Bulldog Volleyball Bounces Back To Sweep West Virginia State

Big Rapids, Mich. - The nationally 14th-ranked Ferris State University women's volleyball squad got back on the winning track as the Bulldogs rolled to a convincing 3-0 sweep of West Virginia State on Saturday (Sept. 1) afternoon.

FSU rolled past the Yellow Jackets in the Ferris State Invitational at the Ewigleben Sports Arena by scores of 25-19, 25-14 and 25-23.  With the win, the Bulldogs improved to 2-1 overall this campaign while West Virginia State rounded out the two-day tournament still searching for its first win (0-4).  Ferris State also bounced back from a 3-2 setback on Friday evening to Mercyhurst.

Twelve different players saw action for the Bulldogs in a balanced effort.  FSU was paced by senior middle hitter Anne Sutton, who notched a match-high 13 kills and added five total blocks.

Ferris State piled up 40 kills and a .260 attack percentage on the afternoon while limiting West Virginia State to 33 kills and a .170 hitting figure.  FSU also tallied 9.5 blocks to five for the visitors from the mountain state.

Besides Sutton's 13 kills, FSU also received nine kills and four blocks from fellow senior middle hitter Angi Kent.  Meanwhile, junior libero Brandie Merren posted 12 digs to lead FSU in that category and senior setter Samantha Fordyce tallied 32 assists along with eight digs.

Eight different Ferris State players had at least one kill in the match and seven also recorded a dig.

West Virginia State was led by Alyssa Graboski's nine kills.  Megan Lucas contributed 27 assists while Jessyca Gooch had 17 digs.

Overall, the Bulldogs had 44 digs, eight service aces and four service errors.  The Yellow Jackets finished with 46 digs, five aces and nine errors.

Ferris State recorded a 27-4 overall mark a year ago en route to claiming the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division Championship and the school's 16th NCAA Tournament appearance.  FSU is the preseason pick to win the GLIAC again this campaign.

The Bulldogs will wrap up action in their own invitational against Clarion (Pa.) on Saturday evening at 5 p.m. (ET).  A total of nine teams are taking part in the two-day event with 18 matches held on two courts inside the Ewigleben Sports Complex.