Nineteen-Time NCAA Tourney Participant Ferris State Opens Spring Volleyball Slate This Saturday
Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's volleyball squad, which has reached the NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Semifinals or higher in each of the last four seasons, will open its 2015 spring schedule this Saturday.
The Bulldogs' annual spring slate includes four competitive dates along with practice sessions. Per NCAA regulations, only the dates of the events can be publicized and no results will be available.
Ferris State will open its spring schedule by taking part in a tournament competition on Saturday (March 28) at NCAA Division I Western Michigan. The Bulldogs will then visit Cornerstone University in Grand Rapids on April 2 before heading to two more Division I institutions for events on the campus of Central Michigan on April 12 and Michigan State on April 25.
This past fall, the Bulldogs posted a 24-6 overall record in 2014 and earned a fourth-straight berth to the NCAA Tournament. FSU also won a share of the GLIAC Regular-Season Championship and claimed the school's second-ever GLIAC Tournament title by beating rival Grand Valley State in the tourney title match.
This past year marked the 13th time in 19 seasons under head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm in which FSU has claimed at least 20 victories in a campaign. The Bulldogs have also reached the NCAA-II Tournament 19 times overall and made 17 consecutive GLIAC Tournament appearances to date.
Ferris State lost only a pair of seniors from last fall's squad. The Bulldogs will return 11 letterwinners for the 2015 campaign, including four All-GLIAC honorees in outside hitters Megan Vander Meer and Alexis Huntey along with middle hitter Caroline Heitzman and setter Stephanie Sikorski.
Vander Meer was chosen as an American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-American in 2014 and FSU also returns libero Danielle Dowd, who was named to the Capital One Academic All-America squad.
Following the spring season, the Bulldogs will open fall camp in August with the 2015 season slated to begin in early September.
Below are the 2015 spring dates:
March 28 at Western Michigan
April 2 at Cornerstone University
April 12 at Central Michigan
April 25 at Michigan State