Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Morehead State
Falcons Finish Raider Challenge, 2-1
September 18, 2004 | Volleyball
Sept. 18, 2004
DAYTON, Ohio - After sweeping Wright State on Friday night, the Bowling Green State University volleyball team finished the 2004 Raider Challenge with a 2-1 record after falling victim to Wake Forest in four games and downing Morehead State in four games on day two in Dayton, Ohio. The Falcons now sit at 7-4 after beginning the 2004 season 0-3.
"If we would have played with the same intensity that we finished with, I feel we could have won all our matches, said assistant coach Mark Hardaway.
BG vs. Wake Forest
Fresh faces for the BGSU volleyball team nearly led the Falcons to an upset win over Wake Forest on day two of the Raider Challenge (25-30, 24-30, 30-22, 28-30). Corrie Mills, filling in for an injured Taylor Twite posted career-highs in kills (19), attempts (36), total blocks (5) and hitting percentage (.361). Junior Ashlei Nofzinger, starting only her fifth game of the 2004 season, posted her first double-double as a Falcon with 13 kills and 12 digs in the loss to the Demon Deacons.
Wake Forest came out of an early timeout with a 4-0 run to take a 10-6 lead in game one. Bowling Green answered back with a 7-3 spurt to get within one at 14-13 following a solo block by senior Melissa Mohr, only to allow the Demon Deacons to increase their lead back to 24-18, forcing a BGSU timeout. The Falcons got as close as 27-24, but were unable to inch any closer, falling in game one, 30-25.
The two teams exchanged the lead four times early in game two before Wake Forest took the first substantial lead at 14-11. BGSU rallied back with a 6-2 run to take their first lead since early on at 17-16. A kill by red-shirt freshman Corrie Mills stopped a 4-0 run by the Demon Deacons, but WF continued to roll along, leading 26-21. Kills by Mohr and Mills, followed by an attack error by Wake Forest, pulled the Brown and Orange to within two at 26-24, forcing a WF timeout. Wake Forest scored the final four points coming out of the timeout for a 30-24 game two victory.
Game three belonged to Mills. Even with the Demon Deacons beginning game three on a tear, opening with an early 9-6 lead, the Falcons were able to storm back with the help of Mills, who had four straight kills for the Falcons, en route to a 13-11 BGSU lead. The Falcons retained the lead at 19-18, forcing a Wake timeout. The timeout did little for the Wake Forest charge, as BGSU score four of the next five points coming out of the timeout for a 23-19 lead, and continued to roll to a 30-22 game three win. For game three alone Mills recorded six kills on 10 attempts with only one error, for a .500 hitting percentage.
Game four was a back-and-forth match, with neither team able to gain more than a two point advantage until Wake went on a 6-1 spurt to take a 21-16 lead. Bowling Green came out of a timeout and rallied to knot the score at 27, but were unable to gain the lead, falling 30-28, giving Wake Forest a 3-1 win.
For the match four Falcons recorded double-figure kills with Mills leading the way with 19, followed by Nofzinger (13), Mohr (13) and Maggie Karges (12).
Four Falcons also posted 10-plus dig performances with Nofzinger and Mohr posting team-highs with 12. Amber Mareski and Elizabeth Simon each registered 10.
"I was very impressed with the way Ashlei Nofzinger played," said Hardaway. "And of course, the way Corrie Mills filled in for Taylor [Twite], I really could not have asked for more.
BG vs. Morehead State
The Bowling Green State University volleyball team threw a block party inside C.J. McLin Gymnasium with 19 team blocks (season-high), compared to the four by Morehead State en route to a 3-1 (30-24, 34-32, 28-30, 30-21) victory Saturday night in Dayton, Ohio. Corrie Mills and Stephanie Swiger each recorded seven block-assists to lead the team. Mills also had five solo blocks in the match. Melissa Mohr posted one solo block and five block-assists as well.
The Falcons came out flat to begin the match with Morehead State. The Eagles had three service aces, combined with two attack errors by BGSU gave Morehead State a 9-4 lead. The Brown and Orange used 9-3 run to capture their first lead at 13-12 with the help of three kills by Stephanie Swiger. BGSU increased their lead to three after a Corrie Mills kill put the Falcons up 25-22. MSU got as close as 26-23 before a service ace by Madeline Means and a BGSU block pulled the Falcons away for good with a 30-24 game one victory.
BGSU dug them self an early deficit to begin game two, falling behind 5-0. Back-to-back attack errors combined with kills by Karges and Mills pulled the Falcons even at 12-12. MSU went on a 6-2 run to give the Eagles a 26-22 lead, causing Bowling Green to use their final timeout. Assistant coach Mark Hardaway must have told the Falcons the right thing, because following the 60-second delay, BGSU scored four of the next five points to pull within one at 27-26 and then pulled equal at 29-29. With the win-by-two rule now in affect, the match continued at 32-32. Chrissy Gothke gave the Falcons a one point lead with an ace at 33-32 and then a kill off the hands of Mohr that just crept over the net gave BGSU a 34-32 game two victory.
For the third consecutive game BGSU fell behind early; this time with a 9-4 deficit. A solo block by Mills, a team block by Mills and Swiger and a solo block by Swiger on three consecutive plays gave BGSU their first lead of game three, 16-15. With the Falcons up 24-21, Morehead State compiled an 8-2 run to take a 29-26 advantage, but the Falcons would not go quietly. A block by Swiger and Mohr, followed by a Gothke ace got BGSU to within one, 29-28, but a blocking error gave the Eagles a game four win.
A different approach was taken by Bowling Green in game four. They got out to a 6-3 lead. After a brief scare the Falcons were able to increase their lead to 21-16 and stroll home with 30-21 game four victory.
For the match only one Falcon recorded 10-plus kills with Mills leading the way with 10, but three other players (Karges, Nofzinger and Mohr) reached nine kills.
Where the Falcons shined was on the defensive side of the ball. Even with those season-high 19 total blocks, four Falcons posted double-figure kills. Freshman Madeline Means led the team with 20 digs, a career-best, followed by Karges (14), Gothke (12) and Mareski (11). Gothke also chipped in with a team-high five aces.
"Corrie was very deserving of being named to the All-Tournament Team, said Hardaway. "For the first time being out there and to play so well offensively and blocking was very impressive.
Up next for the Falcons will be back-to-back home matches starting with arch-rival Toledo (Sept. 24 at 7:00 p.m.) and ending with Northern Illinois (Sept. 25 at 7:00 p.m.).
Standings:
Louisville 3-0
Wake Forest 3-1
Bowling Green 2-1
Wright State 1-3
Morehead State 0-4
Raider Challenge All-Tournament Team
Bing Sun, Louisville (MVP)
Lena Ustymenko, Louisville
Anastasia Yartseva, Louisville
Corrie Mills, Bowling Green
Morgan Havig, Wake Forest
Erin Borhart, Wake Forest
McKenzie Tiffin, Wright State
Jennifer Kennedy, Morehead State
Notes: Three Falcons established milestone numbers in the match versus Wake Forest. Junior Emily Manser recorded her 500th career dig, freshman Stephanie Swiger earned her 100th career kill and freshman Maggie Karges posted her 100th career dig.
Mills established career-highs in nearly every category, and even surpassed some season totals. For the match Mills had 19 kills, one solo block and four block-assists. Entering the match with Wake Forest she had five kills, one solo block and four block-assists.
