FSU Volleyball At A Glance - The Ferris State University women’s volleyball team will host Northern Michigan Wednesday, Nov. 10, for a 7 p.m. (EST) Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Tournament Quarterfinal round match at FSU’s Ewigleben Sports Arena in Big Rapids, Mich.

Ticket Information – Tickets for Wednesday’s quarterfinal match will be available at the door. Adult ticket prices are $5 while students are $3. For more information, please contact the Ferris State Athletics Department at (231) 591-2860.

Last Weekend – FSU, which is presently 22-6 overall, claimed two of three league home matches last weekend (Nov. 4-6). The Bulldogs defeated Michigan Tech 3-2 Thursday (Nov. 4) and then dealt Lake Superior State a 3-0 setback Friday (Nov. 5). Ferris, which concluded conference play with a second place 14-4 mark in the GLIAC’s North Division, dropped its regular-season finale to NMU 3-2 Saturday (Nov. 6) before a capacity crowd of 600.

Dawg Notes – The Bulldogs are ranked 22nd in the latest (Nov. 2) CSTV/American Volleyball Coaches Association Division II National Poll. Three other GLIAC member schools are also featured in the latest poll including 11th-ranked Grand Valley State, NMU (15th) and Northwood (20th). Ferris has won nine of its last 10 outings to date this campaign.

GLIAC Tourney Info – FSU, which will be making its seventh consecutive conference tournament appearance, previously claimed runner-up honors in 1998, 1999 and 2001. In six all-time tournament appearances, Ferris has posted a 6-6 overall mark. Last season, the Bulldogs lost a 3-2 decision to Gannon in the quarterfinal round (11/14/02) for the second consecutive year at Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Mich. FSU advanced to the 2001 GLIAC Tournament Championship match (11/10/01) for the third time in four years and dropped a 3-0 decision to Northwood at Kellogg Arena. The tournament returns to campus sites this season following a one-year hiatus.

GLIAC Semifinals/Finals – The top four teams will host quarterfinal-round action Wednesday in the 10th annual postseason tournament with the top remaining seed selected to host the semifinals/finals Saturday and Sunday, Nov. 13-14. The Bulldogs, who are the North Division’s second seed, would need both a win over third-seeded Northern Michigan and losses by Grand Valley State and Ashland in order to host the semifinals/finals.

The Tournament Field – The other quarterfinal round matches include Michigan Tech (#4 North) at Grand Valley State (#1 North), Ashland (#1 South) hosting Northwood (#4 South) and Findlay (#3 South) at Hillsdale (#2 South). The top three teams in each division plus the next two best overall teams advanced to the tournament. The winners of Wednesday’s matches will be reseeded prior to Saturday’s semifinals. The winner of Sunday's championship match receives the league's automatic bid to the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament slated for Nov. 18-20 at a campus site to be determined.

Last Season – Ferris posted a 15-14 overall mark during the 2003 campaign, which represented the program's sixth consecutive winning season and included a third-place 12-6 GLIAC North Division finish. The Bulldogs also made their sixth-straight league tournament appearance in 2003.

The 32nd Season – The 2004 campaign marks the 32nd season of Ferris State women’s volleyball. Since the program’s inception in 1972, the Bulldogs have compiled a 689-396 (.635) overall record. Ferris has won eight GLIAC titles, made 11 NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and registered 24 winning seasons in its previous 31 campaigns.

Seniors Honored – Senior setter Ashley Green (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) and senior outside hitter Karla Fairbanks (Rogers City) were honored prior to last Saturday’s final regular-season home contest. Green, who twice (2002-03) has attained first-team All-GLIAC accolades, presently ranks third on FSU’s career assists leaders list with 4,241 assists. A 2003 AVCA Honorable Mention All-America honoree, Fairbanks currently ranks fifth on Ferris' all-time chart with 1,585 career kills. She is 57 kills shy of matching Karen Volkers’ (1987-90) fourth-place career mark of 1,642 kills at FSU.

Another Outstanding Season – Ferris' current 22-6 overall record this season represents the school's sixth 20-win campaign in the last seven seasons to date. The Bulldogs, who have recorded at least 20 victories in a season 17 times, are presently 154-65 (.703) overall since the start of the 1998 campaign. Ferris has won at least 10 matches in each of its last 24 campaigns dating back to 1981. The 1984 FSU squad won a NCAA-II record 46 consecutive matches en route to a school-best 48-3 overall mark.

Fairbanks Among Leaders – Karla Fairbanks presently has 180 career service aces and ranks fourth on FSU’s all-time list. The 5-11 Fairbanks has posted 20 or more kills in 14 of her last 19 appearances this season to date. She is 111 digs away from becoming only the sixth player in school history to record both 1,000 career kills and 1,000 career digs.

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.

Bulldog Bites – The Bulldogs have compiled a 59-9 (.868) overall record in three-game matches since the start of the 2000 campaign .... Ferris has compiled a 228-60 (.792) record to date in 24 seasons of action (1981-present) at Ewigleben Sports Arena. The Bulldogs are 70-13 (.843) in home matches since 1998, including an 11-3 (.786) mark this campaign. In 2002, Ferris posted an 8-0 home record, which was the program’s sixth undefeated campaign in the 600-seat facility. FSU was 6-2 at home last year.

Head Coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm – FSU head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm, who presently ranks second among Ferris’ all-time coaching victory leaders, garnered her 300th career victory earlier this season against Hillsdale (Oct. 16). Brandel-Wilhelm, who has a current 305-115 (.726) career mark, is 187-95 (.663) in nine seasons at Ferris after previously serving as West Virginia Wesleyan’s head coach from 1993-95. A 1990 Alma graduate, Brandel-Wilhelm guided the Bulldogs to NCAA-II Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2002. She was voted the GLIAC’s Coach of the Year in 2002.

Regional Rankings – Ferris presently ranks second in the most recent (Nov. 3) NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Rankings. The GLIAC holds the top seven spots in the regional poll with GVSU (1st), Ashland (3rd), Findlay (4th), Hillsdale (5th), Northern Michigan (6th) and Northwood (7th) all being represented.

Regional Information – Three automatic and five at-large bids will be awarded in the region, which consists of the GLIAC, Great Lakes Valley (GLVC) and West Virginia Intercollegiate Athletic Conferences (WVIAC), for the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament set to be held Nov. 18-20 at a campus site to be determined. New regional rankings will be announced this Wednesday (Nov. 10) with both the official tournament parings and site slated to be released by the national committee this Sunday (Nov. 14). FSU has made 11 NCAA-II Tournament appearances to date.

A Look At The Opponent:

Northern Michigan: The series between FSU and Northern Michigan is tied 35-35 heading into Wednesday’s 71st series meeting. FSU head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm, who has a current 6-14 career coaching mark against the Wildcats, dropped a 3-2 decision in the last series meeting held Saturday (Nov. 6) at Big Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs also dropped a 3-0 league contest earlier this season (9/24/04) at Marquette, Mich. NMU is presently 21-5 overall and placed third in the GLIAC’s North Division with a 13-5 mark in regular-season play. Northern Michigan, which claimed the 2003 GLIAC Tournament Championship, recorded a 26-1 overall record and a first-place 18-0 mark in the GLIAC’s North Division last season. The Wildcats are directed by Jim Moore, who is midst his second season in his second stint at NMU after previously guiding the Wildcats from 1989-93. NMU, which has won six of its last seven outings to date this campaign, has claimed five of the last eight series’ victories versus FSU. Ferris holds a 17-13 all-time advantage over the Wildcats in Big Rapids and presently 1-1 versus NMU in GLIAC Tournament action.