Posted: Dec 11, 2024
ELITE EIGHT PREVIEW! Ferris State Volleyball Hits The Floor In South Dakota At D2 Elite Eight
The Ferris State University women's volleyball squad will make its first NCAA D2 Elite Eight appearance since 2013 this week, Dec. 12-14, at the Sanford Pentagon in Sioux Falls, S.D. The Bulldogs are the top seed for the Elite Eight and will face eighth-seeded Bentley (Mass.) in the national quarterfinals on Thursday night. The semifinals are slated for Friday (8 p.m.) with the national championship match on Saturday evening at 6 p.m. (ET).
Media Coverage
FSU's Elite Eight matches will be carried live by local flagship station Sunny 97.3 FM and the Bulldog Sports Network at FerrisStateBulldogs.com with Brandon Wirth providing the play-by-play coverage. A free live audio webcast will be offered by FSU along and all matches will be streamed on ESPN+. For a complete listing of links, please visit FerrisStateBulldogs.com.
NCAA Elite Eight
The Bulldogs will be making their first NCAA Division II Elite Eight appearance since 2013. Saturday night's regional championship victory marked the fourth time in which FSU had claimed a regional championship as the Bulldogs previously won crowns back in 1987 and 1989 along with 2013.
A Look At The Bulldogs
Ferris State, which is coached by 29th-year head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm, is presently unbeaten with a nation-best 34-0 overall record this year heading into the D2 Elite Eight. The Bulldogs finished the regular-season as the GLIAC Champions with a perfect 17-0 league mark. Along with winning this year's GLIAC regular-season crown, Ferris State also captured the 2024 GLIAC Tournament Championship to earn the program's 11th league tourney title in school history and the 10th in the past 11 seasons.
NCAA Tourney Notebook
This year represented the seventh time in school history in which the Bulldogs hosted NCAA Tournament competition and the first inside Bulldog Arena. FSU most recently had hosted the Midwest Regional in 2015, 2016 and 2021 at Wink Arena.
Ferris State is making its 13th consecutive NCAA Tournament bid, not counting the 2020 season in which no event was held due to COVID-19, and has advanced to at least the regional semifinals 12 of the past 13 years. FSU's tourney appearance this year represents the program's 28th all-time as the Bulldogs have compiled a 28-28 overall record in NCAA Tournament competition.
Strong FSU Success
FSU has advanced to at least the Sweet Sixteen six times in the past nine years, including now four consecutive years. FSU had fell in the Midwest Regional final the last three years in a row prior to rallying in the fifth set for a thrilling 3-2 victory before a sold out home crowd on Saturday evening in Big Rapids.
The Elite Eight Bracket
With a win on Thursday in the quarterfinals, the Bulldogs would advance to the NCAA D2 National Semifinals and play the 8 p.m. (ET) match again on Friday (Dec. 13) night. The national championship match is scheduled for Saturday (Dec. 14) at 6 p.m. (ET) in Sioux Falls.
The other national quarterfinal matchups include second-seeded Central Oklahoma squaring off against seventh-seeded San Francisco State with third-seeded Angelo State meeting sixth-seeded Gannon. On FSU's side of the bracket, the other matchup features fourth-seeded Lynn versus fifth-seeded Wingate.
AVCA Award Recipients & All-Americans
A trio of FSU women's volleyball standouts have claimed AVCA All-America accolades and the Bulldogs landed two major national awards. Ferris State senior standout Olivia Henneman-Dallape was tabbed as the AVCA National Player of the Year, becoming the first Bulldog player ever to claim the prestigious distinction.
In addition, for the first time in her 30-plus year coaching career, FSU's Tia Brandel-Wilhelm was chosen as the AVCA Division II National Coach of the Year.
Henneman-Dallape also garnered AVCA All-America First Team honors while senior setter Kaylee Maat was chosen as a AVCA All-America Second Team selection and senior outside hitter Claire Nowicki garnered AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honors.
Both Maat and Nowicki garnered AVCA All-America honors for the third year in a row while Henneman-Dallape earned her second All-America nod. Nowicki is a three-time honorable mention choice while Maat previously garnered third-team recognition in 2022 along with honorable mention accolades last year. Finally, Henneman-Dallape was a second-team choice a year ago in 2023 before earning first-team status this campaign.