Ferris State Volleyball Wins Share Of GLIAC Crown By Beating SVSU

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's volleyball team, which is ranked 22nd in the country, won a share of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) regular-season championship on Saturday (Nov. 8) as the Bulldogs swept Saginaw Valley State 3-0 inside the Ewigleben Sports Arena.

The victory over the Cardinals lifted FSU to 20-5 overall and 17-1 in the GLIAC as FSU and rival Grand Valley State finished tied atop the conference standings with identical records. They finish as league co-champions as the only loss for either team was to each other on the road.

By virtue of a league tie-breaking coin flip, the Lakers will receive the number one seed for the league tournament with FSU seeded second overall. The Bulldogs will host seventh-seeded Hillsdale in the quarterfinal-round on Wednesday (Nov. 12) evening with match time set for 7 p.m. (ET) at the Ewigleben Sports Arena. The top remaining team following the quarterfinals will host the semifinals and finals on Nov. 15-16.

Ferris State rolled to an impressive win over the Cardinals as FSU claimed its seventh victory in a row. FSU won the first set 25-17 before coming back with a 25-20 triumph in the second frame and a 25-14 win in the third set to claim the win.

The Bulldogs had a strong day hitting the ball with a .294 attack percentage. The figure included 45 kills and only 13 errors on 109 total attempts. 

Ferris State was paced by junior outside hitter Megan Vander Meer, who recorded a match-high 13 kills. Junior middle hitter Caroline Heitzman added 11 kills and senior hitter Courtney Rehm netted 10 in her final regular-season home match.

Both Rehm and fellow senior middle hitter Claire Grawburg were honored prior to the match during Senior Day activities. Grawburg finished the match with the final kill as FSU secured its second league regular-season championship in the last four years.

Rehm finished with a double-double as she also tallied 11 digs. Junior libero Danielle Dowd led the way with 12 digs while junior Alexis Huntey chipped in with 11 and sophomore setter Stephanie Sikorski added nine. 

Meanwhile, Saginaw Valley State was paced by Makenzie Frodle and Kelsey Ferla, who each totaled six kills on the evening. Brooke Tiller had a match-high 16 digs while Ferla added 11 more to go with Kelly Vellucci's 18 assists.

SVSU hit .069 for the match and totaled 30 kills with 22 errors on 116 attempts. The Bulldogs compiled 56 digs to 43 for Saginaw Valley State and both teams came up with three service aces in the outing. FSU had only a single service mistake versus five for SVSU. The Bulldogs also held the advantage at the net with three solo blocks and eight assist compared to six assists and no solo hits for the Cardinals.

Overall, the victory represented the Bulldogs' 13th-straight conference win this campaign and it was also the 19th consecutive regular-season home win for the Bulldogs inside the Ewigleben Sports Arena dating back to last year. FSU is now 32-5 in the facility over the past three seasons.

Tickets for Wednesday night's quarterfinal will be sold at the door starting one hour prior to match time.

Visit this link for more information on the GLIAC Tournament:
http://www.gliac.org/sports/wvball/2014-15/championship/2014