Ferris State's Sikorski & Buckley Invited To USA Volleyball National Tryouts This Week

Click Here For USA Volleyball Tryout Website

Big Rapids, Mich. - Two members of the Ferris State University women's volleyball program will have an opportunity to represent the United States as Bullog middle hitter Ayanna Buckley (Detroit, Mich./Clarenceville) and setter Stephanie Sikorski (Rochester Hills, Mich./Rochester) have been chosen to attend the 2016 USA Volleyball Women's National Team Tryouts slated for this weekend at the U.S. Olympic Training Center in Colorado Springs.

Buckley and Sikorski, who are the lone participants from the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference and among only a handful of non-NCAA Division I athletes slated to take part, will join approximately 231 athletes converging on Colorado Springs with the hopes of joining the U.S. Women's National Team. Tryouts will take place from Friday (Feb. 19) thru Sunday (Feb. 21).

Tryouts are for spots on the U.S. Women's National Team, the U.S. Collegiate National Teams and the U.S. Junior National Team. The tryout process will be led by Karch Kiraly, a three-time Olympic gold medalist and U.S. Olympic Hall of Famer.

This year will mark the second consecutive year in which Ferris State has had two student-athletes take part in the USA Volleyball Team Tryouts as both outside hitter Megan Vander Meer (Grand Rapids) and middle hitter Caroline Heitzman (Newaygo) took part last year prior to concluding their FSU careers this past fall.

The list of athletes taking part in the tryout includes athletes from nearly every level of collegiate competition and nearly 90 institutions along with a high-level group of standouts. In order to receive an invitation to the tryout, athletes must have either concluded their college eligibility, be a current collegiate athlete born in the years from 1988 to 1997 or a chosen high school athlete born in 1997 or earlier.

Throughout the weekend, USA Volleyball will provide updates via social media using the hashtag #USAVTryout and the @USAVolleyball handle. Live streaming will also be offered via the official tryout website starting on Friday afternoon at 2 p.m. (MT).

During the tryout, Buckely will wear White jersey #6 while Sikorski will don the Navy #68 uniform.

The tryout will involve four sessions with three waves per session. Friday's first session goes from 2-8 p.m. MT, while Saturday's sessions are at 8 a.m. (focus on serve/receive and individual work) and 2 p.m. (middle-centered and out-of-system focus). The tryout concludes on Sunday at 8 a.m. with tournament style play, along with 16-18 athletes selected by the staff to participate in a "USA" training session.

Those individuals who receive invitations for the U.S. Women's National Team will become full-time members of the squad upon conclusion of their collegiate eligibility or when the scholastic calendar ends for those with eligibility still remaining.

The U.S. Collegiate National Team will choose individuals to compete in a Tour of China (June 18-July 1), a Tour of Europe (July 5-16) and the USA Volleyball Girls' Junior National Championships (June 21-30) this coming summer.

Following the tryout, Selections for the U.S. Collegiate National Teams will be made by the end of March.

Sikorski earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Honorable Mention All-America honors this past fall for the Bulldogs. The junior setter ranked among the league and national leaders with 1,232 assists in 36 matches and 125 games played this past year. She also added 241 digs, 120 kills and 58 blocks while directing the Bulldog attack. The three-year starter was chosen as the GLIAC's Setter of the Year Award recipient this past fall. Sikorski was also a AVCA National Player of the Week this year and earned GLIAC Player of Week honors in addition to being an all-conference choice.

Meanwhile, Buckley was also an All-GLIAC honoree as a sophomore during the 2015 season. She tallied 289 kills and 82 total blocks for Ferris State in the fall season while hitting .316 overall. Buckley came up with 16 solo blocks and 66 assisted blocks in addition to averaging 2.37 kills per set in 36 total matches. She's a two-year letterwinner to date for the Bulldogs.

This past fall, the Bulldog volleyball squad, which made the school's fifth-straight and 20th overall NCAA Tournament appearance, finished the 2015 campaign with a 33-3 overall record. FSU won its second-straight GLIAC Regular-Season Championship and claimed the school's second consecutive GLIAC Tournament title while earning the right to host the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament where FSU finished as the regional runner-up.

This year marked the 14th time in 20 seasons under head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm in which FSU Volleyball has claimed at least 20 victories in a campaign. The Bulldogs also made their 18th consecutive GLIAC Tournament appearance while achieving a number one national ranking for the first time during the 2015 campaign. Along with being the GLIAC Coach of the Year, Brandel-Wilhelm also earned AVCA Midwest Region Coach of the Year honors.