FSU Volleyball At A Glance - The Ferris State University women’s volleyball team will open its 31st season of varsity competition this Friday-Saturday, Aug. 29-30, at the North Florida Labor Day Classic in Jacksonville, Fla. The Bulldogs are slated to face tournament host North Florida in this Friday’s 5 p.m. (EDT) non-league opener. FSU will then battle Barry (Fla.) and Tampa (Fla.) in non-conference action this Saturday at 9 a.m. (EDT) and 6 p.m. (EDT), respectively. The ninth annual tournament will be held at the 5,800-seat UNF Arena.

Last Season – Ferris State concluded its 30th anniversary campaign (2002) with a 24-7 overall record, which included a second-place tying 15-3 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) North Division finish. The Bulldogs advanced to the NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Tournament (11/22) before dropping a 3-2 decision to Wheeling Jesuit (W.Va.) in Allendale, Mich.

The 31st Season – The 2003 campaign marks the 31st season of Ferris State women’s volleyball. Since the program’s inception in 1972, the Bulldogs have compiled a 652-376 (.634) overall record. Ferris has won eight GLIAC titles, made 11 NCAA Division II Tournament appearances and registered 23 winning seasons in its previous 30 campaigns. Junior setter Ashley Green (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin), junior outside hitter Karla Fairbanks (Rogers City) and sophomore libero/outside hitter Brittny Godlewski (St. Clair Township/Marysville) have been voted tri-captains. FSU returns seven letterwinners and three starters this season.

The Bulldog Volleyball Tradition – Ferris State posted its fifth consecutive 20-win campaign last season. The Bulldogs, who have recorded at least 20 victories in a season 16 times, are presently 117-45 (.722) 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.

On The Road – Ferris State is 564-265 (.680) overall since 1981 and sports a 371-213 (.635) record in road/neutral site matches during that span.

The Starting Point – The 2003 campaign marks the second consecutive campaign the Bulldogs have opened the year away from home. FSU recorded a 4-0 mark in last season’s Wheeling Jesuit (W.Va.) Invitational. The Bulldogs, who have won their first four matches five-straight years to date, registered their best start in school history (10-0) in 2000. Ferris is 25-5 (.833) all-time in season-opening encounters, including a 7-0 mark under eighth-year head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm. FSU is 7-0 (home), 6-1 (road) and 12-4 (neutral) it its first match of the year. The Bulldogs have won seven consecutive initial matches of a campaign and 12 of their last 14 overall.

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 268-95 (.738) career mark, is 150-75 (.677) in seven seasons at Ferris and recorded her 150th Bulldog victory last season at Saginaw Valley State (11/8). A 1990 Alma graduate, Brandel-Wilhelm guided the Bulldogs to NCAA-II Tournament appearances in 1999 and 2002. 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, who was voted the GLIAC’s Coach of the Year in 2002, enters the year ranked 13th among NCAA-II’s winningest active coaches.

Anderson Added To Staff – Lee Anderson joined the Bulldog staff as the team’s assistant coach in mid-August. A native of Renfrew (Ontario), Canada, Anderson previously served as head coach the last three seasons (2000-03) at Lakehead University in Thunder Bay, Ontario. He replaces Jason Smith, who accepted an assistant coaching position at the University of Utah. The 28-year old Anderson will assist in all phases of the program including on-floor coaching, recruiting duties and administrative functions. Anderson guided Lakehead to a 13-38 (.342) overall record in the Ontario University Athletics East Division during his three seasons at the helm, including a 7-10 mark in 2001-02. A National Coaching Certification Program Level III Accredited Volleyball Coach, Anderson was an assistant women’s volleyball coach and professor’s assistant at the University of Calgary (Alberta) in 1998-99.

Bulldog Athletics Luncheon – The initial Bulldog Athletics Luncheon of the 2003-04 athletics season will be held Wednesday, Sept. 10, from 12-1 p.m. (EDT) at FSU’s Wheeler Pavilion located at Top Taggart Field. Featured speakers include FSU women’s volleyball head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm, football head coach Jeff Pierce and first-year women’s soccer head coach Melissa Eging. For more information, please contact the FSU Alumni Office at (231) 591-2345.

Bulldog Bites - Ferris has no seniors on its 2003 roster ....... Karla Fairbanks currently has 595 career kills and is five shy of notching her 600th career kill. She needs 10 blocks to record her 150th career block ........ Ashley Green presently has 2,313 career assists and is 467 away from tying Lisa Chard (1998-99) for fifth place on the school’s career assists leaders list ....... Ferris has compiled a 211-55 (.793) record to date in 22 seasons of action (1981-present) at FSU’s Ewigleben Sports Arena. The Bulldogs are 53-8 (.869) in home matches since 1998. Last season (2002), Ferris posted its sixth undefeated home campaign (8-0) in the 600-seat facility.

Against The Field - Ferris will take part in the North Florida Labor Day Classic this weekend at Jacksonville, Fla.

North Florida: Ferris State and North Florida will square off for the first time this Friday. The Ospreys enter the tournament ranked 20th in the 2003 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll (Aug. 12). UNF, which compiled a 29-6 overall record in 2002, was also ranked first in the Peach Belt Conference's 2003 Preseason Coaches Poll and claimed the league’s championship with a 14-0 mark last season. North Florida, which is coached by fourth-year head coach Bryan Bunn, returns four starters and eight letterwinners this season including 2002 AVCA Second-Team All-America middle blocker Jackie Struck. All-Conference setter Valerie Martinez is also back.

Barry: The Buccaneers maintain a 1-0 series edge by virtue of their 3-0 victory in the 1994 Florida Southern Moccasin Invitational (10/8) at Lakeland, Fla. Barry returns five starters from last year’s 18-9 squad, which finished second in the Sunshine State Conference (11-3) and advanced to the NCAA South Regional final for the third consecutive year. Among the key returnees for eighth-year head coach Dave Nichols are senior outside hitter Karla Bersano and senior middle hitter Fernanda Ferreira, both of whom were named first team All-SSC last season. The Buccaneers are the preseason favorites to win the 2003 SSC Championship and were ranked eighth in the 2003 AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll.

Tampa: The Bulldogs hold a 3-1 series advantage despite dropping a 3-0 decision to the Spartans in the last meeting (10/7/94) at the Florida Southern Moccasin Invitational in Lakeland, Fla. Tampa is ranked second in the 2003 AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Preseason Poll after posting a 28-7 mark last season. UT also won the Sunshine State Conference (14-0) and the South Region Championship en route to a NCAA-II Elite Eight appearance in 2002. Senior outside hitter Ania Ruiz, a first-team 2002 AVCA All-American, headlines a list of 11 returning letterwinners. Senior setter Gretchen Naruta is also among five returning starters after attaining second-team AVCA All-America accolades last year. The seven-time defending conference champion Spartans are coached by 20th-year head coach Chris Catanach.

GLIAC Poll - FSU was picked to finish fourth in the 2003 GLIAC Volleyball Coaches Preseason North Division Poll, which was released last Thursday (Aug. 21). The Bulldogs totaled 22 points in the balloting conducted by the conference's head coaches. Grand Valley State, the 2002 NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Champions, was the favorite to repeat as divisional champions as the Lakers recorded 35 points along with five first-place votes. Findlay, which tied for last season's South Division crown, received 23 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. The first-place team in the North Division ballot received six points while the second-place team received five points, etc. In the South Division, the first-place team was granted five points while the second-place team took four points, etc.

Looking Ahead - Ferris continues its season-opening 12-match road trip by taking part in the Grand Valley State Days Inn Classic Friday-Saturday, Sept. 5-6, at the GVSU Fieldhouse Arena in Allendale, Mich. FSU will square off against Alderson-Broaddus (W.Va.) and North Alabama Sept. 5 at 11 a.m. (EDT) and 4 p.m. (EDT), respectively. The Bulldogs will conclude tournament action Sept. 6 versus Wheeling Jesuit (W.Va.) at 10 a.m. (EDT).