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Bowling Green State University
BALL STATE
Volleyball Sweeps Ball State on Memorable Night
September 25, 2005 | Volleyball
Sept. 24, 2005
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - It had been 13 years since the Falcons defeated Ball State until Saturday night's 3-0 sweep of the Cardinals. Head Coach Denise Van De Walle's win over her alma mater snapped a 24-match losing streak to the Cardinals.
"I was impressed with how steady and disciplined we were, we weren't erratic," said Coach Van De Walle. "I just feel like we played with great intensity and emotion."
Even more impressive is the fact that the Brown and Orange earned the win on the road, Bowling Green's first ever win at Worthen Arena.
"Tonight was certainly a big win for us, it was a great match," said Coach Van De Walle, "it's a great feeling to get the monkey off our back."
Four separate Falcons recorded double-digit digs in the outstanding defensive effort which helped to end Ball State's 14-match home winning streak.
"Our defense tonight was spectacular, it was a complete turnaround from last night (Toledo match)," said Coach Van De Walle.
Senior Ashlei Nofzinger and sophomore Stephanie Swiger led the Falcons offense with a combined 23 kills. Swiger also tagged three blocks while hitting .381 (11-3-21).
"She (Swiger) was very effective hitting and blocking," said Coach Van De Walle. "She seemed to come up with a big kill whenever we needed it tonight."
BGSU bolted to an 8-1 advantage to begin the match and never looked back. In fact, the Falcons relinquished the lead only twice during the first two games combined. A Nofzinger kill polished off the Falcons 30-25 game one victory.
The Bowling Green momentum kept rolling in game two. The Falcons defense smothered Ball State's attack, holding the Cardinals to a dismal .087 hitting percentage. With a slim 16-15 lead, a barrage of three consecutive Falcon kills vaulted the Brown and Orange to a convincing 30-22 win. Junior captain Chrissy Gothke continued to be the catalyst for the Falcon attack this season, surpassing 400 assists on the season during the second stanza.
"With Chrissy spreading the ball around, it was tough for them to track our hitters," said Coach Van De Walle.
Ball State would not go away easily after returning from the locker room, leading in the early portion of game three. After a Brittany May kill handed the Falcons a 19-17 disadvantage, coach Van De Walle elected to call a time out. Van De Walle's decision proved to be the right one as the Falcons scored the next five points. Senior Emily Manser ignited the five-point run by blasting a kill and recording her team-leading 14th service ace of the season immediately following the time out. With the score set at 29-27, a Ball State block created a sense of déjà vu for Coach Van De Walle.
"I got a quick flashback to when we played in Worthen Arena back in the early ninties," said Coach Van De Walle, "we called the exact same set in game five and she got blocked also and we lost the match."
However, history did not repeat itself as freshman Meghan Mohr connected on a booming kill that sealed the deal for the Falcons.
"The way Meghan Mohr ended the match with that kill, it was a statement," said Coach Van De Walle. "MM crushed the ball to end the match."
The Falcons return to action back in Anderson Arena when they square-off against the RedHawks of Miami on Wednesday, September 28 at 7 p.m.
