#13 Ferris State Volleyball Earns Split On Final Day At Midwest Region Crossover

Big Rapids, Mich. - The Ferris State University women's volleyball squad, which is ranked 13th nationally, wrapped up action in the Midwest Region Crossover with a split on Saturday (Oct. 19) in Indianapolis, Ind.

The Bulldogs opened the way with an exciting five-set win over 17th-ranked Rockhurst (Mo.) at The Academy Volleyball Club before falling in three-sets to Missouri-St. Louis to close the regional event with a 2-1 overall record.

In the opener against Rockhurst, Ferris State posted a 25-23, 25-21, 19-25, 23-25, 17-15 win as the Bulldogs claimed the deciding set in extra points.

Senior All-American Allyson Cappel had a huge match for the Bulldogs with a season-best 31 kills and 15 digs for FSU. Meanwhile, senior Courtney Brewer added 16 kills and eight digs with junior Katie O'Connell adding 14 kills and 13 digs.

The Bulldogs' Maeve Grimes engineered the attack with 59 assists while adding 11 digs with Brewer notching four solo blocks and an assist at the net.

Overall, FSU hit .219 for the match and compiled 72 kills, 77 digs, 12 block assists, six solo blocks and five aces as compared to RU's .217 attack figure with 63 kills, 74 digs, 28 block assists, eight aces and two solo hits at the net.

In the second match, though, Missouri-St. Louis picked up its 20th win of the campaign as the Tritons pulled out a 31-29, 25-12, 25-17 win over the Bulldogs, who fell to 16-4 overall.

Cappel paced FSU in the nightcap with 14 kills while both Brewer and Kira Merkle had nine kills each. Nina Gorgijevska posted a team-high 14 digs with Grimes totaling 28 assists in the setback.

The Bulldogs compiled a .223 hitting figure in the second match and finished with 35 kills, 45 digs, eight block assists and three service aces. Missouri-St. Louis, though, hit an impressive .344 overall and finished with 56 kills, 48 digs, seven aces and five solo blocks with four block assists.

The regional volleyball event featureed 41 NCAA DII midwest region programs, including 16 Great Lakes Valley Conference (GLVC), 12 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC), and 13 Great Midwest Athletic Conference (G-MAC) volleyball programs that represented their respective conferences.

Overall, the two-day tournament featured 63 matches conducted on 11 courts throughout six sessions at one of the top volleyball facilities in the country. The event, designed to increase competition between teams from the three leagues in the NCAA Division II Midwest Region, has previously been held in Indianapolis, Ind., Lansing, Mich., and Aurora, Ill.

Ferris State returns to GLIAC play on the road next weekend as FSU visits Wayne State on Friday (Oct. 25) for a 7 p.m. (ET) league encounter in Detroit before visiting Ashland on Saturday (Oct. 26) with match time set for 5 p.m. (ET) in Ashland, Ohio.