#22 Ferris State Storms Back To Move Into First-Place GLIAC Tie By Beating #14 GVSU In Home Showdown

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Big Rapids, Mich. - The nationally 22nd-ranked Ferris State University women's volleyball team moved into a first-place tie with rival Grand Valley State in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) standings as the Bulldogs rallied past the 14th-ranked Lakers for an exciting 3-2 triumph on Tuesday (Oct. 28) night in a thrilling showdown at FSU's Ewigleben Sports Arena.

A capacity crowd of more than 600 fans watched the Bulldogs battle back from a 2-1 deficit to win the fourth frame and force the deciding fifth set. In the last set, the Lakers jumped out to an 8-6 lead midway thru, but FSU was not to be denied as the Bulldogs earned a hard-fought 17-15 win.

The victory was FSU's second fifth-set comeback against the Lakers in the last three series' meetings as the Bulldogs claimed last year's NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Championship on GVSU's home floor in Allendale in similar fashion to advance to the Elite Eight.

In Tuesday's showdown, the Lakers started quickly in winning the opening set 25-20. However, the Bulldogs posted a 25-21 win in the second frame to tie the match up before the Lakers surged back in front with a 25-18 victory in the third set. But, the Bulldogs claimed a 25-19 win in the fourth set to knot the match and force the deciding set.

The win was Ferris State's sixth victory in its last eight matchups with the Lakers and lifted FSU into a first-place tie atop the GLIAC standings with the win. Both squads now own identical 13-1 conference marks with four regular-season matches remaining.

Ferris State, which earlier this year fell to GVSU by a 3-1 score in Allendale in this season's first meeting, remained unbeaten at home inside the Ewigleben Sports Arena with a perfect 7-0 mark this year. Overall, the Bulldogs have now won 17-straight regular-season home matches dating back to last year and are 30-5 at home over the last three seasons.

Senior hitter Courtney Rehm spearheaded a valiant Bulldog effort with a match-high 20 kills. She also added 13 digs in a double-double performance and tallied a match-best 70 total attempts.

While Rehm was the lone Bulldog to reach double-digits in kills, FSU did receive nine kills each from both junior outside hitter Megan Vander Meer along with junior middle hitter Caroline Heitzman. Junior hitter Alexis Huntey added six kills in a balanced Bulldog lineup.

In addition to Rehm's 13 digs, the Bulldogs received a team-high 24 digs from junior libero Danielle Dowd along with 23 by Huntey and 16 apiece from both Vander Meer and sophomore setter Stephanie Sikorski.

Sikorski paced a Bulldog attack that gained steam as the night wore on as she tallied 34 assists. FSU posted a negative hitting figure in each of the first two sets before warming up to finish at .073 for the evening.

The Lakers didn't fare much better on the attack either as GVSU posted a .077 percentage. The Bulldogs hit .184 in the deciding frame to the Lakers' .122 showing.

Grand Valley State was led by Betsy Ronda with 15 kills. Ally Simmons added 13 kills and Abby Aiken chipped in with 12 kills. Defensively, libero Christina Canepa recorded a match-high 31 digs and the Lakers received 25 from Ronda in addition to 20 by Aiken. Kaitlyn Wolters tallied 18 digs with Kourtney Wolters totaling 11 on the evening.

Overall, Ferris State posted 50 kills and 34 errors on 218 total attempts with Grand Valley State netting 58 kills and 41 errors on 220 attacks. The Bulldogs finished with 107 digs in comparison to GVSU's 120 digs.

Meanwhile, the Bulldogs had an impressive night at the net with 16 total blocks, including a solo block and eight assists by Heitzman. Sikorski had six assisted blocks as did Huntey while senior Claire Grawburg added three. 

On the GVSU side the net, the Lakers managed 10 blocks with Simmons posting four assists and Ronda recording two solo blocks and two assisted efforts. 

Ferris State registered only a single ace in the match from Huntey and totaled nine service mistakes with the Lakers notching four aces and 12 errors at the service line.

With the win, Ferris State improved to 16-5 overall this year and the Bulldogs have now won each of their last three outings to date. GVSU fell to 17-4 on the year with the setback.

Ferris State will hit the road for a pair of league contests this weekend as FSU ventures to Lake Superior State on Friday (Oct. 31) for a 7 p.m. (ET) GLIAC tilt in Sault Ste. Marie before heading to Northwood on Saturday (Nov. 1) with match time against the Timberwolves set for 5 p.m. (ET) in Midland.

The Bulldogs will then play their final two regular-season matches at home on Nov. 7-8 versus Wayne State and Saginaw Valley State, respectively.