FSU Volleyball At A Glance - The Ferris State University women’s volleyball team will travel to Carson, Calif., this Friday and Saturday, Sept. 3-4, for the Cal-State Dominguez Hills Toro Classic. The Bulldogs are slated to face Humboldt State (Calif.) in this Friday’s 3 p.m. (EDT) opening match and square off against the host Toros at 9 p.m. (EDT). FSU will then battle Merrimack (Mass.) this Saturday at 3 p.m. (EDT). All four matches are non-conference tilts and will be held inside CSUDH’s Torodome.

Last Weekend – FSU opened the 2004 campaign with a 4-0 mark in last weekend’s (Aug. 27-28) Ferris State Invitational at the Ewigleben Sports Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. The Bulldogs, who won all four matches by identical 3-0 scores, beat Midwestern State (Texas) and West Virginia State last Friday (Aug. 27) before defeating California (Pa.) along with St. Joseph’s (Ind.) in Saturday’s (Aug. 28) final day of action.

Last Season – Ferris compiled 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 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (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 671-390 (.632) 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 136-59 (.697) 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.

Good To Be Home – The 2004 campaign marked the first time the Bulldogs opened the season at home since the 2001 campaign. The Bulldogs have presently won their first four matches six of the last seven years to date. Ferris also improved to 26-6 (.813) all-time in season opening encounters with Friday's win over Midwestern State. FSU has won 13 of its last 16 initial matches of a season to date.

No Numbers Problem – Sixteen different FSU players saw action last weekend, including five freshmen. The Bulldogs' current 20-player roster is the program's largest in school history. Besides bringing in eight freshmen this campaign, the Bulldogs also return all 12 squad members from last season's team which won 12 of its final 18 matches.

On The Road Again – Ferris State is 583-279 (.676) overall since 1981 and sports a 380-225 (.628) record in road/neutral site matches during that span. The Bulldogs were 3-6 (.333) overall in neutral site matches last season. In six of the last eight seasons, FSU has won its first match of the year away from home.

Serve It Up – Due to a rules change this season, libero Brittny Godlewski was able to serve for the first time in her collegiate career last weekend. Godlewski tallied four aces, including two apiece versus both West Virginia State and St. Joseph’s (Ind.). The libero position was previously not allowed to serve.

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 287-109 (.725) career mark, is 169-89 (.655) in eight 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 13 victories shy of notching her 300th career win.

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.

Bulldog Bites - Karla Fairbanks currently has 1,150 career kills and moved past Lisa Haan (1,141) into 11th place on the school's all-time chart last weekend. She is seven shy of tying Patti Stirling (1,157) for 10th place at FSU ......... Ashley Green compiled 139 assists, 17 digs, 12 kills and seven service aces last weekend. Green, who averaged 11.58 assists per game, also registered a .706 attack percentage as she recorded 12 kills on 17 attempts with no errors. She presently has 3,667 career assists and needs 1,287 more to move past Sharon Sanders (4,954) into second place on the school's all-time leaders list .......... Sophomore outside hitter Danielle Baucher (Kalamazoo/Mattawan) currently has 280 career kills and is 20 away from notching her 300th career kill ............ Brittny Godlewski recorded her 600th career dig against St. Joseph’s (Ind.) ............. Junior middle hitter Becky Thurau (Troy/Birmingham Groves) is 31 kills shy of garnering her 400th career kill ..... Junior middle hitter Lauren Heine (Ypsilanti) and freshman outside hitter Lindsay Tye (Gregory/Chelsea) both tied the school’s fifth best single-match service ace figure with five in separate matches last Friday. Heine totaled five aces against Midwestern State while Tye recorded the same figure versus West Virginia State ..... Ferris’ 18 aces against West Virginia State was also the program’s fifth-best mark ........ The Bulldogs have recorded more kills than their opponents in 11 consecutive matches dating back to last season.

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, which won the South Division crown last season, 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.

Up Next – Ferris will take part in the annual Great Lakes Region Crossover Friday and Saturday, Sept. 10-11, at Wheeling, W.Va. FSU will square off against Indianapolis Sept. 10 at 1 p.m. (EDT) before concluding action Sept. 11 versus Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Fairmont State (W.Va.) at 9 a.m. (EDT) and 4 p.m. (EDT), respectively. The event will be hosted by Wheeling Jesuit University.

A Look At The Opponents:

Humboldt State (Calif.): Ferris and Humboldt State will square off for the first time this Friday. The Lumberjacks opened the 2004 campaign with an 0-4 mark after dropping two matches apiece to both Hawaii Pacific and Hawaii Hilo in the 11th annual Hawaiian Style Classic last weekend (Aug. 27-28) in Honolulu, Hawaii. HSU posted a 5-21 overall mark last season, including a ninth-place tying 3-15 record in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference (GNAC). Humboldt State, which is directed by third-year head coach Sue Woodstra, was picked to finish ninth in the 2004 GNAC Preseason Coaches Poll.

Cal-State Dominguez Hills: The Bulldogs and the Toros will meet for the first time Friday. CSUDH took part in the Ferris State Invitational last weekend and compiled a 4-0 mark with victories over Midwestern State, Gannon, Lake Superior State and Shippensburg (Pa.). The Toros recorded a 4-25 mark a season ago while placing 10th (4-18) in the California Collegiate Athletic Conference (CCAC). Fourth-year head coach Ali Wood’s squad will host Chaminade (Hawaii) this Tuesday (Aug. 31) and visit Biola (Calif.) this Wednesday (Sept. 1) prior to facing the Bulldogs.

Merrimack (Mass.): FSU and Merrimack will face each other for the first time Saturday. Merrimack was picked sixth in the 2004 Northeast-10 Conference Preseason Poll. The Warriors placed seventh in the league last season with an 11-20 overall record and a 7-6 conference finish. Merrimack is guided by second-year head coach Joey Pacis. MC will face Humboldt State in its season opener this Friday at the Toro Classic.