THREE FERRIS STATE PLAYERS EARN ALL-LEAGUE HONORS

Fairbanks, Green Earn First-Team All-Conference Accolades

Junior outside hitter Karla Fairbanks (Rogers City) and junior setter Ashley Green (Pittsburgh, Pa./Baldwin) of the 2003 Ferris State University women's volleyball squad both were named to the All-Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) First-Team, which was announced Thursday (Nov. 13) in conjunction with the 2003 GLIAC Tournament held at the Kellogg Arena in Battle Creek, Mich.

Junior outside hitter Karla Fairbanks was one of three FSU players to earn All-GLIAC recognition

Green garnered first-team laurels for the second-consecutive season while Fairbanks earned All-GLIAC accolades for the first time. In addition, sophomore libero Brittny Godlewski (St. Clair Township/Marysville) attained honorable mention All-GLIAC kudos for the second-straight campaign.

Twelve players each were named to both the first and second teams while 13 others received honorable mention all-conference honors. Ferris State was one of four schools to have four first-team honorees along with Grand Valley State, Northern Michigan and Northwood.

Grand Valley State’s Sabrina Bird earned GLIAC Player of the Year honors, Taryn Rudland of Hillsdale was named the league’s Freshman of the Year while the Libero of the Year Award went to Lake Superior State’s Kristy James. Northern Michigan’s Jim Moore received GLIAC Coach of the Year recognition.

A 2002 GLIAC All-Academic Team honoree, Fairbanks registered a team-high 516 kills and 336 digs during the 2003 campaign. She also became the 13th player in school history to register 1,000 career kills and presently ranks 12th among the school's all-time leaders with 1,111 career kills to date. The 5-11 Fairbanks recorded 26 double-figure kill outings and totaled 17 double-double (kills & digs) performances this campaign.

Green, who earned 2002 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II All-Great Lakes Region First-Team recognition, led Ferris in assists for the third consecutive season as she tallied 1,215 assists this season. She also moved into third place on the school's all-time list and currently has 3,528 career assists. Green notched 50 or more assists in nine outings this season.

The 5-7 Godlewski placed second among the squad's digs leaders with 315 during the 2003 campaign. She averaged 2.79 digs per game in 113 games this season. Godlewski registered 10 digs or more in 16 outings this year, including a personal career-high 29 digs versus Gannon (Oct. 10).

FSU concluded the 2003 campaign with a 15-14 overall record after dropping a 3-2 quarterfinal-round decision to Gannon in the ninth annual GLIAC Tournament Thursday.