FSU

Ferris State Volleyball Splits Two Matches Against National Top 20 Teams In Colorado Tourney

DENVER, COLO. – The nationally eighth-ranked Ferris State University women's volleyball team split a pair of matches against top 20 ranked opponents on the first day of the Colorado Premier Challenge on Friday (Sept. 8) in Denver, Colo.

The Bulldogs topped the #20 Tampa Spartans 3-0 in their first match of the day before falling 3-0 to the national #2 ranked Southwest Minnesota State Mustangs.

Ferris State took the match over Tampa 25-22, 25-21, 25-21 to open the day. Sophomore outside hitter Allyson Cappel totaled 10 kills to lead the match and added eight digs in the winning effort.

The Bulldogs fell behind 21-18 in the opening set, but reeled off five consecutive points to take a lead before closing out the Spartans in the first frame.

In the middle set, the lead see-sawed back and forth until it was tied at 21-21. Ferris State scored four straight, including the final three credited to redshirt sophomore outside hitter Courtney Brewer to take a 2-0 lead.

Ferris State then scored ten points in a row to take a 14-5 lead in the third set, but Tampa wittled it back down to a two-point Bulldog edge at 23-21. Back-to-back kills by senior middle hitter Ayanna Buckley and Cappel closed the door on the Spartans as Ferris State improved to 5-0 on the season.

Redshirt freshman setter Maeve Grimes notched 27 assists and had a match-best three service aces out of Ferris State's five.

At the net, senior middle hitter Maria Kronner and junior outside hitter Katie Placek had five total blocks, as Ferris State had nine over the three sets to Tampa's six. Placek also had a match-leading 14 digs.

The second match saw a role reversal as the Bulldogs suffered their first loss of the season when Southwest Minnesota State won 3-0.

The opening set of the finale saw the Bulldogs lead 21-16 before the Mustangs charged back into the fray and took the first set 27-25. The Mustangs handled their way through the second with a 25-17 win and capped the match with a 25-14 mark in the third set.

Cappel again led Ferris State in kills with 11 while Brewer added 10. Senior libero Lauren Reminga paced Ferris State with 18 digs.

Southwest Minnesota State's Taylor Reiss led the match with 12 kills and hit .364 overall. The Mustangs hit .268 as a team to Ferris State's .107 figure..

With the loss, Ferris State fell to 5-1 overall. The Bulldogs will compete in day two action at the prestigious Colorado Premier Challenge on Saturday (Sept. 9) in Denver. FSU opens the day against Central Missouri at 11 a.m. (ET) and will then play another match later in the day.