Cappel Tabbed GLIAC Volleyball Player Of Year As FSU Places Five On All-Conference List
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Big Rapids, Mich. - Five members of the 2019 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Champion Ferris State University women's volleyball squad have received All-GLIAC honors as announced by the league office on Friday evening.
The Bulldogs had four first-team All-GLIAC representatives and also claimed the prestigious GLIAC Player of the Year Award as senior outside hitter Allyson Cappel (Tinley Park, Ill.) garnered the distinction for the third consecutive season, becoming the league's first three-time player of the year in GLIAC history.
Cappel was joined on the first team by fellow senior outside hitter Courtney Brewer (Muskegon) along with senior setter Maeve Grimes (Westchester, Ill.) and junior outside hitter Katie O'Connell (Evergreen Park, Ill.). In addition, junior libero Nina Gorgijevska (Potsdam, Germany) claimed All-GLIAC honorable mention recognition.
Cappel was chosen as the GLIAC Player of the Year for the third-straight season after guiding FSU to the program's sixth-straight league regular-season championship. A three-time All-American, Cappel had tallied a team-leading 422 kills along with 315 digs, 32 blocks and 32 aces as FSU's most versatile weapon heading into the league's final four. The four-time all-league honoree has helped guide FSU to a 23-5 overall record and the Bulldogs went 14-2 in the GLIAC during the regular-season. Cappel has posted 22 double-figure efforts in kills this season and tallied 10 digs or more in 15 outings to date this season. This year marks the fifth-straight year in which the Bulldogs have had a player chosen as the GLIAC Player of the Year and Cappel becomes the first player in conference history to win the award three consecutive seasons.
Meanwhile, this season Brewer has tallied 297 kills with 273 digs, 44 bocks and 23 aces as an all-around threat in FSU's lineup. The senior outside hitter has averaged 2.88 kills and 2.65 digs per set while playing in all 28 outings this year. The four-year letterwinner has played in 103 total sets for the Bulldogs this season.
Grimes has notched 1,135 assists to date this campaign with 222 digs, 80 kills, 21 blocks and 23 aces in her third year as the squad's starting setter. The veteran standout has averaged 11.13 assists a set in directing the Bulldog attack with 102 sets played. She earned all-conference recognition for the third year in a row for the Bulldogs.
FSU's O'Connell garnered All-GLIAC First Team laurels for the second-straight year and has posted 282 kills with 371 digs, 47 blocks and 13 aces in 26 outings to date this season. She's currently averaging 2.88 kills and 3.79 digs per set for the Bulldogs. Last year, she garnered All-America honors for the Bulldogs and is a returning all-region honoree.
Finally, Gorgijevska has made her mark in her first season with the Bulldogs after transferring from the junior college level. She's played in 28 contests and ranks second on the team in total digs with 354 to date, averaging a team-high 3.89 digs per set. She also has 61 assists for the Bulldogs in 91 total sets this year.
The Bulldogs, who claimed the 2019 GLIAC Regular-Season Championship for the sixth-straight year, improved to 23-5 overall after Wednesday's quarterfinal victory over Parkside. FSU posted a league-best 14-2 mark in GLIAC regular-season action.
The nationally-ranked Bulldogs, who are fourth in this week's NCAA Division II Midwest Regional Rankings, will host the GLIAC Semifinals and finals this weekend (Nov. 23-24) at the Ewigleben Sports Arena. Top-seeded FSU will face fifth-seeded Wayne State in the first semifinal on Saturday starting at 3 p.m. (ET) with the winner advancing to Sunday's title match slated for 4 p.m. (ET).
After conference tournament action is complete, the top eight teams in the region will advance to the NCAA Division II Tournament with the top school likely to host regional action Dec. 5-7. The winner of the GLIAC Tournament will receive the league's automatic bid with official NCAA Tournament selections set to be announced Monday (Nov. 25) evening beginning at 7:30 p.m. at NCAA.com.