Ferris State Volleyball Splits Final Two Matches At GLIAC/GLVC Crossover Tourney

Big Rapids, Mich. – The Ferris State University women's volleyball team split a pair of matches to wrap up the 2013 GLIAC/GLVC Crossover Tournament on Saturday (Oct. 26) at the Great Lakes Center in Aurora, Ill.

The nationally 22nd-ranked Bulldogs fell to Indianapolis by a 3-0 score in the morning match before bouncing back to post an impressive 3-0 triumph over a strong regional opponent in Lewis (Ill.) at the nation's largest collegiate volleyball tournament.  FSU wrapped up the two-day event with a 2-1 overall mark and has now won 13 of its last 15 contests to date this season.

In the first match of the day, Indianapolis won the first set 25-21 and took set two by a 25-18 count.  The Bulldogs sent the third frame to extra points before falling in a tight set by a 31-29 score as the Greyhounds earned the win.

Ferris State was limited to a .158 attack percentage in the opener while Indianapolis hit .220 overall.  FSU compiled 37 kills, 69 digs, three aces and had four service errors compared to UIndy's 52 kills, 82 digs, three aces and four miscues from the service line.

Sophomore Alexis Huntey led the Bulldogs with 10 kills and FSU also received eight from junior Courtney Rehm along with seven by Caroline Heitzman.  Meanwhile, freshman Stephanie Sikorski had 35 assists from the setter position and added 17 digs in a double-double effort.

The Bulldogs' 69 total digs also included 18 from senior libero Brandie Merren and 13 from sophomore hitter Megan Vander Meer.  On the opposite side, Julia Watkins had 13 digs for the Greyhounds and five different Indianapolis players compiled 10 digs or more, led by Hailey Brown's match-high 20 digs.

Ferris State battled back to sweep Lewis in the nightcap as the Bulldogs rolled to a 25-14, 25-21 and 25-18 triumph to improve to 17-5 overall this season.  The Flyers fell to 16-7 on the year with the setback.

FSU hit .200 in the second match of the day with Rehm leading the way with 12 kills on the Bulldog side.  Overall, Ferris State netted 37 kills, 59 digs, nine aces and five service errors.  FSU also had 10 block assists and a solo block at the net.

Merren had 20 digs against the Flyers with Huntey adding 13 digs to go with seven kills.  Senior middle hitter Angi Kent totaled nine kills, Sikorski had 30 assists and Heitzman totaled four block assists to help the FSU cause.

The Bulldogs held Lewis to a .076 attack percentage with the Flyers compiling 31 kills, 55 digs, three aces and three service errors.  No Lewis player was able to reach double-digits in kills as Alexis Davito paced the Flyers with nine kills in the contest.

LU also received 29 assists from Leigh Barea and 17 digs by Kim Vertin.

Ferris State returns to GLIAC play next weekend as the Bulldogs visit Michigan Tech on Friday (Nov. 1) night for a 7 p.m. (ET) league tilt in Houghton followed by a trip to Marquette on Saturday (Nov. 2) to face Northern Michigan beginning at 4 p.m. (ET).

Mizuno again served as the title sponsor for the regional volleyball event which pitted 16 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) volleyball teams against 16 institutions representing the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) in the nation's largest collegiate volleyball event.

The two-day tournament featured 48 matches conducted on eight courts at one of the top volleyball facilities in the country. The event, designed to increase competition between teams from the two leagues in the NCAA Division II Midwest Region, was previously held in Indianapolis, Ind., and Lansing, Mich.

One GLVC team and one GLIAC team squared off in each contest, which consisted of eight matches happening simultaneously in each of three sessions over the two-day event.   This year's matchup resulted in a tie with each conference winning 24 of the 48 matches.  It marked the first tie in the tournament's history as the GLVC now holds a 3-2-1 series lead in the event, winning titles in 2010, 2011 and 2012.  The GLIAC previously claimed titles in 2008 and 2009 during the first two years of the tournament.

For more information and complete results, log on to the event's official website:
http://www.gliac.org/sports/wvball/2013-14/crossover/Crossover_13