.png&type=webp)
Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
TOLEDO
Falcons Ground Undefeated Rockets To Open MAC Action, 3-1
September 24, 2004 | Volleyball
Sept. 24, 2004
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State University volleyball team won their eighth match in their last nine tries with a four set win over arch-rival Toledo Friday night in Anderson Arena (30-25, 23-30, 30-24, 30-20). The Falcons improve to 1-0 in MAC play for the first time since 2001.
"This win was huge," said assistant coach Mark Hardaway. "For one, it was Toledo. Second, they came in 10-0 and it was our first MAC match. That is a very good team there."
Game one was the tightest of all four games. Toledo took the first two-point lead of game one at 16-14, only for BGSU to regain the lead, back at 18-17. The match continued to swing, seeing six different lead changes and 16 tie scores, more than the other three games combined. A kill by Ashlei Nofzinger, followed by a UT attack error and an Emily Manser service ace forced the Rockets to use their first timeout, falling behind 26-23. BGSU came out of the timeout relentless. Kills by Melissa Mohr and Maggie Karges put away game one for good, 30-25.
Game two also saw several lead changes, but with the score knotted at 12-12, the Toledo onslaught began. The Rockets recorded the next 10 points, behind several mental lapses by the Brown and Orange. Toledo walked home with game two, 30-23.
The Falcons seemed to dominate the once undefeated Rockets in the final two games. BGSU used an 8-3 run in the middle of game three to take a 14-8 lead heading into a UT timeout. The Rockets were able to put together a run to get the deficit to two at 23-21, but back-to-back kills by Karges and Taylor Twite sealed the deal in game three, 30-24.
Game four is a game the Rockets would soon forget. BGSU stormed out to an 18-5 lead and never looked back. UT got as close as 22-16, but the deficit was just too much to handle. Bowling Green won game four, 30-20.
The difference in the match was, the Falcons ability to hit a season-high .314 and only committed 16 attack errors, while UT hit only .178 and had nearly twice as many attack errors (31).
"I am just amazed on how I bring a player off the bench and they play well, said Hardaway. "Maggie [Karges] played well and so did our middles. Everyone is contributing."
For the match Karges continued to impress, leading three Falcons in double figures with 18 kills and a .438 hitting percentage. Manser came off the bench to post 12 kills and a .360 with Twite scoring 10 kills and a .381.
Manser and Karges were also seen at the top of the stat sheet in digs. Manser led the team with 17, with Karges recording 14.
The Falcons return to the court tomorrow night for a 7:00 p.m. showdown with the Huskies of Northern Illinois.
