The Ferris State University women's volleyball team will compete in the NCAA Division-II national championships this weekend in South Dakota. The Bulldogs are 34-0 and the top ranked team in Division-II.
Four of the seniors will miss their graduation ceremony, which will be held on Friday. But the university held a private graduation ceremony and awarded the four seniors their degrees.
University president Bill Pink presided over the ceremony. The team’s Head Coach Tia Brandel-Wilhelm and Provost Bobby Fleishman also attended, according to a statement.
“We are thrilled to send our undefeated volleyball champions to Sioux Falls this weekend to bring a national championship back to Ferris, but we also wanted to acknowledge the reason they are attending Ferris State University in the first place: to complete their degrees,” said Pink, who honored the team before its early Tuesday flight to South Dakota.
Chelsie Freeman of Texas graduated manga cum laude with a bachelor’s degree in psychology. Olivia Henneman-Dallape of Ohio got a bachelor’s degree in nursing, and Hannah Tecumseh and Kaylaa Matt of Michigan got bachelor’s degrees in biology, pre-optometry and elementary education.
"You come to college to hopefully get your degree and have a chance to compete as a student athlete, and you like to see them be honored and be able to go through a ceremony," said Rob Bentley, Ferris State's associate athletic director, on a phone call with WCMU.
The Ferris State Bulldogs football team will also play in the semi-final for the Division-II national championship Saturday.
“A lot of teams are done by this time of the year from the fall season,” Bentley said. “To have these teams still competing here, as we get into the latter part of December, is really exciting to see."
