FERRIS STATE ANNOUNCES 2003 VOLLEYBALL SCHEDULE

Trip To Florida Highlights Bulldog Slate; Schedule Includes Eight Home Matches

Eight home Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) matches and a season-opening trip to Florida highlight the 2003 Ferris State University women’s volleyball schedule, which was announced today by FSU Athletics Director Tom Kirinovic.

Junior setter Ashley Green and the Ferris State women's volleyball team will open up the 2003 schedule Aug. 29-30 at the North Florida Labor Day Classic

“Our schedule is tough as always, but we’re excited about the challenges ahead,” said eighth-year head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm, who holds a 150-75 (.667) record at FSU to date. “The non-conference schedule is extremely challenging and should help prepare us for the conference race.”

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. Tampa placed third in the final 2002 American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Division II Top 25 Coaches Poll while Barry was 18th and North Florida finished 19th.

The Bulldogs will continue their opening three-week road swing by taking part in the Grand Valley State Days Inn Classic (Sept. 5-6) in Allendale, Mich., and the Great Lakes Region Crossover Tournament (Sept. 12-13) at Highland Heights, Ky. Six of Ferris’ seven matches in the two tournaments will be against regional opponents. The lone non-region match is against North Alabama, which was ranked 12th in last season’s final national poll.

Ferris opens conference action with back-to-back road evening contests versus Findlay (Sept. 19) and Ashland (Sept. 20). FSU then begins the home portion of its schedule Sept. 25 as the Bulldogs host Michigan Tech in a 7 p.m. (EDT) matchup at FSU’s Ewigleben Sports Arena in Big Rapids, Mich. Ferris will also face Northern Michigan (Sept. 26) and Lake Superior State (Sept. 27) as part of a three-match home opening weekend.

The Bulldogs’ remaining home schedule includes contests against Gannon (Oct. 10), Mercyhurst (Oct. 11), Grand Valley State (Oct. 24), Saginaw Valley State (Oct. 31) and the regular-season finale versus Northwood (Nov. 1).

Following its two league-opening away matches, Ferris takes to the road for GLIAC matchups versus Saginaw Valley State (Oct. 3), Northwood (Oct. 4) and Grand Valley State (Nov. 7). FSU will also visit Wayne State (Oct. 17), Hillsdale (Oct. 18), Lake Superior State (Nov. 6), Michigan Tech (Nov. 7) and Northern Michigan (Nov. 8).

“We’ll play many of the top teams from our region early in the season,” Brandel-Wilhelm said. “We’re also going to face some of the nation’s best teams throughout the course of the year.”

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.

The Bulldogs have compiled a 211-55 (.793) record to date in 22 seasons of competition at Ewigleben Sports Arena since moving from the Health and Physical Education (HPE) Building in 1981. Ferris registered its sixth undefeated home season in the facility with an 8-0 record last year.

Click Here For 2003 Schedule