Bowling Green State University
CENTRAL MICHIGAN
Volleyball Stops Chippewas, 3-1
November 02, 2001 | Volleyball
Nov. 2, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Junior Kristin Gamby had a match-high 21 kills as the Bowling Green State University volleyball team recorded a four-game win (30-25, 30-27, 25-30, 30-28) over Central Michigan University Friday night (Nov. 2). The Mid-American Conference match was held at Anderson Arena.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 15-6 overall and 8-5 in MAC action. CMU drops to 6-15 and 1-12, respectively.
Senior Caty Rommeck had 16 kills for the Brown and Orange, while sophomore Susie Norris had 14 kills and a match-high 17 digs.
The BGSU win kept the Falcons a game-and-a-half behind East Division-leading Akron. The Zips, who beat Miami in four games Friday, will head to Anderson Arena Saturday (Nov. 3) for a 7:00 p.m. match. BGSU moved past Miami after the Friday matches. (The MAC standings can be found later in this recap).
The teams each posted blistering hitting percentages in game one. The Chippewas hit .371, but the Brown and Orange hit a stellar .472 (22-5-36). Neither team led by more than a point in that first game until a Rommeck kill gave BG a 16-14 edge. The Chippewas tied the game at 17-17 on a Suzanne Smith service ace, one of 11 for the Chippewas on the night, but another Rommeck kill gave the Falcons the lead for good. Back-to-back kills by Rommeck and Gamby closed out the game.
The second game was again tight throughout. Senior Natalie Becker served two quick points to start the game, but neither team led by more than a single point until back-to-back Gamby kills broke a 14-14 tie. The visitors kept the match close, and knotted the contest once again, as block assists by Melissa Reneski and Elizabeth Passen made the score 23-23. Passen had a match-high seven block assists on the night.
Two Gamby kills, sandwiched around a CMU attack error, gave the Falcons a 26-23 lead, and CMU didn't get closer than two points thereafter. A Norris kill clinched the second game.
Central hit .314 as a team in the third game, en route to the win. The visitors scored the first four points of the game, and built an 8-3 lead. BG would rally, though.
With the Chippewas holding a 13-10 lead, a kill by senior Amber Vorst began an 11-1 Falcon run. Gamby had five kills, while Vorst had two kills and a service ace during that run. Vorst served six-straight points to give the Brown and Orange a seemingly comfortable 21-14 lead. But, CMU had a run of its own.
The Chippewas erased a 23-16 deficit and scored seven consecutive points, with Passen serving for the final six, to tie the score. The teams traded points before a 4-0 CMU run gave Central a 28-24 lead. BG got a point on a Shyann Robinson kill, but two kills by CMU's Emily Lovejoy forced a fourth game.
The visitors got off to a solid start in that fourth game, taking a 9-5 lead after block assists on three consecutive plays. Passen was involved in all three points. BG rallied, however, and a Becker kill tied the match at 16.
With the contest tied at 18, Gamby hit back-to-back kills, and Robinson had a service ace, to give the Falcons the lead for good. CMU got a point back, but a Chippewa error was followed by a Norris kill, extending the BG margin to 24-19. A few minutes later, Gamby had the match-ending kill.
The Falcons hit .314 as a team on the night, the second-highest percentage of the season (and the highest in MAC play). Central hit .252, and had 65 kills to BGSU's 76.
Vorst, who played in just two matches, hit .545, with eight kills and two errors in 11 attempts. Laura Twyman had seven kills off the bench.
Senior Kate Yeo joined Norris in double digits in digs, with 11. Becker had 51 set assists, while Rommeck had eight digs and six blocks.
CMU got 18 kills from Lovejoy, who paced four Chippewas in double digits. Jodi Jesion was the lone member of the team in double digits in digs, with 12, while Lovejoy had nine. Jesion and Passen each had three aces.
The Falcons are now 7-1 at home on the season, and the Falcons are 26-5 at Anderson since early October of 1999.
With the regular season winding down, the Falcons will hit the road after Saturday's (Nov. 3) showdown with UA. BGSU will play at Marshall (Friday, Nov. 9) and Ohio (Saturday, Nov. 10) before returning home for a non-conference match vs. Cleveland State on Tuesday, Nov. 13. The Falcons will then play at Kent State (Nov. 16) before closing the regular season at home vs. arch-rival Toledo (Nov. 17).
MAC STANDINGS (through matches of Friday, Nov. 2)
East Division West Division Akron (16-5)............... 10-4 Northern Illinois (17-4)... 12-2 Bowling Green (15-6)....... 8-5 Ball State (16-7).......... 12-3 Miami (10-10).............. 7-6 Eastern Michigan (16-8).... 9-6 Kent State (13-9).......... 7-7 Toledo (14-8).............. 7-6 Ohio (7-15)................ 5-8 Western Michigan (12-8).... 7-6 Marshall (5-19)............ 3-10 Central Michigan (6-15).... 1-12 Buffalo (5-18)............. 0-13
