This Week - Ferris State plays its final road match of the season on Friday (Oct. 27) as the Bulldogs make a short jaunt to Allendale to face archrival Grand Valley State. FSU has played nine of its past 10 matches on the road. After the match on Friday, the Bulldogs will have just two regular season matches remaining. Ferris State will host Saginaw Valley State and Northwood next weekend (Nov. 3-4) at Ewigleben Sports Arena in Big Rapids.
Grand Valley Preview - Ferris State will visit archrival Grand Valley State in a 7 p.m. match on Friday in Allendale. The Lakers are 23-3 overall and 13-2 in GLIAC action. Grand Valley was ranked 13th in the latest American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) national poll. In the latest Great Lakes Regional Ratings, Grand Valley was ranked second and Ferris State was tied for fourth. New regional ratings are due to come out on Wednesday (Oct. 25). Grand Valley State leads the all-time series with the Bulldogs 38-35. In Allendale, the Lakers lead the series 24-23. Ferris State coach Tia Brandel is 3-6 in nine meetings with the Lakers and has never won in Allendale. In each of her first four trips to Grand Valley, the Lakers have won in four games. Grand Valley is 9-0 at home this year. The Lakers also won the only meeting of the year 3-2 at Ewigleben Arena in Big Rapids on Oct. 10 in front of a capacity crowd of 616 as they managed to escape with a 15-10 win in the final set. The Lakers beat Lake Superior State and Michigan Tech this past weekend but lost at Northern Michigan 3-1.
Seniors On The All-Time Charts - Senior Sarah VanderMolen moved into eighth place on the all-time career kills chart at Ferris State as she had 40 kills in three matches last week. VanderMolen, a 5-11 hitter, moved past Patti Stirling (1993-96) and now has 1,196 kills in her career. Stephanie Chaffin (1989-92) is in seventh place with 1,240 kills. Senior Morgan Buckner remains in fifth place on the all-time chart with 1,377 kills and needs 265 kills to catch Karen Volkers (1987-90). With 28 digs this past weekend, VanderMolen now needs just a single dig to become the eighth player in school history to record 1,000 career digs. She would also become only the fifth player in the 28-year history of the program to record both 1,000 career digs and 1,000 career kills.
Brandel Three Wins Away - With two wins this past weekend, Coach Tia Brandel now needs just three more wins to move into a tie for second place on the career victory list at Ferris State. She has a mark of 104-54 in five seasons at Ferris State. Kathy DeBoer (1980-83) currently sits in second place on the career victory list with 107 wins during her Ferris State tenure. Former Bulldog coach Jill Hirschinger is on top of the career victory list with 330 wins in 12 years at the helm. Brandel holds the second-best winning percentage for a Ferris State coach. Her winning percentage of .658 ranks second only to Hirschinger who posted a .686 winning percentage over the course of her FSU career. Brandel also has an impressive percentage of .617 in GLIAC action. Overall, she has a 55-34 record in conference matches.
Bulldogs Clinch Berth - With two wins last weekend, Ferris State has clinched a berth in the GLIAC Tournament. Eight teams qualify for the Nov. 9-11 tournament in Battle Creek. The top three teams from the North and South Divisions each qualify for the post-season tourney. In addition, the next two teams with the best conference record qualify. Ferris State is currently fourth in the North Division at 10-5, but is assured of at least the eighth seed. The Bulldogs reached the tournament final a year ago before falling to Northwood.
20-Win Season - With a win over Michigan Tech on Friday (Oct. 20), Ferris State recorded the program's 14th 20-win season in the 28-year history of the program. Under head coach Tia Brandel, the Bulldogs have now posted three-straight 20-win campaigns. Brandel nearly recorded a fourth 20-win season during her first season at FSU in 1996 as the Bulldogs finished 19-12. Her best mark as a head coach came a year ago when FSU finished 26-8.
A Look Ahead - Ferris State will return home next weekend (Nov. 3-4) to face Saginaw Valley State and nationally-ranked Northwood. The Bulldogs will have played 10 of their past 11 matches on the road prior to next weekend. Ferris State lost to both squads in late September. The GLIAC Tournament is slated for Nov. 9-11 in Battle Creek.
Bulldog Bites - Senior Sarah VanderMolen leads the Bulldogs in attack percentage (.319) and digs (2.5 dpg). Junior Erin Minnis is the team leader in both kills (3.58 kpg) and total blocks (98). Both Minnis and VanderMolen are ranked among the conference leaders in kills. . .Freshman Jamie Wirth ranks second in the GLIAC in assists at 11.98 per game. . .As a team, Ferris State ranks second in the GLIAC in kills at 15.03 per game and second in assists at 13.36 per game.