CHAMPIONS! Ferris State Volleyball Knocks Off Rival GVSU To Claim GLIAC Tourney Title

Championship Celebration Video 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's volleyball squad captured the 2023 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament Championship on Sunday (Nov. 19), beating West Michigan rival Grand Valley State 3-1 at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale.

Ferris State claimed the tournament crown in the title match, rallying from an early deficit for the victory. FSU dropped the first set 25-18, but responded with wins of 25-22 in the second, 27-25 in the third and 25-22 in the fourth.

The GLIAC Tournament Championship is the Bulldogs' 10th in program history and the ninth in the last 10 seasons of action. This year also marks the 19th time in school history in which Ferris State has won either the league's regular-season title, tournament championship or both in a campaign.

By winning the league's tournament title, FSU also earned the GLIAC's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament in two weeks.

The Bulldogs were led by Olivia Henneman-Dallape's team-high 16 kills in the contest. She added seven digs and three block assists. Meanwhile, Claire Nowicki tallied 15 kills and 15 digs with three block assists and a service ace in the win.

Both Nowicki and Henneman-Dallape were named to the GLIAC All-Tournament Team with Nowicki chosen as the tournament Most Valuable Player.

Additionally, junior setter Kaylee Maat contributed 39 assists and 13 digs with three block assists and two aces in the triumph. Middle hitter Syann Fairfield tallied eight kills and three assists at the net with libero Leah Bylut notching 15 digs on the day.

The Bulldogs finished the match with 49 kills and 18 attack errors on 160 attempts. In addition, FSU finished the contest with 67 digs, 22 assisted blocks, six aces and a solo block.

For Grand Valley State, both Jordyn Gates and Sarah Wight finished with 14 kills and Kendall Stover totaled 12 kills. Stover also had 21 digs while Gates had 24 digs. The Lakers hit .224 overall with 65 kills on 174 attempts, but also had 26 attack errors. GVSU totaled 89 digs to go with five aces, four block assists and two solo blocks in addition to 12 service mistakes.

Ferris State, which beat GVSU for the second time in three matchups this season, improved to 25-7 overall this season. The GLIAC Tournament Championship was FSU's third in a row as the Bulldogs have claimed the postseason title each season since 2014 with the exception of the 2020 COVID season that was played in the spring of 2021.

The official announcement of the NCAA Tournament selections will take place on Monday (Nov. 20) evening starting at 7:30 p.m. (ET) via a live webcast at NCAA.com. Stay tuned to FerrisStateBulldogs.com for additional postseason information as it becomes available.