Bowling Green State University Athletics
BGSU Hits The Road For Three Matches
January 05, 2000 | Volleyball
Nov. 8, 1999
TOP STORIES:
* - The Falcons have moved into sole possession of first place in the Mid-American Conference's East Division ... BGSU, 10-4 in MAC play, is a half-game ahead of Akron, with both Miami and Marshall two games behind the Falcons ... the Falcons have clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament.
* - Senior Lori Kemerer is very close to reaching yet another milestone ... Kemerer needs just three more blocks to become only the second player in school history to amass 1,000 career kills, 1,000 career digs and 500 career blocks ... Kemerer looks to join Lisa Mika (1998-91) in that group.
* - Senior Melissa Lewis was named the MAC's Offensive Player of the Week last Monday (Nov. 1), the third time in the last four weeks that she has received the honor ... Lewis became the first MAC player this year to earn P-O-W laurels three times, and she is the first Falcon volleyball player ever to earn league plaudits three times in the same season.
* - Something will have to give on Wednesday (Nov. 10), when the Falcons head to Ball State ... BGSU has won five consecutive road matches, but BSU has won 11-straight matches ... additionally, the Falcons have not defeated the Cardinals since 1992.
UP NEXT: The Bowling Green State University volleyball team, having won 11 of the last 12 matches, hits the road for three Mid-American Conference contests this week. The Falcons will head to Muncie, Ind., to face Ball State in a Wednesday (Nov. 10) evening contest. First serve is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. at BSU's University Arena (11,500).
On Friday (Nov. 12), the Falcons will make the short trip north to face arch-rival Toledo. The Falcons and Rockets will tangle in a 7:00 p.m. match at John F. Savage Hall (9,000). The next day (Nov. 13), BGSU will take on Eastern Michigan in a 3:00 p.m. contest at EMU's Convocation Center (8,824).
DENISE VAN DE WALLE: Denise Van De Walle, the dean of MAC mentors, is in her 17th year with the Falcons. She is the second-winningest coach in MAC history with 313 career victories, and her 143 MAC wins also rank her second all-time. Van De Walle reached the 300-win mark for her career Sept. 10, when the Falcons swept Mississippi State at the Marquette Challenge.
Tom Hanna is in his fourth season as Van De Walle's assistant, while former Falcon setter Wendy (Watkins) Teaman is in her first year on the BG staff.
ABOUT THE FALCONS: Bowling Green enters the BSU match with a 17-9 overall record and a MAC slate of 10-4. BGSU won both of last weekend's matches to assume sole possession of first place in the MAC's East Division. Last week, the Brown and Orange won three-game home matches against both Buffalo and Northern Illinois. The Falcons have won 11 of the last 12 contests.
With the win over NIU, BG clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament. The Falcons are battling for a top-four finish and a homecourt berth for the quarterfinal round (Nov. 23). The teams are ranked, regardless of division, by MAC record. If the season were to end today, the Falcons would be seeded third.
Individually, senior Melissa Lewis, who has led the Falcons in kills in 22 of this season's 26 matches, has 426 kills on the season. Lewis leads the MAC with 4.68 kills per game. She is hitting .293 this year, including a .301 percentage and 4.71 kpg in MAC play. Classmate Heather Greig has dished out 1,017 assists, an average of 11.18 per game. Another senior, Lori Kemerer, leads BG -- and the MAC -- in blocks per game (1.45). She also leads the team in digs per game (3.05), with Lewis (2.98 dpg) a close second in that category.
Last season, the Falcons finished with an overall record of 11-21. BG finished in sixth place in the MAC's seven-team East Division with a 4-14 league record.
MAC STANDINGS:
Team (Overall)_____________MAC East Division Bowling Green (17-9)______10-4 Akron (14-12)______________9-4 Marshall (14-11)___________8-6 Miami (13-11)______________8-6 Kent (10-15)_______________7-7 Buffalo (11-15)___________4-10 Ohio (7-18)_______________1-12West Division Western Michigan (22-4)___14-1 Ball State (22-5)_________13-1 Eastern Michigan (16-10)___7-7 Northern Illinois (7-14)__4-10 Toledo (7-18)_____________4-11 Central Michigan (5-19)___2-12
ABOUT THE OPPONENTS: Ball State is the hottest team in the MAC, having won 11 consecutive matches heading into Wednesday's BGSU tilt. The Cardinals are 22-5 overall and 13-1 in MAC action. Last week, BSU won a non-league contest from visiting IUPUI, then went on the road for weekend wins at Marshall (three games) and Ohio (four games). Ball State went 21-10 a year ago, including a MAC record of 15-3 and a share of the West Division title. Randy Litchfield has a 225-99 record in his 11th year as a collegiate head coach, all in Muncie.
Toledo will enter Friday's BGSU match with a 7-18 record, and the Rockets are 4-11 in MAC action. UT has won three of the last four matches, including a pair of home victories last weekend. The Rockets defeated Northern Illinois in four games before posting a three-game sweep of Buffalo. A year ago, Toledo went 3-27 overall and 1-17 in MAC play. Kent Miller is 27-60 in his third year as a head coach, all at UT.
Eastern Michigan enters the week with a 16-10 overall record, and the Eagles have an even 7-7 MAC slate. EMU will play a Thursday contest at Central Michigan before hosting the Falcons Saturday afternoon. Last week, the Eagles won two of three home matches. EMU swept Miami in three games Friday night before losing a narrow, five-game contest to Kent the next evening. The Eagles bounced back for a four-game win over Robert Morris in Sunday non-league action. Last year, EMU finished 11-19 overall, including a 7-11 MAC mark. Kim Berrington, 42-68 in her fourth year at the EMU helm, is 145-144 in her eighth season overall.
THE SERIES: The Falcons trail Ball State, 25-10-1, in the all-time series, and the Cardinals have won the last 15 matches, including a three-game set (15-9, 15-13, 15-5) in Anderson Arena last month (Oct. 1). BSU holds a 10-5 advantage in matches played in Muncie, and the Cards have won the last eight matches there since BGSU's last triumph, in 1991. Overall, the Falcons' last win over Ball State came in 1992 at Anderson.
The Falcons hold a 37-7 advantage over Toledo, and BG's current three-match win streak includes a three-game home win (15-6, 15-3, 15-8) on Oct. 15. BGSU is 13-7 all-time in road matches vs. the Rockets, and the Falcons won the last meeting there, a three-gamer in 1998.
BG leads Eastern Michigan by a 23-14 count, but the Eagles have won the last two meetings, including a five-game contest (16-14, 10-15, 15-9, 14-16, 15-8) on Oct. 27 in Anderson. EMU won last year's only meeting, another five-game contest in Ypsilanti. The Eagles captured a 16-14 fifth game in that match. The last three overall matches, and four of the last five, have gone to a fifth game. Saturday's contest will mark BG's first trip to EMU's new Convocation Center.
LAST WEEK: The Falcons won a pair of home matches last week, extending the team's current win streak to three matches ... BGSU captured a pair of Lenscrafters wins (BG won in about an hour) against Buffalo Friday (Nov. 5) and Northern Illinois (Saturday (Nov. 6) ... the Falcons recorded a workmanlike win against the UB Bulls, taking just 62 minutes to earn the victory (15-11, 15-3, 15-7) ... BGSU hit .298 as a team, while holding the Bulls to a hitting percentage of .070 ... the visitors hit just -.105 in the third game ... senior Lori Kemerer was the offensive star for the Falcons ... she hit .500 with 17 kills, both match-bests ... classmate Kris Pesorda had seven kills ... defensively, freshman Kate Yeo had 12 digs, while senior Heather Greig had 11 digs, 31 assists and four service aces ... Kemerer and sophomore Caty Rommeck each had four blocks ... following the match, the Falcons conducted a clinic for youngsters in attendance ... any child in the eighth grade or younger was eligible to participate in the free volleyball clinic ... on Saturday, BGSU downed NIU for just the second time in 16 series meetings (15-13, 15-10, 15-5) ... with the victory, the Brown and Orange clinched a spot in the MAC Tournament ... the Falcons took large leads in each game, but saw those leads evaporate in both games one and two ... BG led, 5-0, in the first game, but had to rally from a 12-9 deficit ... the Falcons lost an 8-2 advantage in the second game, but scored seven of the final nine points for the win ... the Brown and Orange exploded for a 12-1 lead in the final game, and BG was never headed ... senior Melissa Lewis had a match-high 17 kills and hit .378 ... Kemerer hit .385 with 14 kills, while Pesorda hit .368 with nine kills ... Greig had 47 assists and four aces ... sophomore Amber Vorst had a team-high 10 digs, while Kemerer and Lewis had five and four blocks, respectively.
FALCON NOTES:
BGSU held Northern Illinois without a service ace in Saturday's win ... the last time the Brown and Orange held the opponent without an ace was on Nov. 21, 1992, vs. Kent ... the Falcons have more than doubled last season's MAC win total ... BGSU, 4-14 in conference play last year, is 10-4 this season ... BGSU concluded the home portion of the MAC schedule with a 6-3 slate ... all four of the Falcons' remaining conference contests will be played on the road, including this week's three matches ... BG's lone remaining regular-season home action is next Tuesday's (Nov. 16) match against Cleveland State ... BGSU is 4-1 in MAC road matches this year, heading into Wednesday's Ball State contest ... the Falcons have won five consecutive road matches, the most since a seven-match road win streak in 1992 (Sept. 12-Oct. 10) ... BGSU went 2-7 in MAC road matches last year ... BG's recent eight-match winning streak (snapped by Eastern Michigan) was the team's longest in seven years ... BG had a 10-match win streak from Sept. 18-Oct. 10, 1992 ... since that EMU loss, BGSU has won the last three matches, and the Falcons have captured 11 of the last 12 matches ... senior Lori Kemerer led the Falcons by hitting .448 with 5.17 kills per game last week ... senior Heather Greig hit .364 with 13.00 assists and 1.33 service aces per game ... as a team, the Falcons hit .302 last weekend, while holding opponents to just a .110 hitting percentage ... last Monday afternoon (Nov. 1), senior Melissa Lewis was named the MAC's Offensive Player of the Week, the third time in four weeks she had earned league P-O-W honors ... Lewis became the first player in the MAC to earn such honors three times this year ... additionally, she is the first volleyball player in school history to earn league honors three times in the same season ... last month, senior Lori Kemerer became just the third player in BGSU history with 1,000 kills, 1,000 digs and 400 blocks in her career ... Kemerer, who surpassed the millennium mark in digs during the Wright State match (Oct. 5), now has 1,167 kills, 1,117 digs and 497 total blocks in her BGSU career ... with just three more blocks, Kemerer would become just the second player to join the 1,000K-1,000D-500B club ... Lisa Mika (1988-91) is the only player in school history to reach those totals to date ... Kemerer now ranks seventh on the BGSU career lists in kills ... she has moved past Carlyn Esslinger (1992-95) into sixth place on the digs list, and is second in total blocks ... additionally, Kemerer ranks second at the school in career block assists (388), fifth in attack attempts (3,076) and sixth in solo blocks (109) ... Lewis has led BG in kills in 22 of this season's 26 matches ... earlier this season, she became just the ninth player to surpass the 1,000-kill mark for her career ... Lewis now has 1,176 career kills, good for sixth place on the BGSU list ... Lewis ranks seventh all-time in school history with 3,025 career attack attempts ... Greig is fifth in school history with 2,342 career assists ... her next target is Wendy (Watkins) Teaman, Greig's former teammate and a current BGSU assistant coach, who had 2,619 assists in a BG uniform ... senior Kris Pesorda has moved into the top-10 lists in several blocking categories ... she ranks ninth with 223 block assists, and is 10th with 241 total blocks ... additionally, Pesorda has 266 career assists ... she ranks ninth all-time at BGSU, and is the highest-ranking non-setter on that list.
FALCON QUICK FACTS
THIS WEEK
BGSU at Ball State - Wed., Nov. 10
Muncie, Indiana - 7:00 p.m.
BGSU at Toledo - Fri., Nov. 12
Toledo, Ohio - 7:00 p.m.
BGSU at Eastern Mich. - Sat., Nov. 13
Ypsilanti, Mich. - 3:00 p.m.
LAST WEEK
at BGSU 3, Buffalo 0
Fri., Nov. 5 - Anderson Arena
at BGSU 3, Northern Illinois 0
Sat., Nov. 6 - Anderson Arena
1999 RECORDS
Overall: 17-9 (.654)
Mid-American Conf.: 10-4 (.714)
HEAD COACH - Denise Van De Walle (17th season)
Alma Mater: Ball State, 1976
Record at BGSU: 313-209
Overall Career Record: 313-209
ASSISTANT COACHES
Tom Hanna (fourth season)
Alma Mater: Marist, 1991
Wendy Teaman (first season)
Alma Mater: Bowling Green, 1998
BOWLING GREEN RECORDS
All-Time: 411-325-3 (.558) (1976-present / 24th year)
MAC: 143-110 (.565) (1983-present / 17th year)
BGSU RESULTS LINE
419/372-7076, choose option 4
(same-day scores and brief summaries from all Falcon athletic teams)
