Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Ground Rockets In Five
October 01, 2003 | Volleyball
Oct. 1, 2003
TOLEDO, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University volleyball squad defeated arch-rival Toledo in five games on Wednesday night at Savage Hall (30-26, 30-32, 30-19, 26-30, 15-12). With four Falcons posting double-digit kills, the Falcons improved to 5-1 on the year in matches that go the distance.
Juniors Melissa Mohr and Taylor Twite each registered 17 kills to lead the team. Mohr chipped in with one solo and three block-assists, while Twite added a .371 hitting percentage to go along with a team-leading four block-assists.
With the win, the Falcons equaled last years total victories with nine, as well as earned their first Mid-American Conference win of the year and now stand at 9-6, 1-1 MAC. "I thought we had it in four," said head coach Denise Van De Walle, "but I am thrilled that we got the win."
In game one, Toledo started out hot, with a 4-0 run, before Bowling Green put together a run of their own to knot the score at 9-9. The teams exchanged points until at 22-22 when a kill by senior Susie Norris ignited an 8-4 run to close out game one, 30-26.
Game two saw neither team open up a larger lead then three, when freshman Chrissy Gothke found an open spot on the floor to push BGSU ahead 20-17, forcing a UT timeout. The Rockets scored the next seven points to take a 24-20 lead making BGSU use their final timeout. The Brown & Orange answered with a 4-0 run to tie it at 24. UT then went ahead 29-26 on a kill by Kate Bean. BG fought off elimination by scoring the next four points to take a 30-29 lead, only to let that lead slip away handing game two, to the Rockets, 32-30.
Bowling Green dominated game three, taking a 15-9 lead with kills by Nadia Bedricky and Norris. Toledo was able to get as close as 23-17, before BGSU closed out the match with a 7-2 run, winning game three 30-19.
Game four was very similar to game two, where neither team was able to take a large lead. Bowling Green's largest lead was two, at 11-9; while Toledo's largest lead was not until they won game four 30-26.
The fifth game has been the Falcons almost all season, and tonight was no exception. The Falcons were able to take an 8-5 lead on a kill by senior Samantha Rennau. Toledo got to within one at 11-10, until Norris put away one of her 15 kills on the night to put a stop to the run. Twite closed out the match with back-to-back kills, capturing the game 5, 15-12.
"I think we are becoming a five set team, which is not easy on me," said Van de Walle. "I'd rather get out of there in three or four." The Falcons have five of their nine wins in five-sets, and an overall record of 5-1 in matches that go the distance.
With the win, the Falcons improve to 9-6 overall and earned their first MAC win of the season. "Toledo is our big rival," said junior Melissa Mohr. "After the disappointing Western Michigan loss, a win like this is huge."
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