Ferris State Volleyball Marches Into GLIAC Championship Match With Victory Over SVSU

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's volleyball team moved into the championship match of the 2016 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament as the top-seeded Bulldogs beat Saginaw Valley State 3-1 on Saturday (Nov. 19) inside FSU's Ewigleben Sports Arena for their 23rd-straight win.

The Bulldogs will next square off against third-seeded Ashland in Sunday's (Nov. 20) league tourney title match starting at 3 p.m. (ET) in Big Rapids. The Eagles rallied to top seventh-seeded Lake Erie in the second semifinal.

Ferris State won the opening set over the Cardinals 25-15 before SVSU answered with a 25-18 triumph in the second set. The Bulldogs then pulled out a decisive 25-13 victory in set three and closed the match with a 25-18 victory in the fourth to improve to 27-5 overall this season.

Junior Maria Kronner tallied a team-high 13 kills to lead a balanced FSU attack. She was joined in double-digits by freshman Allyson Cappel with 12 kills. Meanwhile, junior Ayanna Buckley totaled 11 kills and sophomore Katke Placek added 10 kills in the triumph.

Ferris State posted a .219 hitting figure and came up with 53 kills and only 18 errors on 160 attacks. The Bulldogs also netted 77 digs as junior libero Lauren Reminga tallied 21 and Cappel chipped in with 16 digs. Kaley Konjarevich contributed 14 digs and Placek notched 10 in the win.

The Bulldogs also recorded eight solo blocks, including two each from Cappel, Placek and Mekayla Carey. FSU totaled six service aces with three from Cappel.

SVSU was led by Kaylee Schmitt, who netted 12 kills. Both Andrea Brigham and Kennedy Marker added eight apiece. The Cardinals hit .108 overall with 45 kills and 27 errors on 166 attempts. They finished with 79 digs as Emily Nieman totaled a team-high 21 in the setback.

Overall, SVSU also posted only a single block with four block assists and no aces while falling to 19-11 on the year.

Ferris State and Ashland will meet in Sunday's title match starting at 3 p.m. (ET). The winner receives the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Division II Tournament.