Sophomore Ashley Huntey (#8) hammers a kill as fellow sophomore Karen Thompson (#19) looks on in the Bulldogs' sweep of Northwood.

Posted: Sep 12, 2009

Ferris State Volleyball Nabs 3-0 Home Decision Over Northwood

A season-best .278 hitting percentage led the Ferris State University women's volleyball team to a 3-0 sweep over Northwood (25-22, 25-22, 25-21) this Saturday (Sept. 12) afternoon in a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) matchup at FSU's Ewigleben Sports Arena in Big Rapids, Mich.

With the victory, the Bulldogs extend their current winning streak to four straight while improving their overall record to 9-3 and 2-0 in conference match play. Ferris State has also now won seven of its last eight outings to date. Northwood drops to 2-8 overall and is now 0-2 in the GLIAC with the setback.

Ferris State came out hitting .469 in the first set with 18 kills in 32 attempts while Northwood posted a .312 hitting percentage via 13 kills on 32 chances. The Bulldogs trailed by as many as six points (13-9) at one point, but were able to overcome the deficit and tie the set at 22-apiece on senior middle hitter Kristy Gilchrist's (Macomb/Anchor Bay) kill. The hosts proceeded to claim the opening set win as sophomore outside hitter Karen Thompson (Holt) served up and ace to make it 23-22. A NU attack error followed by senior outside hitter Katie Edwards' (Cedar Springs) accounted for the game-winning points.

The Bulldogs would claim the second set by an indentical score (25-22) as the hosts settled in to hit .122 (13-8-41) in the frame. Ferris State junior middle hitter Arielle Goodson (Grand Rapids/Central) hammered the game-winning kill after the hosts had closed the gap to 20-19 on a kill by Sladjana Mitrovic, who would tally a match-leading 16 kills for the day.

FSU would then record its fifth sweep of this season by hitting .286 in the third set (15-5-35) while limiting the Timberwolves to a .136 efficiency (14-8-44). The set was knotted up at 21-apiece before Ferris State snapped the tie on a Goodson kill. Northwood would then commit three straight attack errors to give the Bulldogs the match.

Pacing the offense for Ferris State was Kristy Gilchrist, who hit .579 on 12 kills in 19 attempts. Sophomore outside hitter Ashley Huntey (Stanwood/Morley-Stanwood) chalked up 11 kills while Arielle Goodson notched 10 kills.

Redshirt freshman setter Samantha Fordyce (DeWitt) received the start and dished out 30 assists before giving way to freshman Paige Wyers (White Cloud), who distributed 12 helpers.

The Bulldogs' back-row effort was led by sophomore libero Lisa Tobiczyk (Marysville) with a match-best 16 digs. Huntey chipped in with eight digs as part of FSU's 43 team total.

Ferris State hopes to continue its winning ways this Tuesday (Sept. 15) as the Bulldogs entertain the nationally-ranked and archrival Grand Valley State Lakers in a 7 p.m. (EDT) conference match at Big Rapids. The contest will represent the fourth and final one of a current four-match homestand for Ferris State.