Ferris State Volleyball Captures GLIAC Tournament Championship With Thrilling Win At Michigan Tech

Postgame Highlights (Courtesy MTU Athletics)

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's volleyball squad claimed its seventh Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament Championship in the past eight years on Sunday (Nov. 21) as the Bulldogs rallied for a thrilling 3-2 win over top-seeded Michigan Tech in Houghton.

FSU ran its winning streak to 20 consecutive matches and earned the league's automatic berth into the NCAA Tournament by bouncing back from a one-set deficit twice en route to the win.

Ferris State dropped the opening frame in MTU's Student Development Complex Gymnasium 25-21 before battling back for a 25-21 win in the second set. The Huskies regained the league by taking a 25-15 triumph in the third, but FSU forced the deciding set by capturing a 25-19 victory in the fourth.

In the fifth and deciding set, the Bulldogs jumped out to an early lead before MTU tied it back up late, including at 14-14, forcing extra points. However, the Bulldogs picked up the two necessary points to capture the crown by a 16-14 margin.

Senior All-American Katie O'Connell had a big day for the Bulldogs, compiling a match-high 25 kills while hitting .404 for the afternoon. She added a team-high tying 24 digs in a championship performance.

FSU senior libero Nina Gorgijevska came up with 24 digs as well while freshman Keona Salesman garnered 15 digs to go with her 11 kills. Middle hitter Kira Merkle chipped in 13 kills and middle hitter Samantha Hermann totaled nine kills for the Bulldogs.

Ferris State also received 54 assists and 14 digs from setter Kaylee Maat while senior Brooke Norder added 12 digs in the winning effort and freshman Claire Nowicki had 10 digs.

Meanwhile, Hermann paced FSU with four block assists at the net with O'Connell totaling a solo block and three assists. Olivia Henneman-Dallape had two solo blocks and an assist to go with her seven kills.

Ferris State hit .201 for the afternoon, totaling 67 kills and only 24 attack errors on 214 attempts. FSU also finished with 110 digs and had three aces, including two from Merkle.

The host Huskies were paced by Anna Jonynas, who came up with 17 kills and 22 digs. Setter Laura De Marchi had 53 assists and 23 digs with Megan Utlak totaling 31 digs for MTU.

FSU held the Huskies to a .192 attack figure and Michigan Tech netted 64 kills with 22 attack errors on 219 attempts. The Huskies also compiled 109 digs with five aces and six block assists to go with a solo block.

Ferris State improved to 25-4 overall this year with the win and avenged an earlier regular-season defeat at MTU back on Sept. 19, which marks FSU's last loss this season.

The Bulldogs, who were seeded second in the latest NCAA Midwest Regional Rankings behind Michigan Tech this past week, will now await the NCAA Selection Show, set for Monday (Nov. 22) evening at 7:30 p.m. (ET) with a live online stream at NCAA.com.

With the automatic berth, the Bulldogs earned their 25th all-time NCAA Tournament berth, including a bid for the 10th year in a row.