Ferris State Volleyball Opens 7th-Straight NCAA Appearance Against McKendree On Thursday
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Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's volleyball squad will open its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament appearance this Thursday (Nov. 30) evening as the Bulldogs take on McKendree (Ill.) in the opening round of the big dance in Romeoville, Ill.
The Bulldogs will be the number four seed for the Midwest Regional Tournament that runs Thursday thru Saturday, Nov. 30-Dec. 2, on the campus of top-seeded Lewis University at Neil Carey Arena. Match time is set for 6 p.m. (ET) for the quarterfinal-round contest.
Tickets for the regional tournament will be sold on-site with a single pass required for each of the three days of action.
Along with the FSU-McKendree matchup, the three other quarterfinal-round matches include third-seeded Rockhurst (Mo.) facing sixth-seeded Bellarmine (Ky.) at 1 p.m. (ET) with number two seed Hillsdale taking on seventh-seeded Findlay at 3:30 p.m. (ET). The final match of the day will pit the host and number one seed Lewis against eighth-seeded Michigan Tech at 8:30 p.m. (ET).
If the Bulldogs get past fifth-seeded McKendree in the first round, they would then face the winner of the Lewis-MTU matchup in the second regional semifinal on Friday (Dec. 1) evening starting at 8:30 p.m. (ET). The championship match is set for Saturday (Dec. 2) at 8 p.m. (ET).
Ferris State will be making its seventh consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and has advanced to at least the regional semifinals each of the last six years. FSU's upcoming regional appearance will represent the program's 22nd all-time as the Bulldogs have compiled a 17-22 overall record in NCAA Tournament competition.
Ferris State, which is coached by 22nd-year head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm, is presently 23-7 overall this campaign and has won its last four outings to date.
The Bulldogs finished the regular-season as GLIAC Champions for the fourth-straight year with a 13-3 league mark. It was the seventh-straight year in which FSU finished either first or second in the conference.
Along with winning this year's GLIAC regular-season crown, Ferris State also captured the 2017 GLIAC Tournament Championship for the fourth consecutive year as FSU topped Michigan Tech to earn the program's fifth tourney title in school history while becoming the first squad in league history to capture four-straight crowns.
The Division II Women's Volleyball Committee selected a total of 64 teams to participate in the 2017 Division II Women's Volleyball Championship. Eight teams were selected from each of the following eight regions: Atlantic, Central, East, Midwest, South, South Central, Southeast and West.
The eight, eight-team regionals will be played at on-campus sites. Regional competition will be single-elimination, best three-of-five-set matches and will not include a third-place match. The winners of each of the eight regionals will advance to the finals, Dec. 7-9 in Pensacola, Fla. Competition at the finals site will be single-elimination; best three-of-five-set matches.
Four years ago, the Bulldogs captured the Midwest Regional Championship to advance to the NCAA Division II Elite Eight and the national quarterfinal round. FSU has advanced to the Sweet Sixteen each of the past two years.