Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Host UT To Start Five-Match Homestand
September 30, 2002 | Volleyball
Sept. 30, 2002
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will return home Wednesday (Oct. 2) to host the rival University of Toledo at 7:00 p.m. The Rockets are 9-3 overall and 1-0 in Mid-American Conference play. Last week, UT defeated Miami in three sets in its first league match of 2002. Head coach Kent Miller returns five starters from his 2001 squad that compiled a 17-11 record. Leading the Rockets this season are seniors Heidi Neumeister and Jessica Buck. Neumeister is averaging 3.93 kills-per-game and is currently third in the MAC in total kills with 165. She is also third in the league in service aces with 0.62 per-game. Buck is fourth in the league in hitting percentage with .279. She is averaging 3.33 kills-per-game and is currently second in the league in aces-per-game with 0.67. The Falcons lead the all-time series with the Rockets 39-10.
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This weekend, BG will host two conference opponents in Anderson Arena. On Friday, October 4, the Falcons will face Western Michigan at 7:00 p.m. while Sunday, October 6, Northern Illinois will face the Orange and Brown at 1:00 p.m.
The Broncos currently hold the same record as the Falcons at 5-9 overall and 0-2 in the MAC. Last week, WMU dropped two league contests to Central Michigan and Kent State. Head coach Cathy George returns four starters from last year's 15-11 squad. Junior outside hitter Carman Malone leads the Broncos with 3.57 kills-per-game and is eighth in the league with that mark. Senior setter Ashley Ritter is fourth in the MAC in assists-per-game with 10.81. Western leads the all-time series 22-16-1.
Sunday (Oct. 6) will see Northern Illinois, the 2001 Mid-American Conference regular season and tournament champions, take on the Falcons. The Huskies of first-year head coach Ray Gooden return three starters from the 2001 squad. Last week, NIU dropped its first league match to Ball State in four games. The Huskies went on to defeat Central Michigan in four sets over the weekend. Leading NIU are senior middle hitters Rena Widboom and Jen Vonderhaar. Widboom, a 2001 First-Team All-MAC selection, is third in the league in blocks-per-game with 1.22 while Vonderhaar is currently seventh in hitting percentage with a .279. Northern leads the all-time series 15-3.
LAST WEEK
Over the weekend, the Falcons opened up the 2002 Mid-American Conference season with matches against Ohio University and the University of Akron.
Friday (Sept. 27) saw BG face Ohio. The Falcons dropped the contest in three games 25-30, 26-30, 20-30. A pair of juniors in Susie Norris and Laura Twyman led the Falcons with 12 kills apiece. Norris also paced BG on defense with nine digs to lead both teams.
On Saturday (Sept. 28), Bowling Green faced Akron in the final road match before a five-match homestand. The Zips defeated the Falcons in five games 21-30, 30-24, 30-20, 23-30, 9-15. Despite the loss, five of BG's players posted double-digits in the kill department. Juniors Norris, Twyman, and Nadia Bedricky, senior Kristin Gamby and sophomore Bridget Protas all had kill totals of at least 12. Norris led with 16 slams, followed by Gamby with 15, Bedricky and Protas with 14 and Twyman with 12. Twyman and Protas paced the Falcons' net defense with six and five blocks, respectively, while Bedricky swept up the backcourt with 21 digs to lead both squads. Junior setter Sara Sikorski dished out 57 assists to lead both teams.
HEAD COACH DENISE VAN DE WALLE
Denise Van De Walle, the dean of MAC mentors, is in her 20th season with the Falcons, and has an overall record of 364-236. Van De Walle became the first-ever coach to amass 350 career wins at a MAC school, reaching that plateau in the Falcons' Oct. 20, 2001 win over Marshall...the team's 21 wins last season enabled her to become the winningest coach in league history...Van De Walle's total of 169 MAC wins through the 2001 season ranks her third all-time on that list.
Jeff Belmonte (Aquinas '89) is in his first season with the Falcon program...Belmonte was named assistant coach in March of 2002...Sean Huiet is in his third season with the BG volleyball program, and his second as an assistant coach.
