Over the Thanksgiving break, Ferris athletics remained busy. A multitude of matchups took place, so here’s what you missed.
Volleyball earns fourth straight GLIAC tournament win.
Following an undefeated regular season where Bulldog volleyball went 28-0, Ferris hosted the GLIAC tournament in Bulldog Arena where they took home their fourth straight GLIAC championship. The Bulldogs have now won 10 of the last 11 GLIAC championships.
Ferris took on Purdue Northwest in the opening round 3-0 victory before a five-set thriller against Michigan Tech to advance to the championship. Sweeping the Grand Valley State Lakers clinched the title once again for the Bulldogs and improved their record to 31-0.
Head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm praised the group of seniors in their conference victory.
“They’ve gotten better every day of every year,” Brandel-Wilhelm said. “They’ve gone through the wringer and when you struggle during your career, it builds a stronger foundation and that’s what this group is built on.”
The Bulldogs will move on to the DII Regional Championship this week, starting Dec. 5 where they take on the eight-seed team from Missouri St. Louis.
Men’s basketball picks up two wins
The Bulldog men’s basketball team continues to roll as they tallied two more wins to extend their record to 8-1 on the young season. Ferris defeated the Findlay Oilers 100-76 on Saturday, Nov. 23 and beat Grace Christian 106-47 on Tuesday, Nov. 26.
The No. 9 ranked Bulldogs have eclipsed the century mark twice through their first nine games and continue to put their high-scoring offense on display. Through the first nine games, Ferris is averaging 87.6 points per game while only allowing 65.8 to its opponents.
A large factor in the Bulldogs’ wins comes from their rebounding. Over their past two wins, Ferris outrebounded its opponents with a 98-59 margin. The majority of these boards come at the hands of junior Nathan Claerbaut who currently averages 7.4 rebounds per game.
The Bulldogs will begin GLIAC conference play against Lake Superior State before this story is printed on Tuesday, Dec. 3 and then hit the road to take on the Roosevelt Lakers on Saturday, Dec. 7.
Head coach Andy Bronkema is looking forward to GLIAC conference play starting in December.
“It’s a marathon,” Bronkema said. “It’ll be a heavyweight fight against Lake [Superior] State and it won’t be the only one in the GLIAC. There’s a lot of teams that are prepared to be here and beat each other up so we just have to be ready for it.”
Women’s basketball battles rival Ashland
On Saturday, Nov. 23, the women’s basketball team fell to the Ashland Eagles 69-59. The Bulldogs defeated the Eagles last season in the DII Midwest Regional Finals but failed to come back in the regular season matchup despite scoring 26 points in the fourth quarter.
Ferris fell behind by as much as 28 points in the third quarter before cutting into the lead in the final frame. Senior guard Kadyn Blanchard tallied a team-high 29 points in the game alongside eight rebounds.
Despite the loss, the Bulldogs sit at a 5-2 record and are ranked No. 16.
Head coach Kurt Westendorp had mixed feelings about the result of the match.
“I’m proud of the heart and hustle our team has but we have to execute better and I have to coach better,” Westendrop said. “Ashland is a physical basketball team and we have to be able to handle that better and be tougher if we want to beat teams like this.”
The women’s squad will also take on Lake Superior State on Tuesday, Dec. 3 at 5:30 p.m. to kick off conference play.