FSU Volleyball At A Glance - The Ferris State University women’s volleyball team travels to Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for three key Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) matches this weekend (Sept. 23-25). The Bulldogs will square off against Lake Superior State this Thursday (Sept. 23) in a 7 p.m. (EDT) contest at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. FSU then visits Northern Michigan Friday (Sept. 24) for a 7 p.m. (EDT) showdown with the nationally-ranked Wildcats in Marquette, Mich. Ferris concludes its weekend trip by visiting Michigan Tech Saturday (Sept. 25) with match time set for 4 p.m. (EDT) in Houghton, Mich.

Last Weekend – FSU, which is presently 10-2 overall this campaign, opened league play with two victories last weekend (Sept. 17-18) at FSU’s Ewigleben (pronounced A-VAH-glave-in) Sports Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs beat Findlay 3-1 in Friday’s (Sept. 17) league opener before defeating Ashland 3-1 Saturday (Sept. 18).

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 677-392 (.633) 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.

Bulldog Captains – Senior setter Ashley Green (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin), senior outside hitter Karla Fairbanks (Rogers City) and junior libero Brittny Godlewski (St. Clair Township/Marysville) were voted tri-captains for the 2004 campaign. Fairbanks attained honorable mention American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-America accolades in 2003. Green was both a first-team All-GLIAC and honorable mention AVCA All-Great Lakes Region selection last season while Godlewski received second-team Daktronics All-Great Lakes Region kudos.

The Bulldog Volleyball Tradition – Ferris State has won 20 or more matches in five of its last six seasons to date. The Bulldogs, who have recorded at least 20 victories in a season 16 times, are presently 142-61 (.700) overall since the start of the 1998 campaign. The 1984 FSU squad won a NCAA-II record 46 consecutive matches en route to a school-best 48-3 overall mark.

Head Coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm – FSU head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm presently ranks second among Ferris’ all-time coaching victory leaders. Brandel-Wilhelm, who has a current 293-111 (.725) career mark, is 175-91 (.658) in nine seasons at Ferris. A 1990 Alma graduate, Brandel-Wilhelm guided the Bulldogs to NCAA-II Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2002. Brandel-Wilhelm, who was voted the GLIAC’s Coach of the Year in 2002, currently is seven victories shy of notching her 300th career win.

Battling The Best – Ferris will face its second nationally-ranked opponent in as many weeks this Friday at NMU. The Wildcats, who had their 32-match regular season winning streak snapped last Saturday (Sept. 18) at Northwood, were ranked ninth in the latest (Sept. 14) CSTV/AVCA Division II National Poll. Findlay was ranked 22nd in the most recent poll prior to the Bulldogs’ victory last Friday.

Hitting The Road – Ferris State is 589-281 (.677) overall since 1981 and sports a 384-227 (.628) record in road/neutral site matches during that span. The Bulldogs, who posted a 6-6 (.500) road mark last campaign, are currently 0-1 (.000) away from home this season.

Between The Lines – FSU head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm will make periodic appearances throughout the season on “Between The Lines,” a weekly half-hour television show devoted to Ferris State Athletics. The program, which is hosted by Shannon Vesper and produced by FSU’s media productions department, airs each Tuesday and Wednesday at 7 p.m. (ET) and 8 p.m. (ET), respectively, on FSU’s Cable Channel 7.

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, statistics, yearbooks and more.

GLIAC Poll – FSU was picked to finish fourth in the 2004 GLIAC Volleyball Coaches Preseason North Division Poll, which was released by the league office. The Bulldogs totaled 26 points in the balloting conducted by the conference's head coaches. Northern Michigan was the favorite to repeat as divisional champions as the Wildcats recorded 33 points along with four first-place votes. Northwood (28 points) took second place with Grand Valley State (27) third. Findlay received 24 points and four first-place votes in being selected the South Division favorite. The league's 13 head coaches voted for the division in which they play, but were not allowed to vote for their own team.

Bulldog Bites - Karla Fairbanks presently has 1,271 career kills to date moved into seventh place on the school's all-time list against Findlay. Fairbanks also notched her 700th career dig versus UF. She has 144 career service aces to date and is 25 shy of tying Kris Johnson’s (1982-85) fifth-place school career mark of 169 aces ........ Junior middle hitter Lauren Heine (Ypsilanti) tallied her 300th career kill against UF ...... Ferris State has recorded more kills than its opponent in 18 of its last 19 outings dating back to last season ........ FSU has won six of its last seven league openers to date following Friday’s victory. Ferris also improved to 11-4 (.733) in conference opening matches dating back to 1990 ...... The Bulldogs improved to 6-0 (1.000) this campaign at FSU's Ewigleben Sports Arena with last weekend's sweep. Ferris is presently 65-10 (.867) in home matches since 1998 ....... Brittny Godlewski needs 10 more digs to record her 700th career dig while Ashley Green is 18 digs away from reaching the same figure ............ Sophomore middle hitter Karla White (New Baltimore/Anchor Bay) compiled her 150th career kill versus Ashland .... Ferris has currently won 10 of its 11 all-time series meetings with Ashland after Saturday’s win.

Impressive Figure – Ashley Green notched her 4,000th career assist against Ashland. The 5-9 Green presently has 4,005 career assists and is 949 away from matching Sharon Sanders’ (1981-84) second-place school mark of 4,954 assists. Kim McDowell (1988-91) is FSU’s all-time assists leader with 5,317 assists.

Up Next – Ferris returns home for two league home matches at the Ewigleben Sports Arena in Big Rapids. The Bulldogs will square off against Saginaw Valley State Thursday, Sept. 30, in a 7 p.m. (EDT) contest before hosting Northwood Saturday, Oct. 2, at 4 p.m. (EDT).

A Look At The Opponents:

Lake Superior State: FSU holds a 51-17 advantage entering this Thursday’s 69th series meeting with Lake Superior State. FSU head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm has a current 17-1 career coaching mark against LSSU and guided the Bulldogs to a 3-1 win in the last meeting (11/6/03) at Sault Ste. Marie, Mich. LSSU, which has dropped nine of its last 10 matches this campaign to date, is presently 4-9 overall and 1-1 in conference play heading into Tuesday’s (Sept. 21) non-league home contest versus Finlandia after posting a 3-0 GLIAC victory at Saginaw Valley State last Friday (Sept. 17). Last season, the Lakers compiled a 7-23 overall record and placed sixth (4-14) in the league’s North Division. The Bulldogs, who have won 31 of the last 32 meetings, are 24-13 all-time versus Lake Superior State in road/neutral site encounters. LSSU is coached by 10th-year head coach Mark Engle.

Northern Michigan: FSU maintains a 35-33 series edge heading into this Friday’s 69th series meeting against Northern Michigan. However, the Bulldogs have lost 21 of 39 road/neutral site meetings versus NMU. Brandel-Wilhelm, who has a current 6-12 career coaching mark against the Wildcats, dropped a 3-0 decision in the last series meeting (11/8/03) at Marquette, Mich. NMU is presently 10-1 overall and 2-1 in league action this season after registering a 3-0 GLIAC road win over SVSU Sunday (Sept. 19). Northern Michigan 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 has lost three of the last six series’ meetings to date.

Michigan Tech: Ferris and Michigan Tech will square off for the 51st time this Saturday with FSU holding a 39-11 series advantage. In the last meeting (11/7/03), the Bulldogs recorded a 3-0 win at Houghton, Mich. Brandel-Wilhelm currently has a 13-4 career coaching record against the Huskies. FSU, which has won 12 of the past 13 contests, holds a 21-6 all-time record versus MTU in road/neutral site matches. MTU compiled a 12-20 overall record in 2003, including a fifth-place 7-11 GLIAC North Division finish. The Huskies, who are coached by sixth-year head coach Krista Mikesch, improved to 3-9 overall and 1-2 in league play this season as a result of their 3-2 conference road win last Saturday (Sept. 18) at SVSU. MTU, which has lost eight of its last nine outings this campaign to date, will host Finlandia in a non-league match Thursday (Sept. 23).