DETROIT -- The Wayne State University volleyball team (7-6, 4-1) will finally be able to play in front of its home fans this weekend as Northern Michigan (10-4, 4-1) and Michigan Tech (6-8, 3-2) visit Midtown. The Warriors are coming off a five-set win at Findlay on Tuesday night.
At The Helm
Phil Nickel is in his sixth season as Wayne State's head volleyball coach and has a record of 90-66. In his seven-year career, which includes two seasons at Thomas More College, Nickel is 117-103. Nickel was named the 12th head coach in the history of the Wayne State University women's volleyball program on March 3, 2008, by WSU Director of Athletics Rob Fournier. The Warriors have qualified for the GLIAC Tournament in all five years of Nickel's tenure.
Findlay Recap
Wayne State played its first midweek contest of the season at Findlay on Tuesday night and would go home with 3-2 win. The Warriors took set one 25-19, dropped an exciting set two 28-26 and fell in set three 25-16. WSU forced a fifth set with a 25-21 win and completed the comeback with a 15-9 win in the fifth set. Three Warriors tallied double-digit kills led by Kristen Bulkiewicz's 17. Candice Ottey finished with 16, hitting .429, while Essence Jackson-Jones contributed 10 kills, matching her career-high while hitting .529. Madison Reeves dished out a career-high 51 assists while Carlee Hunt and Macy Steenhuysen both collected 10 digs apiece. WSU hit .325 compared to Findlay's .290. The Warriors collected 10 total team blocks.
Series History
NMU leads the all-time series against WSU 29-13. The Wildcats won 26 straight from 1990 to 2009. The Warriors have won the last three meetings. MTU leads the all-time series over WSU 23-20 but the Warriors have won the last three contests.
Bulkiewicz Sets Aim On Record Book
Senior outside hitter Kristen Bulkiewicz was named GLIAC South Division Player of the Week last week where she led Wayne State University to a 2-0 record with a sweep at Lake Erie and a five set-thriller at Ashland. Bulkiewicz paced the Warriors' attack with 38 kills (4.75/set) over the weekend with a .235 hitting percentage and 31 digs (3.88/set). She has collected six double-doubles this season including four straight earlier this season. With her 17 kills at Findlay on Tuesday, she is now 10th all-time in program history with 1,091.
Warriors in the Polls
The Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (GLIAC) released its 2013 Preseason Volleyball Poll on August 27 as voted on by the league's coaches. Wayne State University received three first-place votes and 44 total points and were predicted to finish second in the GLIAC South Division. The three first-place votes and 44 points both rank third out of all 16 teams.
Opening Weekend
The Warriors have fared well in recent opening weekends, posting a .500 record or better in six of the last seven years. Last season, the Warriors went 2-2 at the NSU Sharks Classic. WSU went 1-3 in 2011 at Missouri-St. Louis, 2-2 at Indianapolis in 2010, won all four matches in the 2009 WSU Invitational, posted a 3-1 record at the Cal State Monterrey Bay Otter Classic in 2008, and won two of four matches at Francis Marion in 2007.
2012 In Review
The Warriors finished tied for second last season with an 18-13 overall record including an 11-7 mark in GLIAC matches. WSU upended second-seeded Ferris State in the GLIAC Tournament before dropping a hard-fought battle with Grand Valley in the semifinals. Wayne State returns nine letterwinners including two-time First Team All-GLIAC and Honorable Mention AVCA All-Midwest Region selection, Kristen Bulkiewicz (LaSalle, Ont. / Sandwich).
2013 Captains
Phil Nickel selected his 2013 team captains as the return to campus nears for student-athletes. Jessica DeLeeuw, Carlee Hunt, Jamie Goryca and Madison Reeves will serve as the Warrior captains for the upcoming season. "This group has worked very hard to provide the leadership needed for this team to be successful, stated Coach Nickel. "They all bring different qualities to the leadership position but each have the respect and trust of their teammates and coaches. I look forward to continuing to work with them as we embark on the 2013 season."
Coaching Staff Addition
Brittany Holbrook was named assistant coach for the 2013 season. She graduated this spring from Oakland University with a bachelor's degree in social work along with a minor in sociology. Holbrook is currently pursuing a master's degree in social work from WSU. During her four-year volleyball career with the Grizzlies, she was named to The Summit League All-Freshman Team in 2009 after leading the team in hitting percentage at .295, the third highest in OU NCAA Division I history. Holbrook also recorded team-high totals with 14 solo blocks, 76 block assists and 90 total blocks.
Returning Experience
The Warriors return nine letterwinners from last season. Returners of note along with Bulkiewicz are junior Candice Ottey who was third on the team in 2012 with 237 kills and collected 68 total blocks, sophomore Essence Jackson-Jones who was second on the team last season with 127 total blocks and fourth on the team with 169 kills and sophomore Kelsey Bonewits who led the team with 140 total blocks and finished with 147 kills.
Program History
Wayne State University volleyball began in 1975 and enter the season with a 662-526 (.557) overall record. The program has won three GLIAC titles(1979, 1980, 1981), three GLIAC South titles (1996, 1997, 1998), have qualified for the GLIAC Tournament on 10 occasions (1996-99, 2005, 2008-2012) and have advanced to the NCAA Tournament on two occasions (1987, 1994).
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