BLOG 21: Bulldog spikers finish regular season with big road trip

By Sandy Gholston

Ferris State volleyball players Kristy Gilchrist (20) and Katie Edwards (1) go up for a block against Lake Superior State (Photo/Sandy Gholston)

BIG RAPIDS – A big weekend trip to the Upper Peninsula will serve as the final regular-season stage for Ferris State University’s volleyball team.

The Bulldogs will be eager to finish up the regular-season portion of their schedule on a positive note as they travel to Marquette to face Northern Michigan (Nov. 7), Friday at 7 p.m., and to Houghton to face Michigan Tech, Saturday (Nov. 8) at 4 p.m. Sporting a record of 16-10 overall and 8-6 in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference, a pair of victories would help Ferris solidify a winning record in the league standings entering the league tournament.

Ferris has experienced a little turbulence of late having lost three of their last four matches, including most recently a 3-0 home loss to Saginaw Valley State Saturday (Nov. 1) in Ewigleben Sports Arena. That match marked the final home contest in the careers of senior setters Candice Marut and Andrea Rich. Both Marut and Rich have been strong ambassadors for the Bulldog volleyball program and no doubt are in store for great things as they break out into the so-called “real world” in the not-too-distant future.

Against the Wildcats and Huskies, Ferris will is eager to avenge 3-2 losses earlier in the season in Big Rapids. On Sept. 19, Ferris fell in a 3-2 thriller to Northern and dropped another hard-fought 3-2 heartbreaker a day later against Tech.

These are important matches for Ferris to establish some momentum entering the conference tournament. As history teaches, however, traveling to the Upper Peninsula to face Northern and Tech will be major challenges. The Bulldogs need to muster a whole lot of mental toughness to return home with a victory or two.

If you have any questions, ideas or comments feel free to contact Sandy Gholston at sgholston2@netzero.com