FSU Volleyball At A Glance - The Ferris State University women’s volleyball team will host rival Grand Valley State this Friday (Oct. 24) in a 7 p.m. (EDT) Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) encounter at FSU’s Ewigleben Sports Arena in Big Rapids, Mich.

A Look Back – The Bulldogs, who are presently 11-11 overall and 8-4 in league play, split two GLIAC road matches last weekend (Oct. 17-18). FSU claimed a 3-2 victory over Wayne State last Friday (Oct. 17) in WSU’s Matthaei Complex at Detroit, Mich. Ferris then dropped a 3-1 decision Saturday (Oct. 18) to Hillsdale in HC’s Jessie Philips Arena at Hillsdale, Mich. The Bulldogs have won eight of their last 11 matches to date and are presently tied for third place in the GLIAC’s North Division standings.

Last Season – Ferris State concluded its 30th anniversary campaign (2002) with a 24-7 overall record, which included a second-place tying 15-3 GLIAC North Division finish. The Bulldogs also advanced to the 2002 NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional Tournament.

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 663-387 (.631) 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.

Leading The Way – 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 for the 2003 campaign. Green was both a first-team All-GLIAC and American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) All-Great Lakes Region selection last season while Godlewski attained honorable mention All-GLIAC kudos. Fairbanks ranked second (3.73 kpg) among Ferris’ kills leaders in 2002.

Home Court Advantage – Ferris is 215-56 (.793) at Ewigleben Sports Arena since 1981 and sports a 129-40 (.763) conference home mark during that span. The Bulldogs are 116-40 (.744) overall at home since 1990, which includes a 82-36 (.695) conference mark. FSU is 57-9 (.864) in home matches since 1998 and posted its sixth undefeated home campaign (8-0) in the 600-seat facility last 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 128-56 (.696) 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.

Streak Remains Alive – Ferris’ current 11-11 overall record this campaign marks the eighth consecutive season and the 12th time in the last 14 years the Bulldogs have compiled a .500 record or better in their initial 22 matches of a campaign.

Green Approaching Another Mark – Ashley Green presently has 3,225 career assists to date and is 218 away from tying Melissa Petty (3,443; 1991-94) for third place on the school's all-time list. Green needs two kills to attain her 200th career kill.

Fairbanks 33 Kills Shy – Karla Fairbanks, who is FSU’s leader in both kills (4.33 kpg) and digs (2.88 dpg) this season, needs 33 kills to become the 13th player in school history to eclipse the 1,000 career kills mark. She garnered her 100th career ace at Wayne State.

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 279-106 (.725) career mark, is 161-86 (.652) in eight 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. Brandel-Wilhelm, who was voted the GLIAC’s Coach of the Year in 2002, entered the 2003 season ranked 13th among NCAA-II’s winningest active coaches.

Solid League Start – Ferris’ current 8-4 league mark this campaign represents the sixth time the Bulldogs have won eight of their initial 12 GLIAC outings in eight seasons under head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm. The Bulldogs have won at least eight of their first 12 conference tilts in five of the last six seasons to date. Last season (2002), Ferris registered a 11-1 mark through 12 league matches.

Looking Ahead – Ferris State hosts Saginaw Valley State Friday, Oct. 31, in a 5 p.m. (EST) tilt at the Ewigleben Sports Arena. FSU will then square off against Northwood Saturday, Nov. 1, at 4 p.m. (EST). Both are league matches.

Bulldog Bites - Nine of FSU's 11 losses this season have occurred against teams either ranked or receiving votes in the latest (Oct. 14) AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll ....... Since the 2001 campaign, Ferris State has compiled a 22-4 (.846) overall record to date during the month of October. FSU, which is currently 5-2 in October this campaign, posted a 10-1 (.909) October mark last season .......... The Bulldogs have presently won 12 of their last 13 home matches and 23 of their last 30 GLIAC regular-season encounters dating back to the start of the 2002 campaign ......... Karla Fairbanks has recorded 10 kills or more in 13 of her last 14 outings to date. She ranks 23rd (4.49 kpg) among the latest (Oct. 12) NCAA-II National Statistical Leaders ............. Freshman middle hitter Molly Pickvet (Pinconning) attained a personal career-high 12 kills at Wayne State ....... Freshman outside hitter Danielle Baucher (Kalamazoo/Mattawan) is eight kills shy of registering her 200th career kill. She posted her 200th career dig at Wayne State ......... Sophomore middle hitter Lauren Heine (Ypsilanti) has 189 kills to date and is 21 away from recording her 200th career kill while sophomore middle hitter Becky Thurau (Troy/Birmingham Groves) needs 10 additional kills to notch her 300th career kill ........... Brittny Godlewski needs three digs to notch her 500th career dig .................... Ferris State’s current 211.5 total blocks this campaign represents the school’s seventh-best single-season total to date. FSU needs 36 more to match the sixth-place mark of 247.5 blocks set in 2002.

Making A Comparison – Becky Thurau has totaled 202 kills and 90 total blocks in 22 matches this campaign compared to her 88 kills and 46 blocks in the same number of outings last season. Meanwhile, Lauren Heine has recorded 167 kills and 87 blocks in 22 matches this year after posting only 22 kills and four blocks in 14 outings a season ago. Sophomore middle hitter Emily Clouse (Tiffin, Ohio/Bascom Hopewell-Loudon) has tallied 143 digs this season. She had only 15 digs in 14 appearances last year.

The 2003 GLIAC Tournament – The 2003 GLIAC Tournament returns to the Kellogg Center in Battle Creek, Mich., this season following a one-year hiatus. The top three teams in each division plus the next two best overall teams will qualify for the tournament, which is slated for Nov. 13-15. Ferris has six league matches remaining 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 Phill Mooney and produced by FSU’s media productions department, airs each Saturday at 3:30 p.m. (EDT) on Northern Michigan’s WFQX-Fox 33.

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, news and more.

A Look At The Opponenet:

Grand Valley State: Ferris and Grand Valley State will square off for the 80th time this Friday with GVSU holding a 42-37 series advantage. In the last meeting (10/7/03), the Lakers recorded a 3-2 win at Allendale, Mich. Ferris head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm currently has a 5-10 career coaching record against Grand Valley State. GVSU, which has won seven of the last 10 series contests, is currently 14-14 all-time versus FSU in Big Rapids. Grand Valley State compiled a 32-3 overall record in 2002, including a first-place 17-1 GLIAC North Division finish and a berth in the NCAA Division II Elite Eight. The Lakers, who are coached by ninth-year head coach Deanne Scanlon, improved to 19-5 overall and 11-1 in league play this season as a result of a 3-2 conference win at Wayne State last Saturday (Oct. 18). GVSU, which has won its last seven matches to date, is ranked 25th in the latest (Oct. 14) AVCA Division II Coaches Top 25 Poll. Ferris recorded a 3-2 triumph in front of a capacity crowd of 600 in last season’s (10/8) meeting at the Ewigleben Sports Arena as the two teams split a pair of matches in 2002. Ferris has won four of the last five meetings in Big Rapids to date.