Memorable Ferris State Volleyball Campaign Comes To Close In NCAA Regional Final

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Big Rapids, Mich. - One of the most memorable campaigns in school history came to a heart-breaking close on Saturday (Dec. 5) night as nationally second-ranked Ferris State University suffered a 3-2 setback to Rockhurst in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championship match held inside FSU's Jim Wink Arena.

The top-seeded Bulldogs rallied from a 2-0 deficit in the match to force the fifth and deciding set before falling 15-7 to the second-seeded Hawks, who avenged an earlier sweep to the Bulldogs in regular-season action this year.

Ferris State, which was making its 20th all-time NCAA Division II Tournament appearance and hosting postseason action for the first time since 1989, had its memorable season come to a finish with a 33-3 overall record. The Bulldogs have twice reached the regional final in the last three years and also advanced to at least the regional semifinal each of the last five years.

With the loss, the collegiate careers of one of the most outstanding senior classes in school history also came to a finish as the quartet of outside hitters Megan Vander Meer and Alexis Huntey along with libero Danielle Dowd and middle hitter Caroline Heitzman played their final match before a large championship crowd at Wink Arena.

The setback came depsite a valiant effort from the Bulldogs. After Rockhurst took the opening set 25-21, the Hawks posted a 25-18 triumph in the second set to build a 2-0 lead in the match. Ferris State, though, fought back by winning 25-13 in the third and then rallied late to post a 27-25 win in the fourth set.

That setup the deciding frame, but the Hawks bolted out to an early lead and held on to beat the Bulldogs to move on to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight in Tampa next week. Rockhurst also improved to 34-3 overall this season. 

Heitzman paced the Bulldogs with a match-high 19 kills and an impressive .405 attack percentage. Meanwhile, Vander Meer had 13 kills in her final match while Huntey added 11 kills and sophomore middle hitter Ayanna Buckley contributed eight kills overall.

Ferris State finished with 57 kills and 22 errors on 183 total attempts while recording a .191 attack figure. The Bulldogs also had five aces, but were hampered by 10 service errors. 

Overall, the Bulldogs totaled 81 digs in the match with a team-high 21 from Dowd. Vander Meer added 16 digs, Huntey had 14, freshman Katie Placek netted 12 and junior setter Stephanie Sikorski contributed 10 digs for FSU.

Finally, Ferris State also totaled five solo blocks, including three by Huntey, along with four block assists.

Rockhurst had four players reach double-digits in kills with both Preecy Seever and Morgan Rietzke totaling 15 each. Katie Loescher added 11 kills and Mattie Gray netted 10 kills. Anne Hellwege posted a match-high 26 digs and Lauren Poulicek chipped in with 23 digs.

The Hawks hit .179 overall with 62 kills and 28 errors on 190 attempts. They also posted 90 digs along with three aces, three solo blocks, six block assists and six service mistakes.

Ferris State had three players named to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional All-Tournament Team, including Vander Meer, Heitzman and Sikorski.

Over the past five years, the Bulldogs have now compiled a 133-30 overall record, which includes a 83-8 mark in GLIAC regular season action. This year's GLIAC North Division crown represented the Bulldogs' third in the five-year span and the squad has also reached at least the NCAA Regional Semifinals each of the past four years, including an NCAA-II Elite Eight appearance and regional crown in 2013.

In 2015, FSU also won the GLIAC Tournament for the second consecutive campaign and was ranked number one in the nation for the first time in school history at one point in the regular season.