Bowling Green State University
MIAMI (OH)
Head Coach Denise Van De Walle Records 450th Victory
September 20, 2007 | Volleyball
Sept. 20, 2007
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Head Coach Denise Van De Walle and the Falcons opened their MAC schedule tonight (Sept. 20) with a victory over the Miami University RedHawks, 3-2 (30-27, 29-31, 30-19, 22-30, 15-9). Tonight's victory was Coach Van De Walle's 450th career win and extended the Falcons' winning streak to five matches.
The Orange and Brown found themselves down early in game one with the Red Hawks taking a 10-4 lead, but after a kill by Meghan Mohr from Madeline Means the Falcons put together a six point run to tie the game up 10-10. The Red Hawks started to pull away extending their lead to as much as nine points. The Falcons continued to fight back point after point and sided out to get the ball back after a kill from Means assisted by Sam Fish. The Falcons put away back to back kills from Stephanie Swiger and Corey Domek and a service ace from Means to take a 24-22 lead. The Falcons finished game one with a kill from Kendra Halm to win, 30-27. The Falcons took charge of net play in game one with four players hitting .400 plus and hitting a .333 as a team with 21 kills and four blocks compared to the Red Hawks with no blocks.
The Falcons struck first in game two taking a 3-0 lead, followed by a six point Falcon run. With the Falcons up 17-10 the Red Hawks put together a four point run, followed by a seven point run giving them a 22-20 lead over the Falcons. The Red Hawks held their lead until the Falcons tied up game two 28-28. The Falcons had game point but Miami's Michele Metzler put away a kill to keep the game going, tying it up 29-29. The Red Hawks finished game two scoring the last two points and winning, 31-29.
BGSU came out firing in game three putting back to back runs, first a five point run followed by an eight point run and a 14-4 lead. The Falcons continued to push hard with the Red Hawks trying to battle back but never coming closer than six points the rest of game three. The Falcons won game three, 30-19.
Game four was neck in neck with both teams battling point for point. With the game tied up 10-10 the Red Hawks received a yellow card. The Falcons weren't able to take the lead but held the Red Hawks within striking distance. Neither team took more than a four point lead until late in the game. With the Falcons down 24-19 the Red Hawks started to pull away and eventually won game four, 30-22.
Everything came down to game five with the score tied 3-3, Swiger and Mohr stopped the Red Hawks with a block, giving the Falcons the momentum they needed to put together a five point run that a Miami time out couldn't break. The Falcons maintained the lead the rest of the game winning game five with a three point run, two of which were service aces from Elizabeth Simon, winning game five 15-9. The Falcons dominated the net in game five hitting a .500 with four blocks holding the Red Hawks to a mere .176 and no blocks.
This victory marked the first MAC win of the season for the Falcons extending their winning streak to five matches, gave Coach Van De Walle her 450th win. Halm also recorded her 300th career block, now totaling 303 career blocks.
The Falcon offense had four players in double digits, Halm led the way with 20 kills and seven blocks. After being named MAC East Player of the Week, Swiger put together another solid performance with 19 kills and nine blocks. Means recorded her sixth double-double of the season with 11 kills, 16 digs, and six blocks. Domek also contributed 11 kills. Fish had another tremendous performance running the office and collecting a career high 58 assists, six kills with no errors hitting a .462, and eight digs. Falcons defense was sound as well with Chelsey Meek recording 15 digs, Simon with 12 digs, and Maggie Karges with 11 digs.
The Falcons are now 3-1 in five game matches, winning back to back five game matches.
BGSU volleyball hosts the Northern Illinois Huskies Saturday, Sept. 22 at 4:00 p.m. EST. After the match there will be a short ceremony to honor BGSU Head Coach Denise Van De Walle's 25th season coaching the Falcons.
