The No. 12 ranked Ferris State women’s volleyball team went undefeated in the University of Alabama Huntsville Invitational on Friday, Sept. 13 and Saturday, Sept. 14.
The Bulldogs surrendered just one set throughout the entire weekend, continuing their dominance as they have only lost a total of three sets out of the seven matches in the entire 2024 season.
The Bulldogs faced four different teams in Emmanuel, Tusculum, Alabama-Huntsville and Harding over the weekend.
Senior setter Kaylee Maat led the team with 140 assists throughout the four games in Alabama. Senior outside hitter Olivia Henneman-Dallape dominated and put up a team-high 63 kills during the invitational.
Ferris has opened up their season with a difficult schedule that has included two different teams who made the DII national tournament last season, including the 2023 tournament runner-ups in West Texas A&M.
According to Maat, this tough schedule is designed to make the team better.
“There is always a reason for the way we schedule, it will definitely help us out in the long run,” Maat said.
Ferris opens up their season with 12 straight games on the road, not hosting a game in the Ewigleben Sports Arena until Oct. 4.
The Bulldogs’ 7-0 start is the best start to a season since the 2015 season when they started 12-0.
Even with the great start, Maat focused on the bigger picture.
“It’s always nice to win but we are always more focused on growing our skills individually and as a team,” Maat said. “We have a great team culture, and we have a deep amount of players in each position that are able to come in and be game changers.”
The Bulldogs saw every team member touch the floor and contribute to the invitational sweep.
Sophomore setter Hayley Wegener accredits the dominance of the team to their hard work and dedication in the offseason. “Everyone worked super hard in the offseason on our physical and mental game,” Wegener said. “We like to take it one game at a time and focus on the set in front of us.”
Ferris will open up conference play Friday, Sept. 20 in a key rivalry match with No. 19 ranked Grand Valley State. This will be a matchup between the top two finishers in the GLIAC in the 2023 season. Ferris went on to win the GLIAC tournament, while Grand Valley won the regular season title.
Freshman outside hitter Alana Deshetsky, who will be playing in her first Ferris versus Grand Valley rivalry game sees the Lakers as nothing more than another opponent.
“To me, Grand Valley is just another team, and we have to show up mentally and physically ready to play and battle as a team,” Deshetsky said. “We have already played tough teams, and we are ready to start conference play.”
The Bulldogs will continue their long road trip with games at Grand Valley and Wayne State on Friday, Sept. 20, and Saturday, Sept. 21.