Bulldogs Head to Seattle Unbeaten

August 27, 2001

Last Weekend - Ferris State opened the 2001 campaign with a 4-0 mark as the Bulldogs defeated Great Lakes Regional foes Indianapolis, Fairmont State (W.Va.), Alderson-Broaddus (W.Va.) and Wisconsin-Parkside at the Ferris State Invitational held at the FSU Sports and Convocation Complex in Big Rapids. FSU and Lake Superior State were the only schools to finish the weekend with an unbeaten mark in the nine-team invitational. The Bulldogs won all four matches in three games under the new collegiate rally-scoring rules.

Another Strong Start - The Ferris State University women's volleyball team officially began its 29th season of varsity competition with four wins on a new wood-surface playing court at the remodeled 600-seat Ewigleben Sports Arena during the Ferris State Invitational this past weekend.

Since the FSU Invitational began in 1998, Ferris State has posted a 16-0 mark. In the past two seasons, the Bulldogs have lost only one game (12-1) in eight FSU Invitational matches.

The 2001 campaign marks the fourth-consecutive season the Bulldogs have opened the season with a 4-0 mark. A year ago, FSU posted its best start in school history at 10-0 en route to a 21-9 finish and a quarterfinal appearance in the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament. Last season, FSU also garnered its 14th 20-win season in program history.

Olds Sets School Standard - Junior Alaina Olds tallied 41 kills on 64 total attacks (.516) and had 15 total blocks to lead FSU this past weekend. Against Indianapolis in the season-opener, the Kingsley native led the Bulldogs with 12 kills and seven block assists. She added 12 kills on 16 attacks (.625) in Friday night's win over Fairmont State. In the final match of the tournament against Wisconsin-Parkside, the 5-11 junior had 14 kills on 18 attacks (.778) as she posted the best single-match attack percentage in school history. A three-year letterwinner, Olds leads the Bulldogs in kills per game (4.10) and blocks per game (1.50) after four matches.

Brandel Moves Up Victory List - With four wins in the Ferris State Invitational, head coach Tia Brandel moved past former Bulldog coach Kathy DeBoer (1980-83) into second place on the career victory list at Ferris State. Now in her sixth season at the helm, Brandel is 109-57 (.657) at FSU. Overall, Brandel is 227-77 (.747) in nine seasons as a collegiate coach at West Virginia Wesleyan and Ferris State. With Friday's three-game win over Indianapolis, the Bulldogs have now won six-straight season-opening matches during the Brandel era.

Oh Say Can You Sing - Freshman Brittany Henson sang the national anthem before Saturday's contest with Alderson-Broaddus. A 5-11 outside hitter, Henson was active in her high school choir and sang the national anthem before several high school events. The younger sister of former University of Michigan quarterback and current professional baseball player (New York Yankees system) Drew Henson, Brittany also won first-place in a high school talent show.

Bulldog Bites - FSU was picked to finish fourth in the North Division in the 2001 GLIAC Volleyball Coaches Preseason Poll ....... Against the four teams they beat last weekend, the Bulldogs are a combined 18-0 all-time ................ All 10 Bulldogs who saw action recorded at least one kill in the season-opening win over Indianapolis .................. Seniors Erin Minnis and Emily Williams are the 2001 team captains ................... Minnis needs 258 kills to become the 11th player in school history to eclipse the 1,000 career kills mark ............... The Bulldogs need four home victories to record their 200th win since moving to Ewigleben Sports Arena in 1981. FSU is 196-52 (.790) all-time in the 600-seat facility ............... Junior Alaina Olds is three digs away from notching her 100th career dig ............... FSU started four juniors and two seniors in each match this weekend. Twelve different players saw action, including four freshmen.

Scouting the Field - The Bulldogs will face two schools, Western Washington and Seattle Pacific, for the first time this weekend. The host institution finished 24-6 last season and won the West Division of the Pacific West Conference (PWC) for the second time in three seasons. Western Washington was 24-9 last year. FSU is 1-1 versus both Cal-Poly Pomona and Grand Canyon with all four matches taking place on neutral courts. Grand Canyon beat the Bulldogs 3-1 in 1999 at the North Alabama Ricatoni's/Homestead Inn Classic in Florence, Ala. In the last meeting with Cal-Poly back in 1987, FSU pulled out a 3-0 victory. GLIAC rival Northwood defeated both Western Washington (3-0) and Grand Canyon (3-1) this past weekend at the Canyon Court Classic in Phoenix, Ariz. Seattle Pacific enters the weekend unbeaten at 4-0.

Personal Bests - Several returning FSU players posted personal bests last weekend. Senior Emily Williams had a career-high 21 set assists and four service aces in Saturday's win over Alderson-Broaddus. Junior Erin Rind had a career-best five service aces in the same match. Junior Angie Desmarais had a personal-best four kills in both of Friday's victories.

Reaching Milestones - A pair of FSU juniors reached milestone marks this past weekend. Middle hitter Alaina Olds recorded her 350th career kill in Saturday's win over Wisconsin-Parkside. Against Alderson-Broaddus on Saturday, outside hitter Kate Pickvet notched her 500th career kill. Pickvet has recorded at least one kill in each of her past 29 matches while Olds has at least one kill in her last 20 outings.

Next Week - Ferris State will travel to Highland Heights, Ky., to take part in the GLIAC/Great Lakes Valley Conference Challenge at Northern Kentucky. The tournament features the top four teams from each conference.