FSU Volleyball Alum Ayanna Buckley To Compete In Pro Football League Championship Weekend
Big Rapids, Mich. - A former Ferris State University women's volleyball standout will have an opportunity to win a league championship in another professional sport as Bulldog alum Ayanna Buckley competes for the Detroit Prowl in the United States Women's Football League (USWFL) Championship Game on Saturday, July 1.
Buckley, who earned American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America honors for the Bulldogs as a senior in 2017, has competed this season as a wide receiver and linebacker for the Prowl, who will face the RVA Lady Tomahawks in the title game at 6 p.m. (ET) on July 1 at the River City Sportsplex in Midlothian, Va.
Along with the title game, Buckley has also been chosen to compete in the USWFL All-Star Game for Team North on July 2 at the River City Sportsplex.
The USWFL is a full-contact women's semi-pro American football minor league that opened with exhibition play in 2010 before playing its first full season in 2011.
Along with Detroit and RVA, which is based in Richmond (Va.), the league's other teams this season also included the Huntsville (Ala.) Tigers, the Tennessee Thunder, Michigan Queens, Cincinnati Sizzle and the South Carolina Scorpions. Detroit earned the right to play in the title game with a commanding 32-0 win over the Cincinnati Sizzle this past weekend in the USWFL Playoffs.
A Detroit native, Buckley compiled 1,059 kills along with 297 blocks, 233 digs and 43 aces during her FSU volleyball career from 2014-17. She played in 130 total matches for the Bulldogs and was a 2017 AVCA All-Midwest Region First Team honoree. She notched 307 kills, 99 blocks, 79 digs, 22 aces and six assists in 32 contests her senior campaign, helping the Bulldogs to both a fourth-straight GLIAC Regular-Season Championship and a fourth consecutive GLIAC Tournament title under head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm. The Bulldogs also made four-straight trips to the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Semifinals during her collegiate career.
Buckley was a two-time all-region honoree and a two-time All-GLIAC pick.
The championship game can be found on YouTube at this link:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EnPdxvO3Nk4