Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcon Volleyball Family Continues to Grow
November 13, 2008 | Volleyball
Nov. 13, 2008
BOWLING GREEN, Ohio - Bowling Green State University volleyball's head coach Denise Van De Walle announced the addition of Cassie Berning (Tipp City, Ohio), Kari Galen (Aurora, Illinois) and Allison Kearney (Wooster, Ohio) to the Falcon family. Kearney will join the Falcons this January while Berning and Galen will both enter the program for the 2009 season.
"I am so excited about these three players," said Van De Walle. "They are a great addition to our current team. They have what it takes to compete for championships. All three are terrific on the court and in the classroom. They're cut out of the BG mold in that they epitomize the word student-athlete and they're exceptional people."
 Cassie Berning  |
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Berning, a Tipp City, Ohio native, is a 6-1 left side and three-year letter winner from Tippecanoe High School who plays club volleyball for Team Atlantis. In her career at Tippecanoe she recorded a 78-5 overall record, including two undefeated regular seasons, three league championships and holds the schools single season kill record with 275 kills.
As a senior she led her team to an undefeated regular season, including a league championship and a 26-1 Regional Semi-Final finish, ending the season ranked first in the final state poll. In her final season she was named First Team All-Ohio, CBC Player of the year and First Team All-CBC, District 9 Player of the Year and First Team All-District, along with a place on the All-Ohio All Star team. As a junior, Berning helped her team to an undefeated regular season, a league championships and a Final Four appearance at State with a 28-1 finish, earning All-Ohio honorable mention honors, a First Team All-CBC selection and a District 9 Second Team selection. In 2006 as a sophomore she was selected to play on the Ohio Valley Region High Performance Team, which placed fifth at the High Performance Tournament in Ft. Lauderdale, Florida.
Berning, holds a 3.4 GPA and is also a four-year letter winner in basketball, President of the Varsity T Club and secretary of the Octagon Club.
"Cassie is a strong and very talented player. She was instrumental in her team's success this year. Being named First Team All Ohio is a terrific honor. Not too many kids can say that. What we liked about her was her ability to play more than one position. She can play middle, right or left. She hits a heavy ball. We will want her to be a six-rotation player since her passing and defense is good. She will need a little time to get used to the speed of the college game but I think she will adjust quickly."
 Kari Galen |
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Galen, an Aurora, Illinois native, is a 6-1 middle hitter and three-year letter winner from Waubonsie Valley High School with a 3.5 GPA who plays club volleyball for Sports Performance, one of the nations best clubs. Galen was recognized by Prepvolleyball.com as a "Senior Ace" one of the top 115 recruits in the nation for the class of 2009.
As a senior captain, Galen led her team to a 21-13 record and earned All-Conference and All-Area Honorable Mention honors. As a junior she helped led her team to their first conference title in 10 years also earning All-Area honorable mention honors.
"Kari is a steal," said Van De Walle. "She came on her visit early and liked what we had here and the rest is history. She's a big time jumper that will help keep us in that 10' hitting range once Kendra leaves. She's used to winning, playing for Sports Performance Volleyball Club, which was shown this past summer when they won the first ever JVDA National Championship. She's a quiet competitor that will only keep getting better and better. I'm really looking forward to training her in the middle to see exactly what she can do. We'll have high expectations for her once she gets her feet wet at this level."
 Allison Kearney |
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Kearney, a Wooster, Ohio native, is a 5-8 setter from Triway High School who plays club volleyball for Cleveland Renaissance. Kearney will become the first Falcon to join the program early as she will graduate high school early and join Van De Walle and the Falcons this January. Kearney is a four-time PAC 7 All-Star member, a four-time District 4 All-Star member, three-time PAC 7 Player of the Year, a three-time All-PAC 7 First Team honoree, a three-time All-Ohio selection, including back-to-back First Team selection the last two seasons and District 4 Player of the Year.
Kearney has been named the captain of her team the last three seasons leading her team to a 22-3 overall record and an undefeated 13-0 league record, including a Regional Semi-Final finish this past season. Triway finished the season ranked third in the final State poll reaching a first in the Ohio state poll two weeks. In her senior season she tallied 823 assists and 94 aces in 25 matches. For the Cleveland Renaissance she helped her team to a ninth place finish at the 2008 USA Junior Olympic National Tournament in the open division and earned All-Tournament honors at the 2007 USA Junior Olympic National Tournament.
"Allison is an exceptional setter. She has all the leadership qualities that setters need. She's old school and we love that. She's self-motivated, works hard, and plays to win every time she takes the floor. She'll raise the level of play the minute she steps onto our floor. It takes a special person to leave high school early and come to college. She will be passing up a lot of things that seniors do like prom and a summer graduation. I'm excited to work with her in January and get her used to how we do things here. I feel like we've known Allison forever since we started recruiting her so early. "
