Volleyball Season Ends In Regional Semifinals
Hillsdale, Mich. - The Ferris State women's volleyball team had its season come to a close with a 3-0 setback to Indianapolis in the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Tournament on Saturday (Nov. 19) evening in Hillsdale, Mich.
The nationally 11th-ranked Bulldogs were swept by the third-seeded Greyhounds in straight-sets by scores of 25-22, 25-22 and 25-18 in the regional semifinals. They conclude their 2011 campaign with a 27-4 overall record.
FSU was led by junior outside hitter Aly Brecht's (Alma) team-high nine kills with junior middle hitter Anne Sutton (Grand Rapids/Northview) adding eight kills.
The second-seeded Bulldogs had beat number seven seed Saginaw Valley State in Friday's (Nov. 18) regional quarterfinal match at Hillsdale, but could not unseat the Greyhounds in Saturday's regional semifinals.
Indianapolis received 15 kills by Kristina Hefferan and 12 from Courtney Anglemyer in notching the win to improve to 27-4 overall this season. Amy Oldenburg totaled 19 digs with both Hefferan and Courtney Roach posting 11 each in the triumph.
The Greyhounds hit .169 for the match, which included a .237 figure in the final third set. They had 42 kills on the evening with 62 digs, seven blocks and three services aces to go with five service errors.
On the opposite side, the Bulldogs hit only .127 for the night with 32 kills and 17 errors on 118 total attempts. FSU managed 53 digs and six blocks with just two aces and seven errors at the service line.
Defensively, the Bulldogs received a match-high 23 digs from senior libero Lisa Tobiczyk (Marysville), who wrapped up her Bulldog career as the program's all-time leader in career digs. Senior outside hitter Ashley Huntey (Stanwood/Morley-Stanwood) added nine digs as she also played her final collegiate match in the NCAA Division II Tournament. She concluded her collegiate action as one of only seven players in FSU history to notch both 1,000 career kills and digs.
The Bulldogs also received 32 assists by junior setter Samantha Fordyce (DeWitt), who will be one of two All-GLIAC First Team picks this season returning next year along with Sutton.
Ferris State led for much of the opening set before the Greyhounds came back at the end to notch the victory. FSU also jumped out to an early advantage in the second frame before Indianapolis rallied back. The third set was tied six times and featured five lead changes, but the Greyhounds were able to emerge victorious.
For the second-straight match, FSU also had to play without the services of the 2011 GLIAC Freshman of the Year Courtney Rehm due to an injury.
FSU was making its 16th all-time NCAA Division II Tournament appearance and the program's first since the 2009 campaign.
The GLIAC Co-Champions fell to Indianapolis, which advanced to Sunday's regional title match at 4 p.m. (ET) against top-seeded host Hillsdale.