This Week - The Bulldogs remain on the road as they travel to the Upper Peninsula for three GLIAC matches this weekend (Oct. 19-21). On Thursday (Oct. 19), Ferris State will play at Lake Superior State at 7 p.m. The Bulldogs will travel to Houghton (Mich.) on Friday to face Michigan Tech at 7 p.m. Coach Tia Brandel and her squad will also play at Northern Michigan on Saturday (Oct. 21) at 4 p.m. before heading home to Big Rapids.
Moving Up The Charts - Seniors Morgan Buckner and Sarah VanderMolen continued their climb on the all-time career kills chart last week. Buckner, a 5-9 outside hitter, moved into fifth place on the all-time chart as she had 36 kills in three matches. She surpassed Sheri Harris (1987-88, '96, '98) and now has 1,355 kills in her career. Karen Volkers (1987-90) is in fourth place with 1,642 kills. VanderMolen, a 5-11 hitter, moved into ninth place as she recorded 51 kills last week. She now needs just two kills to move past Patti Stirling (1993-96) into eighth place. VanderMolen has 1,156 kills in her career. She needs just 29 digs to become the eighth player in school history to record 1,000 career digs. In doing so, she would also become only the fifth player in the 28-year history of the program to record 1,000 career digs and 1,000 career kills.
Regional Rankings - In last week's Great Lakes Regional rankings, Ferris State was tied for fourth. Northwood held the top spot while Grand Valley State was second and Northern Kentucky was third. Despite losing to No. 8 Findlay this past weekend, the Bulldogs could still figure into the mix with wins over Michigan Tech and Northern Michigan this week. Both teams were also tied for fourth along with FSU and Lewis (Ill.) in the latest rankings. New rankings are due to come out on Oct. 25. Seven GLIAC schools are ranked among the top 10 teams in the region.
Personal Bests - Junior Amanda Kane tied a career high with 15 digs against Findlay last Friday (Oct. 13). Kane also had 15 digs in a match at Wayne State on Oct. 6 and in a match at Grand Valley State last season. She ranks second on the squad in digs per game at 2.09. In 81 games this season, Kane has 169 digs. She also has 24 service aces in 22 matches this year.
Bulldog Bites - Coach Tia Brandel needs just six more wins to surpass Kathy DeBoer (1980-83) on the all-time career victory list. DeBoer was 107-63 during her tenure at Ferris State. Coach Brandel has a mark of 102-53 in five seasons at the helm. Jill Hirschinger (1984-95) set the standard for Bulldog coaches with a career mark of 330-151 at FSU. . .Coach Brandel has the second-best winning percentage at Ferris State at .658. . .Senior Sarah VanderMolen has an attack percentage of .332 in 22 matches this season. If that mark stands until the end of the year it would be the best attack percentage recorded by a Bulldog player in 15 years. . .Ferris State needs just two more victories to record the program's 14th 20-win season in the 28-year history of the volleyball program. . .VanderMolen, junior Erin Minnis and senior Morgan Buckner have combined for 808 kills this season or 64 percent of the Ferris State offensive attack.
A Look Ahead - Ferris State will play its final road match of the regular season on Oct. 27 at Grand Valley State. The Bulldogs will return home for the final weekend of the GLIAC season on Nov. 3-4 against Saginaw Valley State and Northwood.