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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
University of Illinois
Falcons Drop Season Opener to Fighting Illini
August 24, 2007 | Volleyball
Aug. 24, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - The Bowling Green State Volleyball team didn't have the 2007 season opener they were hoping for with a 3-1 loss to the University of Illinois on Friday night. In their very first meeting against the Big 10 opponent the Falcons came out soaring with a 30-22 victory in the first game. With the Falcons leading 10-6, sophomore Corey Domek put the ball away for a kill from junior Meghan Mohr, which led to a six point Falcon run. After taking a huge lead on the Illini there was no stopping the Falcons. The closest Illinois would come to the Falcons would be six points. The Falcons offense dominated the first game hitting a .389 compared to a .105 from the Illini.
"It was a typical first match against a very physical Illinois team," said BGSU head coach Denise Van De Walle. "The first set was all BG as we hit well and controlled the tempo. However, the longer we played the less effective we were at the net. Our hitting really hurt us down the stretch."
After coming out strong in the first game the Falcons dropped two close ones in games two and three 28-30 and 28-30 and finally falling to the Illini in game four 19-30.
Although the Falcons dropped their first match of the season their offense was charged and ready to go with three hitters in double digits. Domek led the Falcons hitting .485% with 18 kills from 33 attempts and only two errors. Senior Madeline Means jumped out to her first double-double of the season with 13 kills and 16 digs. Senior Stephanie Swiger also added 12 kills to the offensive efforts for the Falcons. Means wasn't the only one to get her first double-double of the season Mohr distributed the ball on offense for 41 assists and racked up 13 digs on defense.
The defensive stop was lead by junior Chelsey Meek with 19 digs followed by senior Elizabeth Simon with 13 digs.
"Domek had a great night hitting. Her numbers were very impressive," said Van De Walle. "It was Meghan's first time running the offense and she did pretty well. We have options this year in quite a few positions which is wonderful. Of course we're disappointed we didn't get the win but we're still figuring some things out. We're learning and growing. That's what all these pre-conference tournaments are about."
The Falcons return to Dayton tomorrow morning in search of their first win of the season taking on the host Dayton Flyers at 11:00 a.m. and Indiana-Purdue-Ft.Wayne at 5:00 p.m.
