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Ferris State Women's Volleyball Weekly Notes (Match 30)
Posted: Nov 10, 2009

Ferris State Women's Volleyball Weekly Notes (Match 30)

Download FSU Women's Volleyball Notes (PDF Version)

THIS WEEK:

2009 GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals
at Hillsdale Chargers
Wednesday, Nov. 11 - 7 p.m. (EST)
Jesse Philips Arena - Hillsdale, Mich.

* The Opening Serve: The Ferris State University women's volleyball team starts its postseason action this Wednesday (Nov. 11) evening as the Bulldogs will participate in the single-elimination 2009 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Women's Volleyball Tournament.  FSU takes on the GLIAC South Division Champion Hillsdale Chargers in a quarterfinal-round match at Hillsdale, Mich.  Hillsdale is currently among other teams receiving votes in this week's (11/9) American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 Poll with 14 points.  

* Media Coverage: A live video and audio webcast will be available for all 2009 FSU women's volleyball home matches through B2 Networks for a charge of $7 on FSU's Athletics Website at www.ferrisstatebulldogs.com (Click on B2 Networks icon).  Live internet statistics will also be available for this Wednesday's GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinal Round contest at http://livestats.prestosports.com/hillsdale/.

* The 37th Season: The 2009 campaign represents Ferris State's 37th season of women's volleyball.  The Bulldogs own an all-time mark of 790-449 (.638) to date.  Since the program's inception in 1972, the Bulldogs have won nine GLIAC titles, made 14 NCAA-II Tournament appearances and registered 29 winning seasons.
 
* 2009 Record: Ferris State is currently 19-10 overall and finished with a 10-6 mark in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (GLIAC) North Division.  The Bulldogs closed out the regular-season portion of its 2009 schedule last weekend (Nov. 6-7) splitting a pair of GLIAC North Division home matches at FSU's Ewigleben Sports Arena in Big Rapids, Mich.  The Bulldogs dropped a 3-2 contest to Michigan Tech last Friday (Nov. 6) before bouncing back to register a 3-1 victory over Northern Michigan in Saturday's (Nov. 7) conference finale. 

* The Coach: Ferris State  - Tia Brandel-Wilhelm (Alma, 1990), 14th season, 288-148(.661); Career: 17th season, 406-168 (.707).  Brandel-Wilhelm entered the 2009 campaign ranking 19th in career best winning percentage (.710) among active NCAA Division II coaches while her 387 career victories prior to 2009 is tied for 21st-place honors on the NCAA-II active coaches wins list.  Brandel-Wilhelm is listed 21st by winning percentage for all-time winningest NCAA-II coaches who have a minimum of 10 years serving as a head coach in the Division II ranks since 1982.  The 2002 GLIAC Coach of the Year guided the Bulldogs to NCAA-II Tournament appearances in 1999, 2002, 2004 and 2005.  She became the program's fifth head coach in June 1996.

* Regional Rankings: Ferris State remains fifth place in the latest NCAA Division II Midwest Region rankings, which were released Thursday (Oct. 29) by the NCAA-II Women's Volleyball Committee.  The Bulldogs had registered a 13-7 in-region record thru matches of Oct. 25.  FSU is one of seven GLIAC teams listed in the Midwest Region rankings with Northern Michigan and Michigan Tech ranked sixth and eighth place, respectively.  The next rankings will be released this Thursday, Nov. 12.

* This Week's Opposition: 

Hillsdale: Ferris State owns a 48-11 advantage over Hillsdale in the all-time series, which includes prevailing in three of the last four meetings between the two teams. FSU recorded a 3-1 win (20-25, 25-18, 25-19, 27-25) at Hillsdale earlier this season (10/3) after claiming a 3-1 home decision over the Chargers in the 2008 campaign (10/3).  The Bulldogs are presently 25-9 overall in away/neutral site outings versus Hillsdale.  The Chargers, who completed the regular season at 20-7 overall with a first-place 12-4 mark in the GLIAC's South Division, have won six of their last 10 matches to date and are midst a two-match winning streak.  Hillsdale, under 14th-year head coach Chris Gravel, has produced a 5-2 record in home appearances this season.  The Chargers are listed this week (11/9) among other teams receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 Poll with 14 points.  Tia Brandel-Wilhelm vs. HC - 14-4. 

* GLIAC Tourney vs. Hillsdale: Ferris State is 1-1 all-time in GLIAC Tournament matches versus the Hillsdale Chargers.  The Bulldogs claimed a 3-0 quarterfinal victory in the 1999 tournament (11/11) at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Mich., before suffering a 3-2 quarterfinal-round setback a year later (11/9) to the Chargers in Battle Creek.   Ferris State has registered a 10-10 all-time mark in GLIAC Tournament matches. 

* November Matches: The Bulldogs have posted a 17-22 overall record (.436) in November contests dating back to 2000, which includes a current 1-1 ledger this season.  Ferris State is 10-5 at home and 7-17 in road/neutral site matches during that period.  FSU dropped all four of its November outings last season, which included a season-ending 3-1 loss at Grand Valley State in the 2008 GLIAC Tournament (11/12).

* 2009 GLIAC Tournament Information: Ferris State is making its 12th straight GLIAC Tournament appearance this Wednesday (11/11).  The top four teams are hosting a quarterfinal-round match in the 15th annual postseason tourney with the top remaining seed to host the semifinals/finals this weekend (11/14-15).  The top three teams in each division (North and South) along with the next two best overall teams advanced to the GLIAC Tournament.  The winners of Wednesday's quarterfinal-round contests will be re-seeded prior to this Saturday's semifinals, which will be hosted by the highest remaining seed following the quarterfinals.  The winner of this Sunday's championship match earns the conference's automatic bid to the NCAA-II Midwest Regional Tournament.

* Bulldog Bites: Junior middle hitter Arielle Goodson (Grand Rapids/Central) has generated double-figure kills in a match 23 times this season, which includes a current 18-match streak (9/11-11/7).  Goodson is averaging 3.383 kills per set and is hitting for a .264 percentage as a starter in those 18 encounters . . . Senior middle hitter Kristy Gilchrist (Macomb/Anchor Bay) is 32 kills away from equalling her career single-season best 336 kills established in 30 2007 matches.  Gilchrist has presently chalked up 304 kills in 29 outings this campaign . . . Sophomore libero Lisa Tobiczyk's (Marysville) 765 career digs in 58 matches presently ranks in a 23rd-place tie among FSU's all-time digs leaders.  Tobiczyk, who has racked up both a team-high and career season-best 391 digs in 29 contests this campaign, is tied with Morgan Buckner (1997-00; 765 career digs) for 23rd place . . . Junior libero Whitney Rupp's (West Bloomfield/Mercy) 14 digs against Northern Michigan last Saturday (11/7) marked a career match high, bettering her 12 digs apiece in back-to-back matches at Findlay (9/29) and at Grand Valley State (10/2) in the 2007 season . . . Arielle Goodson is one total block away from recording her 300th career block and is two total blocks away from moving into an 18th-place tie with Wendy McCann (1984-87; 301 total blocks).  Her 117 total blocks this season currently ranks 29th best on FSU's all-time single-season leaders chart and is three rejections away from moving into a 28th place tie with Lauren Heine's 120 total blocks in the 2003 campaign . . . Redshirt freshman setter Samantha Fordyce's (DeWitt)1,174 assists in 29 contests this fall presently ranks 15th all-time among the Bulldogs' single-season leaders and is 11 shy of tying Sharon Sanders' 14th-place 1,185 helpers in the 1982 season . . . Senior middle hitter Sarah Lark (Alma) is one kill shy of claiming her 200th kill this season.  She presently has a career single-season best 199 kills in 29 matches to date . . . Senior outside hitter Katie Edwards (Cedar Springs) has totaled a career season-high 30 service aces in 29 outings this season after producing a combined 12 aces in her prior 75 matches. 

* NCAA Regional Tourney Information: Three automatic bids and five at-large bids will be awarded for the Midwest Region, which consists of teams from the GLIAC and Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC).  The NCAA-II Midwest Regional Tournament will be held either Nov. 19-21 or 20-22 at a campus site yet to be determined.  The official tournament pairings and site are slated to be released this Sunday (Nov. 15).  The 29th annual championship finals will be conducted this Dec. 3-5 at a campus site to be determined.   

* Good Year: Ferris State's 19 victories to date this season (19-10 overall record) exceeds its wins total (16-13 overall) from the 2008 campaign.  The Bulldogs went 20-10 overall in 2007 after tallying a 21-9 ledger in the 2006. 

* On The Road: Ferris State has posted a 4-3 mark in away encounters this season.  The Bulldogs are averaging 12.1 kills per set (350 kills) while hitting for a .197 percentage (350-169-918) in their seven road outings this campaign.  FSU is averaging 1.1 service aces (32 aces), 2.1 blocks per set (61.0 total blocks), and 13.4 digs per set (389 digs) in road matchups this campaign.  Ferris is 6-1 in the second set and 1-6 in the opening set.

* Among The National Leaders: Ferris State currently ranks 48th among this week's NCAA Division II statistical leaders in blocks per set (2.08 avg.).  The Bulldogs are listed 63rd in assists per set (11.6), 68th in kills per set (12.43), 69th in win-loss percentage (.655), and 77th in service aces per set (1.71) through Nov. 8 matches.  FSU is listed 106th in hitting pct. (.191) and 185th in digs per set (13.57 avg.).  Individually, Arielle Goodson ranks 30th in blocks per set (1.08) while Samantha Fordyce is 36th in assists per set (10.39).

* 2009 GLIAC Volleyball Preseason Poll: Ferris State is ranked fourth with 13 points in the 2009 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Women's Volleyball North Division Coaches Preseason Poll with 13 points.  The Bulldogs received four more points than fifth-place Michigan Tech (nine pts.) and trailed third-place Saginaw Valley State (19 pts.) by six points.  Grand Valley State earned top billing in the GLIAC's North Division with 24 points and four first-place votes while Northern Michigan had 20 points to go with the remaining two first-place votes.  In the South Division, Hilldale and Wayne State were tabbed the favorites with 22 points apiece. Hillsdale also received three first-place votes while Wayne State had two and third-place Ashland (17 pts.) one.  Ferris State garnered a third-place tying 16 points in the 2008 preseason poll.

* Great Stretch: Ferris State has won 20 or more matches nine times under 14th-year head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm. The Bulldogs are 255-118 (.684) over the past 11 plus years and have reached the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Tournament five times in that span.  FSU has advanced to the GLIAC Tournament 11 consecutive years to date.

* 2008 Record: Ferris State registered a 16-13 overall record in 2008, which included a fifth-place 8-8 mark in the GLIAC's North Division.  The winning record represented the program's 11th consecutive winning season and the 28th consecutive time in which the Bulldogs have amassed a double-figure wins total.  FSU also made its 11th GLIAC Tournament appearance in a row last season.

* Team Captains: Serving as 2009 team captains will be senior middle hitter Sarah Lark and junior libero Dana Ruttle.  Ruttle was a co-recipient of the program's Coaches Award a season ago.   

* Bulldog Volleyball Twitbook: All Ferris State Women's Volleyball fans now can have access to additional information on the 2009 team via Twitter at twitter.com/ferrisvolleybal.