Ferris State Volleyball Advances To D2 Midwest Region Semifinals With Win

Postgame Highlights & Interviews 

Springfield, Mo. - The Ferris State University women's volleyball squad opened NCAA Division II National Tournament action with a thrilling 3-2 triumph over league rival Ashland on Thursday (Nov. 15) in the Midwest Regional Quarterfinals at the O'Reilly Family Events Center in Springfield, Mo.

The second-seeded Bulldogs advanced to the regional semifinals by beating the seventh-seeded Eagles 25-16, 18-25, 25-18, 17-25 and 15-9. Ferris State improved to 27-4 overall with the victory.

Sophomore outside hitter Katie O'Connell led the team with 18 kills while junior middle hitter Mekayla Carey was close behind with 15 kills and a .371 hitting percentage. Junior outside hitter Allyson Cappel also had 14 kills in the victory against Ashland.

O'Connell added 24 digs on the day while senior libero Katie Placek had 30 digs in the contest for FSU.

The Bulldogs totaled 82 digs, 65 kills and six aces in the win while hitting .184 overall for the tilt. Ferris State also added six block assists and three solo blocks at the net.

Ashland finished with 82 digs, 55 kills and two aces in the setback. The Eagles did compile 30 block assists with two solo hits up front. AU was led by Shelby Woycik with 17 kills. Both Sophi Cudworth and Erin Krupar added 11 kills each with Michaela Ping netting 10 kills.

On the defensive side, Zoey Peck paced AU with 19 digs with both Kaitlin Bean and Krupar adding 18 each.

Ferris State will square off against third-seeded Rockhurst (Mo.) in the D2 Midwest Region Semifinals on Friday night (Nov. 16) starting at 6 p.m. (ET) in Springfield on the campus of Drury University.