Ferris State Volleyball Upends Findlay, 3-1
Senior middle hitter Arielle Goodson (Grand Rapids/Central) and junior outside hitter Ashley Huntey (Stanwood/Morley-Stanwood) combined for 33 of the team's 55 kills to help lead the Ferris State University women's volleyball team to a 3-1 triumph (18-25, 25-15, 25-22, 25-17) over the Findlay Oilers Sunday (Sept. 26) afternoon at UF's Croy Gymnasium in Findlay, Ohio.
The victory improves Ferris State to 7-5 overall and 4-4 in the GLIAC's North Division as the Bulldogs snap a two-match conference losing streak. Findlay falls to 7-6 overall and 3-4 in the GLAIC as a result of the setback.
Goodson led all players with her 19-kills output on 30 attempts while only committing four attack errors to post a resounding .500 attack percentage. Huntey recorded 14 kills and a .312 hitting percentage while adding 10 digs to tally her third double-double of this season. Sophomore middle hitter Anne Sutton (Grand Rapids/Northview) supplied nine kills in 17 chances to hit for a .412 clip and junior middle hitter Mallory Kopa (Marysville) contributed six kills. FSU hammered 55 kills in the match while the Oilers posted a 43 teams total.
Junior libero Lisa Tobiczyk (Marysville) accumulated a match-leading 19 digs and as a team, Ferris State hit for a .314 percentage. Sophomore setter Samantha Fordyce (DeWitt) produced 44 assists to all players in the four-set match.
The Bulldogs, who racked up nine blocks total as a team, received three block solos from Arielle Goodson while Anne Sutton generated four block assists and Ashley Huntey contributed with three block assists.
Findlay, which concluded the contest hitting .168, was paced by Abby LaVigne and Bethany Hoelscher with 11 kills apiece.
The host Oilers were victorious in the opening set, hitting for .393 while the Bulldogs connected on .259 of their attempts. In a set which featured eight ties and four lead exchanges, Findlay broke open a 15-all tie with five straight points to take a 20-15 advantage. Ferris was able to cut the margin to three (21-18) at one point, but the Oilers promptly reeled off the set's final four points.
In the second set, Ferris State and Findlay went back and forth before the Bulldogs outscored the hosts 12-4 down the stretch to even the contest. FSU was proficient on .200 of their attack attempts and held the Oilers to a -.026 hitting percentage rate.
Ferris State continued its momentum into the third set, which featured productive hitting by both teams. The Bulldogs concluded the set with a .370 hitting percentage while Findlay chalked up a .250 attack percentage. A kill by Ashley Huntey gave the Bulldogs an 18-17 advantage and FSU never relinquished the lead despite the Oilers narrowing the gap to two points (21-19) at one stage. However, Ferris posted the next two points and an Arielle Goodson kill following a Bulldog timeout capped things off.
The fourth set began with Findlay taking a 7-3 lead only to have Ferris State come back to knot the stanza at 8-8 following an Oilers' attack error. Six more ties would follow before the Bulldogs, who tallied a .448 hitting percentage in the set, went on a 7-1 scoring spurt to claim a 21-15 lead. FSU then held the Oilers in check by giving up only two more points as Samantha Fordyce laid down a kill for the match-clinching point.
The Bulldogs return to action on Friday (Oct. 1) evening as the Grand Valley State Lakers pay a visit to FSU's Ewigleben Sports Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. A 7 p.m. (EDT) opening serve is set for the matchup between the two GLIAC North Division rivals.