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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Volleyball Heads To Michigan State Tournament
September 04, 2001 | Volleyball
Sept. 4, 2001
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio -
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The Bowling Green State University volleyball team began their season on a successful note by sweeping the Hoosier Invitational in Bloomington, IND this weekend. The Falcons defeated the University of Tennessee, University of Maryland, and host Indiana University to win the tournament.The Falcons (3-0) will play in the Michigan State Invitational this weekend (Sept. 7-8) against the University of Idaho (Sept. 7), Winthrop University (Sept. 7) and host Michigan State (Sept. 8).
Following the Michigan State Tournament, the Falcons come home to Anderson Arena to host University of Dayton (Sept 11) at 7:00 p.m. Bowling Green heads back on the road to compete in the Pioneer Classic in Denver, Colorado September 14 and 15.
HEAD COACH DENISE VAN DE WALLE: Denise Van De Walle, the dean of MAC mentors, begins her 19th season with the Falcons, and has an overall record of 341-221 after the season opener. Her 21 wins with BG last season enabled her to surpass Miami's Carolyn Condit as the winningest coach in MAC history. Her 157 MAC wins entering the 2001 season ranks her third all-time.
Kris Pesorda, a former BG standout, enters her second season as assistant coach for the Falcons. The 2000 season student assistant for the Brown and Orange, Sean Huiet, begins his first season as assistant coach.
LAST WEEK: The Falcons opened the 2001 season with a tournament win on the road. This is the third time in the last five years that the Falcons have opened the season 3-0. Friday night (Aug. 31), BG defeated Tennessee 3-2 in their opening match of the Hoosier Invitational. The Volunteers, 23-10 and a NCAA Tournament participant in the 2000 season, received votes in the 2001 USA Today/AVCA Division I Preseason Coaches Top 25 poll. The following day, the Falcons defeated host Indiana 3-2 and Maryland, also 3-2, to win the tournament.
ROMMECK NAMED MAC PLAYER OF THE WEEK, TOURNAMENT MVP: Senior middle Caty Rommeck has been named the Mid-American Conference Player of the Week, the league office announced Monday (Sept. 3), after helping the Falcons win the Hoosier Invitational. Rommeck earns this honor for a school-record seventh time in her career.
Rommeck averaged 5.2 kills, 3.0 digs, and 1.3 blocks per game, while hitting .403 in the three matches and was named tournament MVP. Rommeck had 20 or more kills in all three matches, including a career-high 30 vs. Maryland.
BECKER NAMED TO ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM: Senior Natalie Becker joins classmate Caty Rommeck on the Hoosier Invitational All-Tournament team. Backer averaged over 12 assists and 2.8 digs per game this weekend, including a career high 21 digs vs. Tennessee.
THE OPPONENTS: The University of Idaho opened its 2001 season with the Notre Dame Tournament in South Bend, defeating Florida Atlantic and Southwest Texas State, before losing to Notre Dame in the championship game. The Vandals, now 2-1, finished the 2000 season 16-13 overall and finished sixth in the Big West Conference's East Division with a 6-10 league mark. Head coach Debbie Buchanan enters her second season with Idaho, and welcomes back 10 letterwinners, including four starters from last year.
Winthrop University opened its season at home, hosting the Winthrop Invitational. After losing to Georgia Southern and East Tennessee State, the Eagles defeated Georgia State. Winthrop, now 1-2, finished the 2000 season with a 24-10 record, finishing second in the Big South with a 11-3 Conference record. Head coach Joel McCartney begins his first year at Winthrop after serving as assistant coach at Oklahoma. McCartney welcomes back 10 letterwinners, including six starters from last year.
Michigan State University opened its 2001 season with a victory at the L&L/MSU Volleyball Classic, defeating Dayton, Western Michigan, Auburn and Denver to take the title. The Spartans, now 4-0, finished the 2000 season 18-13, finishing fifth in the Big Ten Conference with a 10-10 record. Head coach Chuck Erbe enters his ninth season with Michigan State, and welcomes back eight letterwinners and three starters.
THE SERIES: The Falcons trail the series against Michigan State with a 3-5-0 record. The last meeting between these two teams was in 1997 at the Michigan State Invitational, where the Spartans won in four games.
Bowling Green has never met the University of Idaho or Winthrop University in volleyball.
RECAPPING LAST WEEK: The Falcons opened the season with a 3-2 win over Tennessee at the Hoosier Invitational Friday (Aug. 31)...Caty Rommeck led the team with 21 kills...sophomore Susie Norris had a career-high six service aces, which tied the school record for a five game match...Natalie Becker led the team with 64 assists..On Saturday (Sept.1), BG defeated host Indiana and Maryland...led by Tournament MVP Caty Rommeck's 57 kills, 26 digs and 11 block assists in the final two matches...junior Kristin Gamby had a team-high 29 kills versus Indiana, while Susie Norris had a team high 19 digs and 3 service aces in that match.
LEADERS OF THE MAC: The Falcons have several players among the various category leaders in the Mid-American Conference statistics after the first week of the 2001 season... Senior Caty Rommeck is fifth in the league in hitting percentage with .403, first in the MAC in both blocks (1.33) and kills per game (5.2) and 12th in digs(3.0)... Sophomore Susie Norris is fourth in service aces with a 0.73 average per game... Senior Natalie Becker averaged 12.07 assists, good for fourth in the MAC... Sophomore Laura Twyman is tied for fifth in the MAC in blocks with a 1.0 average and ninth in hitting percentage with .367...Junior Kristin Gamby is sixth in the MAC with a 3.93 kills per game average. . . As a team, the Falcons are third in the league in blocks (2.13)... BGSU ranks sixth in digs (15.00) and fifth in hitting pct. (.236), kills (15.20) and assists (13.73) and 11th in service aces (1.47) for the 2001 season.
