FSU Volleyball At A Glance - The Ferris State University women’s volleyball team will take part in the Harding (Ark.) Invitational this Friday-Saturday (Sept. 6-7) in Rhodes Field House at Searcy, Ark. The Bulldogs will face Southeastern Oklahoma this Friday at 1 p.m. (EDT) and then Henderson State (Ark.) at 5 p.m. (EDT). FSU will square off against Montevallo (Ala.) Saturday at 10 a.m. (EDT) and Harding at 2 p.m. (EDT). Missouri Southern State is also slated to compete in the six-team invitational.

Last Season - Ferris State concluded the 2001 campaign with a 21-11 overall record, which included a second-place (tie) 12-6 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division finish. The Bulldogs advanced to the GLIAC Tournament championship match (11/10/01) for the third time in the last four seasons before dropping a 3-0 decision versus Northwood.

The 30th Season Of Bulldog Volleyball - The 2002 campaign marks the 30th anniversary of the Ferris State women’s volleyball program. Since the program’s inception in 1972, the Bulldogs have compiled a 632-369 (.631) overall record. Ferris has won eight GLIAC titles, made 10 NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and registered 22 winning seasons in its previous 29 campaigns.

Bulldogs Open Campaign With Four Wins - Ferris State opened its 30th anniversary campaign with a 4-0 record at the Wheeling Jesuit (W.Va.) Invitational held last weekend (Saturday, Aug. 31-Sunday, Sept. 1) in Wheeling, W.Va. The Bulldogs defeated Bellarmine (Ky.) in last Saturday’s season opener 3-0. FSU, which was among 16 competing teams, then dealt the host school a 3-1 setback. The Bulldogs beat St. Joseph’s (Ind.) and Alderson-Broaddus (W.Va.) by identical 3-0 scores last Sunday.

Olds Impressive In Wheeling - Senior middle hitter Alaina Olds (Kingsley) tallied 53 kills, 42 digs and 21 total blocks to lead the Bulldogs last weekend. The 5-11 Olds currently has 772 career kills and is 228 shy of becoming the 12th player in school history to record 1,000 career kills. A second-team 2001 Daktronics All-Great Lakes Region honoree, Olds had 21 kills, 14 digs and six block assists last Saturday versus Wheeling Jesuit. She added 12 kills, 12 digs and 11 total blocks while recording her third career triple-double (kills, digs & blocks) performance last Sunday against St. Joseph’s. The 2001 FSU Bulldog Award recipient posted 10 kills or more in 25 outings last year while earning American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II All-Great Lakes Region recognition.

Another Great Start - The 2002 campaign marks the fifth consecutive season and sixth time in the last seven years Ferris State has opened with a 4-0 record. The Bulldogs began each of the last four seasons with four wins at the Ferris State Invitational, which FSU hosted from 1997-2001. Ferris improved to 7-0 in season-opening encounters under head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm after last Saturday’s win over Bellarmine. The program’s best start came in 2000 when the Bulldogs started 10-0. Last season, Ferris won its first five matches before dropping a 3-1 decision versus Western Washington (8/31/01) at the Seattle Pacific (Wash.) Invitational.

Head Coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm - Now in her seventh season at the helm, head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm has a current career coaching record of 248-88 (.738) and presently ranks as Ferris’ second all-time winningest coach (.656; 130-68). A 1990 Alma graduate, Brandel-Wilhelm guided the Bulldogs to an NCAA-II Tournament appearance in 1999. She previously spent three seasons as head coach at West Virginia Wesleyan (1993-1995) in Buckhannon, W.Va., where she led the Bobcats to a fifth place finish at the 1995 NCAA-II Championships. Brandel-Wilhelm needs two victories to attain her 250th career win.

Bulldog Bites - Senior middle hitter Angie Desmarais (Jackson/Lumen Christi) has 249 career digs to date and is one shy of recording her 250th career dig. She posted a career-best 10 kills versus Wheeling Jesuit .......... Alaina Olds currently has 371 career digs and is 29 shy of notching her 400th career dig. She presently has 344 career blocks and needs six more to record her 350th career block ............... Sophomore setter Ashley Green (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) tallied a career-best nine kills against Wheeling Jesuit while sophomore middle/outside hitter Karla Fairbanks (Rogers City) had a personal career-high 14 kills in the same match .......... Senior outside hitter Erin Rind (Carol Stream, Ill./Streamwood) has 145 career kills to date and needs five more to attain her 150th career kill ............ Four Bulldog players made their first career appearances in last Saturday’s season opener against Bellarmine, including freshman setter Emily Clouse (Tiffin, Ohio/Bascom Hopewell-Loudon), freshman middle hitter Lauren Heine (Ypsilanti), freshman right-side hitter Sarah Miller (Bay City/John Glenn) and sophomore outside/right-side hitter Nichole Valuch (Milwaukee, Wis./St. Francis Thomas More) ............. Ferris State has only eight home matches this season at Ewigleben (pronounced A-VAH-glave-in) Sports Arena. The Bulldogs are scheduled to play their first home match Sept. 27 versus Northwood at 5 p.m. (EDT).

Speed Reaches Key Career Marks - Senior outside hitter Stephanie Speed (Bothell, Wash.) registered her 600th career dig last Saturday versus Wheeling Jesuit and attained her 300th career kill last Sunday against St. Joseph’s. The 5-8 Speed presently has 618 career digs and 307 career kills. An honorable mention 2001 All-GLIAC honoree, Speed tallied 10 digs or more in three of four matches last weekend.

Against The Competition - Ferris State has a combined 2-1 (.667) all-time record versus its four opponents this weekend. FSU and Henderson State (Ark.) will square off for the third time this Saturday with the series tied 1-1. FSU head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm has a current 1-0 career coaching mark versus Henderson State and led Ferris to a 3-0 victory in the last series meeting (9/4/99) at the North Alabama Ricatoni’s/Homestead Inn Classic in Florence, Ala. Ferris recorded a 3-0 victory against Montevallo (Ala.) in the Ferris State Invitational (8/25/00) and presently holds a 1-0 series advantage. The Bulldogs will face both Harding (Ark.) and Southeastern Oklahoma for the first time. Last season, Henderson State registered a 28-11 overall record and advanced to the NCAA-II South Central Regional Tournament. Montevallo finished 30-9 overall, Harding had a 24-13 record and Southeastern Oklahoma compiled a 17-22 mark. Harding opened this season with a 2-2 record at last weekend’s (Aug. 31-Sept. 1) Minnesota State-Mankato Labor Day Invitational while Montevallo compiled an 0-3 mark at the North Florida Labor Day Classic. Henderson State registered a 1-3 mark in the North Alabama Classic at Florence, Ala. Southeastern Oklahoma will open its season this Wednesday (Sept. 4) at home versus St. Gregory’s (Okla.) at 7 p.m. (EDT).

FSU On The Internet - Ferris State University Athletics’ official web site can be found at www.ferris.edu/sports. The site features information on all of FSU’s varsity athletics programs including rosters, schedules and the latest results.

Looking Ahead - Ferris State will travel to Allendale, Mich., next weekend (Friday, Sept. 13-Saturday, Sept. 14) to take part in the GLIAC/Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC) Challenge at Grand Valley State. The Bulldogs are scheduled to open play against Wisconsin-Parkside next Friday (Sept. 13) at 2 p.m. (EDT) and face Southern Indiana in a 7 p.m. (EDT) encounter. FSU will battle Southern Illinois-Edwardsville at 12:30 p.m. (EDT) next Saturday (Sept. 14).