Ferris State Comes Up Short In Loss To 16th-Ranked Hillsdale
Senior Arielle Goodson's (Grand Rapids/Central) match-high tying 17 kills combined with junior Ashley Huntey's (Stanwood/Morley-Stanwood) 12 kills and senior Danielle Hamilton's (Galesburg/Galesburg-Augusta) were not enough to get the Ferris State University women's volleyball team past nationally-ranked Hillsdale this Friday (Sept. 24) evening as the Chargers posted a 3-1 (25-22, 29-27, 15-25, 25-21) win at HC's Jesse Philips Arena in Hillsdale, Mich.
Ferris State drops to 6-4 overall and 3-3 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference's (GLIAC) North Division with the conference setback while Hillsdale, which is ranked 16th in the nation this week, upped its overall record to 9-1 and improved to 6-0 in the GLIAC's South Division.
Arielle Goodson, a middle hitter, racked up 17 kills on .220 hitting efficiency to tie Hillsdale's Ashlee Crowder for match-high honors. Ashley Huntey turned in her second double-double of this season with 12 kills and 16 digs as the outside hitter concluded the match hitting at a .211 clip. Danielle Hamilton, a middle hitter, also cracked the double-figure column in kills with 11 on 22 attempts for a .409 percentage. Sophomore setter Samantha Fordyce (DeWitt) had a busy night with a match-best 43 assists while junior libero Lisa Tobiczyk (Marysville) totaled 22 digs and senior libero Dana Ruttle (Reed City) contributed 11 for Ferris State, which hit for a .199 attack percentage.
For the Chargers, Ashlee Crowder was joined by Clara Leutheuser's 11 kills. Sydney Dow accumulated a match-best 26 digs as Hillsdale finished the four-set contest with a .203 attack percentage.
Up front, both teams combined for 19 total blocks while Hillsdale compiling 11.0 and Ferris State recording 8.0 for the contest. Arielle Goodson garnered three block solos while the Chargers were led by Lauren Grover's one block solo and five block assists.
In the opening set, Hillsdale never trailed although the Bulldogs managed to draw into a 21-all tie on Arielle Goodson's kill. The Chargers responded by scoring the next three points and produced the winning point via Ashlee Crowder's kills. FSU hit .108 for the set but couldn't match Hillsdale's hitting productivity of .289 percent.
Ferris State battled Hillsdale all the way in the second set, which consisted of 13 ties and six lead changes. The teams exchanged kills in the late stages and the score was even at 27-27 on a Chargers' service error. HC would claim the upper hand on a Crowder kill before an ace served up by Clara Leutheuser represented the decisive point. The Bulldogs managed to improve their hitting efficiency from the first to the second set at .160 although Hillsdale was able to record a .222 success rate on its attempts.
The third set belonged to the visitors as Ferris State compiled a .400 attack percentage while grounding the Chargers, who produced a .121 hitting percentage. FSU jumped out to a 20-9 advantage and was never threatened the remainder of the set as the Bulldogs pulled to within 2-1 in the match.
In the fourth set, Hillsdale turned the tables on the Bulldogs as the Chargers took a 15-9 lead at the onset. HC, which turned in a .156 hitting percentage to FSU's .147 rate, managed to hold Ferris State in check although the Bulldogs were able to get within 22-21 on Arielle Goodson's solo block of a Charger attack. After calling for time, Hillsdale regrouped and reeled off three unanswered points to end the set and match.
The Bulldogs step back onto the court this Saturday (Sept. 25) for a conference match versus the Wayne State Warriors in Detroit, Mich. The first serve is slated for 4 p.m. (EDT) at WSU's Matthaei Building in what will represent the only regular-season meeting between the two teams.