VOLLEYBALL: Ferris And Hillsdale To Battle In GLIAC Tournament

BIG RAPIDS - This is the weekend during which things begin to get a little more serious for the Ferris State University volleyball team.

From here on out, the next loss could be the final match of the season for the Bulldogs who are in Hillsdale to take on top-seeded Hillsdale College in the quarterfinals round of the Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference Tournament. The Bulldogs and Chargers go at it tonight in Jesse Phillips Arena on the HC campus with the first serve going in the air beginning at 7 p.m.

Hillsdale is the No. 1 overall seed in the tournament and has a 20-7 record while Ferris comes in as the second wild card entry and is 19-10 this fall.

Ferris is seeded low in the conference tournament, but is not without some impressive wins on the season including an early-season non-league victory over fourth-ranked Nebraska-Kearney on Sept. 4 in St. Cloud, Minn., and a road win over Hillsdale earlier this season in Hillsdale, on Oct. 3.

Ferris has won three straight over Hillsdale, but that will be put to the test this evening on the Chargers' home court.

This is from Hillsdale College's Web site previewing this evening's match:

The Bulldogs also own a three-game winning streak over the Chargers, the longest such streak any conference team holds over Hillsdale. The Chargers haven't beaten Ferris State since October 2006, when this year's seniors were freshmen.

Here is the scouting report on Hillsdale from the Ferris Athletics Web site:

Ferris State owns a 48-11 advantage over Hillsdale in the all-time series, which includes prevailing in three of the last four meetings between the two teams. FSU recorded a 3-1 win (20-25, 25-18, 25-19, 27-25) at Hillsdale earlier this season (10/3) after claiming a 3-1 home decision over the Chargers in the 2008 campaign (10/3). The Bulldogs are presently 25-9 overall in away/neutral site outings versus Hillsdale. The Chargers, who completed the regular season at 20-7 overall with a first-place 12-4 mark in the GLIAC's South Division, have won six of their last 10 matches to date and are midst a two-match winning streak. Hillsdale, under 14th-year head coach Chris Gravel, has produced a 5-2 record in home appearances this season. The Chargers are listed this week (11/9) among other teams receiving votes in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Coaches Top 25 Poll with 14 points. Tia Brandel-Wilhelm vs. HC - 14-4.

It should be a good one.