Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Host IPFW And Western Michigan This Weekend
September 23, 2003 | Volleyball
Sept. 23, 2003
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University volleyball squad will look to rebound this weekend after dropping a three-set match to Ohio State last Saturday at St. John's Arena. BGSU welcomes IPFW on Friday night to Anderson Arena, and then plays host to Western Michigan to open Mid-American Conference action on Saturday. Both matches are set for 7:00 p.m. starts.
Before the Ohio State loss on Saturday, head coach Denise Van De Walle captured her 375th career victory with a win over Oakland on Tuesday night. The following night the Brown & Orange defeated Valparaiso in a thrilling five set match. Senior Samantha Rennau led the Falcons in all three matches in kills with 12 versus Oakland, 19 in the Valpo match and 11 in the loss to Ohio State.
A Look At The Opponents
Indiana-Purdue Fort Wayne (8-6) is coming off back-to-back losses to Wright State and Akron. The Mastodons are led by sophomore Fabiana Souza who had 17 kills and 15 digs in the loss to Wright State and followed that performance up with 26 kills in the loss to Akron.
Western Michigan (7-4) comes to Bowling Green after hosting the Western Michigan Invitational, where the Broncos posted a 2-1 record with victories over Oakland and New Orleans in three sets and dropped a four-setter to Northern Iowa. Shaylen Jackson who averages 2.93 kills and 1.41 blocks per game leads WMU.
NORRIS CONTINUES CLIMB UP RECORD BOOKS
Susie Norris became the 12th Falcon in school history to surpass the 1,000-kill plateau,(versus UMBC back on September 6) as well as one of seven Falcons to have 1,000 kills and 1,000 digs in a career. If Norris continues this season at her current pace, several other Falcon records are in jeopardy. Norris sits in 10th place in the kills category with 1,067 and second in school history in digs with 1,278, 66 shy of the school record, held by Holli Costein with 1,344.
SEVERAL FALCONS AMONG MAC LEADERS
The Falcons as a team rank second in the MAC in kills with 15.51 per game, due in large part because of junior Taylor Twite's accomplishments. She ranks eighth in the MAC with 3.64 kills per game and third with a .338 hitting percentage. Melissa Mohr and Chrissy Gothke also rank among the MAC leaders. Mohr is averaging 1.17 blocks per game, which places her seventh in that category, and with 3.96 digs per game freshman Chrissy Gothke ranks sixth in the MAC in that respected category.
RENNAU STEPS UP HER GAME
The BGSU volleyball team needed someone to step-up their game with the graduation of Kristen Gamby, who ranks 10th all-time in BGSU history with 1,024 kills. Senior Samantha Rennau has answered that call. In 2002 Rennau had 51 total kills and a .102 hitting percentage, this past week alone Rennau had 42 kills and a .300 hitting percentage. For the season she has 143 kills and is averaging 3.33 kills per game, ranking second on the team in both categories.
