Ferris State Volleyball Splits Two Matches In Saturday Action In Ohio

Big Rapids, Mich. - The nationally second-ranked Ferris State University volleyball squad split a pair of matches on Saturday (Sept. 26) to wrap-up a weekend trip to Ohio.

The Bulldogs beat Malone in Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) action by a 3-0 score in Canton, but then suffered their first setback of the season to Wheeling Jesuit (W.Va.) by an identical margin in a neutral site match between a pair of top-10 nationally-ranked squads.

Ferris State won the opener in decisive fashion by beating Malone 25-14, 25-22 and 25-16 to move to 4-0 in GLIAC play. Malone dropped to 0-4 in the conference with the loss.

Sophomore middle hitter Ayanna Buckley tallied a team-best 10 kills in the win with freshman hitter Katie Placek adding nine kills and senior Megan Vander Meer adding eight kills. Senior Alexis Huntey chipped in with seven kills to help the Bulldog cause.

FSU also received 17 digs from junior libero Danielle Dowd along with 11 by Vander Meer.

Overall, Ferris State posted a .270 hitting figure in the first match while extending its winning streak to 19 consecutive regular-season matches. The Bulldogs also tallied 40 kills with 48 digs, eight service aces and seven service errors. FSU had five solo blocks and six assists at the net.

Malone was limited to a .062 attack figure and posted only 25 kills with 42 digs, four aces, six service errors and eight block assists.

In the second match of the afternoon, Wheeling Jesuit started strong with a 25-17 victory in the first set before beating the Bulldogs 25-21 and 25-22 in the second and third frames, respectively. WJU improved to 13-3 overall this season while FSU dropped to 12-1 with its first loss of the year.

Both Vander Meer and Heitzman totaled 10 kills each for the Bulldogs with Huntey adding seven and both Buckley along with Placek netting six each. Dowd contributed a team-best 16 digs and Huntey had 12 for FSU.

Overall, Ferris State was limited to a .180 attack figure in comparison to Wheeling Jesuit's .288 production. The Bulldogs had 41 kills, 54 digs, one ace and six service errors. FSU also had two solo and four block assists.

Wheeling Jesuit was paced by Emma Schleucher's team-high 14 kills. Sydney Obringer added 11 with Jessica Thobe totaling 17 digs.

Ferris State returns home to host archrival Grand Valley State on Tuesday (Sept. 29) night with match time set for 7 p.m. (ET) inside FSU's Ewigleben Sports Arena.