Ferris State Volleyball Falls In Five-Set Heart-Breaker In NCAA Regional Semifinals

Postgame Highlights & Interview 

Big Rapids, Mich. - Another memorable Ferris State University women's volleyball campaign came to a close on Friday (Nov. 16) night as the Bulldogs fell to Rockhurst (Mo.) in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Semifinals in Springfield, Mo.

The third-seeded Hawks won the fifth and deciding set 15-10 to score the win and advance to the regional finals on Saturday night. The loss ended FSU's season at 27-5 overall.

Rockhurst got off to a quick start with a 25-21 decision in the Hawks' favor in the opening set. However, Ferris State rallied for a 25-18 triumph in the third to even the match and then took a 2-1 edge by claiming a 25-16 win in the third. However, RU forced the deciding frame by beating FSU 25-22 in the fourth.

Sophomore outside hitter Katie O'Connell had a big night for the Bulldogs with a match-high 23 kills while adding 16 digs. FSU also got 21 kills and 14 digs from junior All-America hitter Allyson Cappel in addition to 10 kills from junior middle hitter Mekayla Carey.

Junior setter Maeve Grimes dished out 62 assists in directing the FSU attack and senior libero Katie Placek tallied an impressive and personal career-high 38 digs in her final match as a Bulldog. FSU's other senior, Kayla Rosman, had eight digs in her last outing.

The Bulldogs compiled 102 digs in the match and hit .170 with 67 kills and 30 errors on 218 total attacks. FSU also had 16 block assists and three solo blocks at the net while adding seven service aces.

Meanwhile, Rockhurst totaled 103 digs with 56 kills and recorded a .149 attack percentage. The Hawks had 20 assisted blocks at the net and three solo hits while recording three service aces.

A balanced Rockhurst attack was led by Alyssa Woodman with 14 kills and 15 digs. Karli Reichert added 13 kills and 17 digs with Mary Rolf totaling 10 kills. Kalie Arnold led the way with 30 digs while Dani Prusha added 28 for the Hawks.

With the win at the O'Reilly Family Event Center on the campus of Drury University, Rockhurst improved to 32-6 overall and advances to the regional final to face either top-seeded DU or Lewis (Ill.).

Ferris State was making its eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and has now advanced to at least the regional semifinals each of the last eight years. FSU's regional appearance represented the program's 23rd all-time.

The Bulldogs finished the regular-season as GLIAC Champions for the fifth-straight year with a perfect 16-0 league mark. It was the eighth-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 2018 GLIAC Tournament Championship for the fifth consecutive year last Saturday (Nov. 10) as FSU topped Davenport to earn the program's sixth tourney title in school history while becoming the first squad in league history to capture five-straight crowns.