ST. JOSEPH, Mo. – Missouri Western Volleyball heads north to Michigan for their first tournament of the 2015-16 season as they take on four opponents at the Ferris State Invitational.

Saginaw Valley will be the Griffons first opponent of the season on Friday. The Cardinals were picked to finish third in the GLIAC North Division after posting a record of 17-11 overall and 12-6 in GLIAC competition last season. SVSU returns two players that finished the season receive All-GLIAC Honors including junior Kaylee Schmitt and junior Kelly Vellucci.  

The Griffons will face Ferris State on Friday as well. Ferris State is the defending champions of the GLIAC after recording a record of 24-6 overall record. The Bulldogs are picked to finish first in the 2015 GLIAC preseason coaches pool. FSU claimed both the regular season and tournament titles in the GLIAC, earning their fourth-straight berth to the NCAA tournament. The Bulldogs will return 11 letterwinners for the 2015 season, including four All-GLIAC honorees. Ferris State is ranked 19^th nationally in the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) Preseason National Rankings.

Missouri Western will open up Saturday with a match against the Mercyhurst Lakers. Mercyhurst is picked to finish tied for fifth in the PSAC Western Division according to the preseason coaches' poll. The Lakers are coming off of an 18-13 overall record in their 2014 campaign which included a trip the NCAA Tournament. Mercyhurst returns a number of key players including seniors Lexi Stefanov, Erin Byrnes and Kelly Vitt.

The final match of the weekend for the Griffons will be against Wisconsin-Parkside. Parkside is a member of the GLVC and is slated to finish fifth in the East Division. The Rangers will return eight players from the 2014 squad that finished with an overall record of 15-13 and 8-10 in the GLVC. They return four of their top five attackers from a year ago. Jackie Langer, Rebecca Roembke, and Jeni Heller will be expected to make a big impact for the Rangers this season.

Live Stats will be provided for the Ferris State match but is not guaranteed for the other three matches due to location and logistical matters. The link can be found here