FERRIS PICKED FOURTH IN GLIAC PRESEASON VOLLEYBALL POLL

Bulldogs Register 22 Points In Voting By League Head Coaches

Junior setter Ashley Green and the FSU Women's Volleyball team were picked to finish fourth in the 2003 GLIAC North Division Preseason Coaches Poll

The Ferris State University women's volleyball team was picked to finish fourth in the 2003 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) Volleyball Coaches Preseason North Division Poll, which was released Thursday (Aug. 21) by the league office.

The Bulldogs totaled 22 points in the balloting, which was conducted by the conference's head coaches. A year ago, Ferris State took third place in the conference's preseason coaches poll with 26 points.

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.

The GLIAC proved to be one of Division II's toughest conferences last season, sending three teams - Grand Valley State, Northwood and Ferris State - to the NCAA-II Great Lakes Regional Tournament. GVSU emerged as the regional champion before reaching the semifinals of the NCAA-II Elite Eight.

Ferris compiled a 24-7 overall mark during the 2002 campaign, which represented the program's fifth consecutive 20-win season and included a second-place 15-3 GLIAC North Division mark. The Bulldogs also claimed their 11th NCAA Division II Tournament bid in the program’s history while making their fifth straight league tournament appearance in 2002.

Ferris State opens its 31st season of varsity competition Aug. 29-30 at the North Florida Labor Day Classic in Jacksonville, Fla. FSU is slated to face host North Florida Aug. 29 at 5 p.m. (EDT) and then will battle Barry (Fla.) and Tampa (Fla.) the following day at 9 a.m. (EDT) and 6 p.m. (EDT), respectively.

The following is the complete 2003 GLIAC Volleyball Coaches Preseason Poll with first-place votes in parenthesis.

North Division
1. Grand Valley State (5) - 35 points
2. Northwood (2) - 30 points
3. Northern Michigan - 26 points
4. Ferris State - 22 points
5. Michigan Tech - 17 points
6. Lake Superior State - 11 points
7. Saginaw Valley State - 6 points

South Division
1. Findlay (4) - 23 points
2. Mercyhurst (2) - 22 points
3. Gannon - 15 points
4. Hillsdale - 11 points
5. Wayne State - 10 points
6. Ashland - 9 points