The No. 1 Ferris State women’s volleyball team beat the No. 8 Purdue Northwest Pride (13-12, 7-9 in GLIAC) 3-1 in the GLIAC Tournament Quarterfinals.
The Bulldogs (22-6, 13-3 in GLIAC) lost the first two points in the first set before getting on the board with a kill. The Bulldogs and Pride went point-for-point early on, with both teams gaining slight two-point leads. The first timeout was at 8-6 in favor of Purdue Northwest.
Out of the timeout, both teams went point-for-point, with the Pride staying ahead in the set. The Pride went on an 8-11 run, ending at 19-14 when Ferris State called their final timeout of the set. The Bulldogs went on a 4-2 run before Purdue Northwest called their first timeout of the set, bringing the score to 21-18 Pride. Ferris State went on a run and tied it up at 24 before the Pride called their last timeout. The Bulldogs won the next two points, winning the first set 26-24.
Purdue Northwest jumped out to an 8-3 lead before Ferris State called its first timeout. The Pride went on a 5-3 run before Ferris State called its second and last timeout of the set to make it 13-6. The Bulldogs went on a 6-2 run before Purdue Northwest called its first timeout of the second set to make the score 15-12. Ferris State tied it up at 15 before the Pride called its second timeout when Ferris State had a 17-15 lead. The Pride pulled ahead and won the second set 25-23.
The third set was another back-and-forth battle, with the Bulldogs leading 19-15 when Purdue Northwest called its first timeout. Ferris State went on a 3-0 run when the Pride called its second timeout. Ferris State went in to win the third set 25-16.
The Bulldogs went on a 14-12 run when the Pride called its first timeout of the fourth set. Both teams scored 7 points each to make it 21-19 when Ferris called its first timeout. Ferris called its second timeout down 24-23. The Bulldogs won the set 27-25 and the match 3-1.
Head coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm discussed what she told her team during timeouts to stay motivated.
“This team is always motivated,” Brandel-Wilhelm said. “I think it’s just a matter of focusing in on what are the opportunities that we have in front of us and just reminding us of our game plan.”
The Bulldogs will play No. 4 Grand Valley in the GLIAC semifinals on Saturday.