Ferris State Claims Home Win In GLIAC First Place Showdown At Wink Arena

Postgame Highlights & Interview 

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's volleyball squad earned a big Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) home win to take over sole possession of first place in the league standings on Friday (Sept. 30) night as FSU topped Northern Michigan 3-1 inside Jim Wink Arena.

The Bulldogs took the opening frame 26-24 and scored a 25-22 win in the second before NMU trimmed the margin to 2-1 with a 25-23 triumph in the third. FSU took control early in the fourth set though and rolled to a 25-13 victory to clinch the win.

In only their second home match of the year, the Bulldogs hit an impressive .410 overall, which included compiling a .357 attack figure or better in each of the four sets of action.

Ferris State was led by sophomore Claire Nowicki and freshman Emma Bleecher as each posted 16 kills. Middle hitter Syann Fairfield added 15 kills and Olivia Henneman-Dallape finished with 10 kills for the Bulldogs.

FSU sophomore setter Kaylee Maat netted 55 assists in orchestrating the Bulldog attack and she also finished with 16 digs, matching libero Leah Bylut for team-high honors. Nowicki added 13 digs and Bleecher had 11 digs for the Bulldogs.

Overall, the Bulldogs finished with 66 kills and only nine attack errors on 139 attempts. FSU also compiled 74 digs to go with nine service aces and eight block assists in addition to a solo block.

The Wildcats were limited to a .224 hitting percentage, posting 55 kills and 19 attack mistakes on 161 tries. NMU totaled 58 digs to go with eight aces and two block assists along with one solo block at the net.

With the win, Ferris State improved to 9-7 overall and 7-1 in the GLIAC while Northern Michigan fell to 13-3 overall and 6-2 in league action. The two teams had entered the match tied atop the league standings, but FSU pulled out the win over Northern Michigan for the second time in as many head-to-head contests this year.

The Bulldogs wrap up the weekend homestand by hosting Michigan Tech on Saturday (Oct. 1) starting at 3 p.m. (ET) inside Wink Arena.