit .341 over the five sets. Betsy Ronda added 12 kills while the Lakers also received 11 kills from Staci Brower and 10 by Jessica Majerle.

Defensively, Taylor Shormin paced GVSU with 25 digs. Katie Olson had 22 digs, Ronda recorded 20 and Kourtney Wolters tallied 19 in the Laker setback. Olson guided Grand Valley State with 36 assists. 

From beginning to end, no team led at any point by more than four points in the match.

The Bulldogs played back-to-back five set matches for the first time since December of 2013 when they played three consecutive five-set matches in the NCAA Midwest Regional Tourney in Allendale.

Ferris State is now 2-1 in five-set matches this season with the win over Grand Valley State.

FSU returns home for a pair of league tilts this weekend inside the Ewigleben Sports Arena. The Bulldogs first host Lake Superior State on Friday (Nov. 6) in a special 12 p.m. (ET) league match before entertaining Northwood on Saturday (Nov. 7) starting at 3 p.m. (ET).