Bowling Green State University
BUFFALO
Falcons Earn Home Tournament Berth, Sweep Buffalo On Senior Day
November 13, 2004 | Volleyball
Nov. 13, 2004
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University volleyball team, behind a balanced offensive attack, downed the University at Buffalo, 3-0 (30-24, 30-24, 30-23) Saturday evening inside Anderson Arena. With the win, the Falcons are guaranteed a first-round home match in the Mid-American Conference Tournament on Tuesday night.
The Falcons finish the regular season at 16-13, 8-8 MAC, while Buffalo sits at 8-21, 1-15 MAC.
"I'm thrilled to get this win in three," said head coach Denise Van De Walle. "That was our goal, and we knew if we played our game we could get a 3-0 win."
BGSU hit .312 for the match, and used at least five kills from six different players to earn the win. Senior Melissa Mohr led the way with 12 kills, with Taylor Twite, 10, and Maggie Karges, 10, also reaching double figures. Sophomore setter Chrissy Gothke recorded a career-high eight kills, while Emily Manser and Stephanie Swiger each chipped in with five.
With game one knotted at 11 apiece, the Buffalo offensive went astray. Buffalo committed eight errors in a span of 11 points to give the Falcons a 19-14 advantage and allowed BGSU to cruise home to a 30-24 game one victory. In game one alone Mohr and Twite recorded nine of the Falcons 17 kills.
The Falcon run continued to begin game two as the Brown and Orange opened with a 10-2 advantage behind kills from Manser, Gothke and Mohr. The Bulls battled back to within four at 22-18, but kills by Twite and Karges once again stretched the lead to a wide margin. The Falcons won game two, 30-24.
BGSU was determined to send the Bulls home in three as they pounded out 18 kills and hit .333 in the final stanza. A 6-1 spurt gave Bowling Green their first substantial lead of game three at 17-11 and never looked back. A Gothke kill concluded the match and gave the Falcons a 30-23 game three win.
Freshmen Madeline Means and Elizabeth Simon were the top two defensive performers for the Falcons. Means posted a career-high 26 digs to lead the Falcons, while Simon finished with 12 digs.
Chrissy Gothke, filling in for the injured Amber Mareski, had a solid all-around night, posting 38 assists (career-high), eight kills (on a .667 hitting percentage) and six digs.
"We know we are hosting on Tuesday night," explained Van De Walle. "We wanted to be the sixth seed and we will be prepared for Tuesday's match."
Up next for the Falcons is a Tuesday night showdown with a yet to be determined opponent in the opening round of the MAC Tournament.
