Ferris State Volleyball Alum Katie Placek Representing USA On D2 Tour To Brazil
Big Rapids, Mich. - Ferris State University volleyball alum Katie Placek (Traverse City), who wrapped up her FSU career this past fall, departed this week and is representing her country on the USA Division II Volleyball Tour to Brazil.
Placek is among one of a handful of Division II standouts chosen for the special opportunity as announced by USA Sports Tours & Events. The USA D2 Volleyball teams feature the top NCAA Division II women's volleyball players from across the country and are comprised of All-America, All-Region and All-Conference picks.
The USA D2 Volleyball Teams will feature two squads, a Red Team and a Blue Team. The red team, which includes Placek, is made up of 10 players representing six different colleges and universities from seven states while the Blue team consists of nine standouts from six institutions in eight different home states.
"This is an outstanding group of young women," said Ron Smith of USA Sports Tours & Events. "Many of the players on this year's USA D2 / Brazil Tour team had great individual seasons and led their teams into post season play. This tour is designed to expose players to a great volleyball experience while providing a once in a lifetime opportunity for educational, cultural and social growth."
The USA D2 Volleyball Tour runs from May 13-22. The teams began with orientation in Orlando (Fla.) and departed for Sao Paulo, Brazil, earlier this week. After a practice in the city of Jundiai, they began competition against professional and club teams.
The two USA D2 teams play doubleheaders each night in the cities visited. They also travel to Rio de Janeiro during the trip and take part in an "International Challenge" on Saturday. The "International Challenge" will be two matches versus club teams from the city of Rio de Janeiro. The two teams will be competing against top U22, adult and professional club teams from the states of Sao Paulo and Rio de Janeiro on the tour.
While in Brazil, the teams will experience educational, cultural and social aspects of Brazilian life through city, school and sports club visits. While in Rio, the team will be staying on the famous Copacabana Beach (location for the 2016 Rio Olympic Beach Volleyball Stadium) and touring the Christ the Redeemer Statue and Sugar Loaf Mountain, two of the most recognizable landmarks in the world. The team will visit the popular international market in Ipanema and Ipanema Beach.
During the teams' time in Rio the squad will also be conducting a youth clinic at the Marina Barra Clube / Ripper Volei as part of their "social project". This popular outreach opportunity for the USA D-2 Volleyball Team is filled to capacity.
Placek is the lone standout from a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) institution chosen to compete. She joins former teammate and current Bulldog All-America outside hitter Allyson Cappel (Tinley Park, Ill.) as recent squad members from FSU to take part in the tour as Cappel was on last year's trip.
Placek capped off a stellar career as one of the country's top liberos last fall in her first year in the role for the Bulldogs. A four-year letterwinner, Placek was chosen as the GLIAC's Libero of the Year after pacing the Bulldogs with 651 digs while becoming a member of the school's 1,000 career digs club. She averaged 5.38 digs per set in helping the Bulldogs to a 27-5 overall record and a fifth-straight GLIAC Championship. The All-GLIAC honoree also earned Division II Conference Commissioners Association (D2CCCA) All-Region accolades.
This past fall, Ferris State made its eighth consecutive NCAA Tournament bid and has now advanced to at least the regional semifinals each of the last eight years. FSU's regional appearance represented the program's 23rd all-time.
The Bulldogs finished the regular-season as GLIAC Champions for the fifth-straight year with a perfect 16-0 league mark. It was the eighth-straight year in which FSU finished either first or second in the conference.
Along with winning last fall's GLIAC regular-season crown, Ferris State also captured the 2018 GLIAC Tournament Championship for the fifth consecutive year as FSU topped Davenport to earn the program's sixth tourney title in school history while becoming the first squad in league history to capture five-straight crowns.
This past year marked the 17th time in 23 seasons under head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm in which FSU has claimed at least 20 victories in a campaign. The Bulldogs also made their 21st consecutive GLIAC Tournament appearance.
Below are the complete team rosters for the Brazil tour.
USA D-2 RED Volleyball Team
Isabelle Barnes, Alabama – Huntsville
Abby Brooks, Alabama – Huntsville
Sabrina Duncan, Alabama – Huntsville
Amanda Guasti-Nugent, Montevallo
Sadie Hough, West Florida
Emma Lenoir, Christian Brothers
Katie Placek, Ferris State
Miaya Smith, Christian Brothers
Evelina Teran, Montevallo
Taylor Vaneekeren, West Florida
USA D-2 RED Volleyball Coach
Cade Smith (Head Volleyball Coach), Alabama – Huntsville
USA D-2 BLUE Volleyball Team
Madi Cooler, West Alabama
Audrey Fisher, Central Missouri
Kaitlin Niedert, Upper Iowa
Morgan Olson, Minnesota State
Mara Quam, Minnesota State
Kylie Smith, Southern Nazarene
Abby Tiesman, Colorado School of Mines
Kassie Till, West Alabama
Bailee Turang, Southern Nazarene
USA D-2 BLACK Volleyball Coach
Jeremy White (Head Volleyball Coach), Southeastern Louisiana
(formerly at Northwestern Oklahoma State University)