Volleyball Hosts Ferris State Thursday In GLIAC Quarterfinal

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GLIAC TOURNAMENT
The fourth-seeded Wayne State Warriors will host the fifth-seeded Ferris State Bulldogs in the quarterfinals of the 2010 Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Volleyball Tournament at 7:00 p.m. on Thursday at the Matthaei.

Wayne State finished the regular season in second place in the GLIAC South Division.  Ferris State placed third in the North Division and, with both teams posting a 13-6 conference record, WSU earned the right to host FSU by way of a head-to-head tiebreaker.


WEEK IN REVIEW
Wayne State ended the regular season on a six-match winning streak. The Warriors defeated Findlay in five sets last Tuesday before shutting out Michigan Tech on Friday and earning a monumental 3-1 triumph Saturday over #19 Northern Michigan. Wayne State, which had lost 26 consecutive meetings to NMU, defeated the Wildcats for the first time since September 1990.

Katarzyna Sak was named GLIAC South Division Player of the Week for the third time this season. She averaged five kills per set and exceeded the 20-kill mark twice, matching her career-high with 23 against the Oilers and totaling 21 versus the Wildcats. Sak hit .609 on Saturday against Michigan Tech and .410 for the week, and racked up 15 service aces as well as nine blocks in the three victories. She had six aces Saturday, most by a Warrior since 2004.

Cydney Biessel averaged 11.50 assists, Lindsey Graciak amassed 62 digs, and Maureen MacDonald had 30 kills as well as 27 digs.

WSU’s 13 conference wins are the most since the 1998 squad went 15-4.


SCOUTING FERRIS STATE
Wayne State battled to a five-set victory on Sept. 25 at the Matthaei to defeat Ferris State for the first time since 1998. Since that meeting, the Bulldogs are 11-4 and come in - much like Wayne State - riding the momentum of a six-match winning streak.

Three of FSU’s last four victories have been shutouts, including last Wednesday against Saginaw Valley State and Friday versus Lake Superior State.

Senior middle hitter Arielle Goodson, who had 20 kills and hit .452 Friday against the Lakers, ranks second in the GLIAC in kills (4.13 per set). Sophomore setter Samantha Fordyce and junior libero Lisa Tobiczyk respectively average 10.17 assists and 4.38 digs, both figures ranking fourth in the conference.


POSTSEASON HISTORY
Wayne State is playing in its third consecutive GLIAC Tournament, having qualified in every year of head coach Phil Nickel’s tenure. Thursday will be the second time in three years that WSU has hosted the first round, as the Warriors defeated Hillsdale at the Matthaei in the opening round in 2008. Last season, Wayne State was ousted by Ashland, 3-1, in the quarterfinals. In total, WSU has qualified for the GLIAC Volleyball Tournament seven times prior to 2010. Wayne State made four straight trips from 1996-99 and another in 2005.

The last time Wayne State and Ferris State met in postseason play resulted in a 3-2 victory for the Bulldogs at the 1987 NCAA Division II Great Lakes Regional in Big Rapids.


AT THE HELM
Nickel is in his third season as Wayne State’s head volleyball coach and has a record of 51-32. In his five-year career, which includes two seasons at Thomas More College, Nickel is 85-75. Tia Brandel-Wilhelm is in her 15th season at FSU with a record of 305-159, and is 423-179 overall in 18 years. She earned her 300th victory at Ferris State on Oct. 24 as the Bulldogs defeated Michigan Tech, 3-1.