Boxscore

Big Rapids, Mich. -- The seventh-seeded Wayne State University volleyball team (18-12 overall) pulled the lone upset in the opening round of the 2012 GLIAC tournament by upending second-seeded Ferris State (23-7) 3-2 Wednesday evening. 

The Warriors, making their fifth consecutive league tournament appearance under head coach Phil Nickel, won the deciding fifth set 15-12.  After dropping the opening set 25-23, WSU rebounded for a 25-12 victory in the second set.  The Warriors recorded a 25-21 triumph in the third set before the Bulldogs forced the deciding set with a 25-19 win in the fourth set.

The match began in a see-saw fashion with the score being tied at 1 through 10 inclusive, before a pair of Warrior points were answered by back-to-back points by FSU to knot the set at 12.  The set would be tied eight more times including at 23-23 prior to the hosts recording the final two points on a WSU service error and a Bulldog service ace.  Wayne State out-hit Ferris State .333 to .308 in the opening set.

After FSU tallied the opening point of the second set, the Warriors rattled off 11 consecutive points which included six kills by junior Kristen Bulkiewicz (LaSalle, Ont. / Sandwich).  Four straight Bulldog points made it 11-5, but WSU answered with a 10-3 run to increase its lead to 21-8.  Ferris State won the next three points, before Wayne State won four of the last five points to claim set No. 2.  WSU hit .469 in the second set compared to -.034 for FSU (5-6-29).

The Warriors took an early 3-1 lead in the third set, but the Bulldogs responded with six consecutive points for a 7-3 advantage.  WSU battled back from its early deficit to tie the set at 12.  The score was tied six more times in the set, before a 6-2 Wayne State run closed out the set 25-21.

The host Bulldogs would fight back in the fourth set to knot the match at two sets apiece.  After falling behind 3-1, the Warriors tallied six straight points which included back-to-back kills by freshman Kelsey Bonewits (Griffith, Ind.).  WSU maintained its lead until four consecutive FSU points tied the set at nine.  The set was tied five more times, the last coming at 16, but Ferris State finished the set on a 9-3 run to force the decisive fifth set.

In the deciding set, Wayne State raced out to a 4-0 lead as Bulkiewicz sandwiched a pair of kills around kills by senior Madie Kent (Grosse Pointe Woods, Mich. / Grosse Pointe North) and freshman Essence Jackson-Jones (Muskegon, Mich.).  Ferris State fought back to knot the set at six, and even took a 9-7 lead moments later.  Following a Warrior timeout, WSU garnered the next two points to tie the set at nine.  FSU won three of the next four points to grab a 12-10 advantage, but a kill by Kent was followed by Jackson-Jones and Bulkiewicz combining on a block to even the set at 12.  Wayne State won the next two points on an attack error by the Bulldogs and a bad set by Ferris, before Bulkiewicz closed out the road victory with her match-high 28th kill.

Bulkiewicz (28-8-55) hit a match-best .364 and contributed 12 digs to Wayne State's first playoff victory since 2008.

Sophomore Candice Ottey (Ajax. Ont.) had 13 kills, while Kent added 10 kills and a match-best 28 digs for her 11th double-double of the campaign.  Senior setter Cydney Biessel (Ruby, Mich. / Yale) totaled 58 assists in the match along with 10 digs and seven kills.

Wayne State hit .257 for the match compared to .151 for Ferris State.

The Warrior victory avenges last year's 3-0 playoff loss at Ferris State, and the 2010 quarterfinal loss in Big Rapids (3-1).

Wayne State's last post-season victory before tonight was a 3-1 triumph over Hillsdale in 2008 at the Matthaei.  WSU's last non-home court post-season victory before this evening was a 3-0 triumph over Grand Valley on Nov. 14, 1997, when Northern Michigan hosted the entire conference tournament.

The Warriors will face third-seeded Grand Valley at 6:30 p.m. on Saturday in Midland.  The first semifinal match features top-seeded Northwood battling fourth-seeded Ashland at 4 p.m.