Falcons Play At Cleveland State, Host Two MAC Matches

Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

Bowling Green, Ohio - Bowling Green plays three matches this week, including its final non-conference regular season contest with a Tuesday evening match at 16-2 Cleveland State. After that contest, the Falcons host Toledo (7-12, 2-6 MAC) Friday night at 7 p.m. for Pink Out Night to raise Cancer awareness. Finally, Bowling Green hosts Ball State (16-4, 6-2 MAC) Saturday at 7 p.m.

THE OPPONENTS
• Cleveland State has jumped out to a 16-2 start, including a four-set win over Kent State, the only other Mid-American Conference school it has played. The Vikings are holding opponents to a .138 attack percentage and is blocking well at the net with 2.27 blocks per set. Amy Benz and Megan Barhorst each average over a block per set, while Kara Koch leads the team with 3.92 kills per set. Amy Grabiec's 5.21 digs per set leads the team as well. Coach Chuck Voss is 183-135 in 11 years at Cleveland State and 216-171 in 13 years overall. He is the defending Horizon League Coach of the Year.
• Since jumping out to a 3-0 record and win over then-No. 12 Michigan, Toledo has scuffled along. The Rockets are 7-12 overall and 2-6 in MAC play but has won two of their last three contests heading into the week. Toledo ranks last in the MAC in attack percentage (.180) and blocks (1.45 per set). Amber DeWeert's 173 kills lead the Rockets and Kassie Kadera has handed out 10.63 assists per set. Coach Greg Smith is in his second year at Toledo with an overall record of 24-24 and he is 105-118 in eight years overall.
• Ball State has jumped out to a strong start on the year with a 16-4 record overall and is 6-2 in MAC play, just one game out of first place in the West Division. The Cardinals have held opponents to .155 hitting and are averaging 17.41 digs per set. Alyssa Rio's 5.72 digs lead the MAC and Kelsey Brandl is averaging 3.21 kills per set and a .320 attack percentage. Coach Steve Shondell is in his first season leading Ball State's program after spending 34 years as a high school coach at Muncie Burris, racking up an unbelievable 1,183-95 record and 21 state championships.

THREE'S COMPANY
For three consecutive weeks, a Bowling Green freshman was awarded one of the Mid-American Conference's Player of the Week awards. Two weeks ago, Danielle Tonyan won the MAC East Division Offensive Player of the Week award after posting 17 kills against Miami and then a career-high 23 against Western Michigan. The week before, Paige Penrod was named MAC East Division Defensive Player of the Week and Ashley Dunn received the same award the week prior to that.

DISHING OUT THE ASSISTS
Freshman setter Laura Avila had an eye-popping 54 assists in the Falcons' three-set loss to Western Michigan. That total is the most for any BGSU player in a three-set match in the rally scoring era of collegiate volleyball (since 2001). The all-time school record for assists in a three set match is 63, achieved by Carey Amos in 1991, ironically also against Western Michigan.

BLOCK PARTY
Early in the year, Bowling Green struggled to block at the net. The Falcons had 5.0 or more team blocks in only two of the first nine matches of the year. But the team now has 5.0 or more team blocks in ten of the past 13 contests.

FIVE-SET SPECIALISTS
In recent history, Bowling Green has thrived in five-set matches, posting a .500 record or better in such contests every year since 2005. Overall, the team is 26-9 in such matches since 2005. This year, Bowling Green is 2-1 in matches that have gone the distance, losing a five-setter to Pittsburgh before winning matches against Eastern Illinois and Buffalo.

Bowling Green's Record In Five-Set Matches Since 2005
2010 2-1
2009 6-2
2008 9-1
2007 5-1
2006 2-2
2005 2-2

FRESHMAN CONTRIBUTIONS
With such a young team in 2010, Bowling Green is relying on freshmen to produce right from the start. The class has not disappointed so far, led by Paige Penrod and Danielle Tonyan. Penrod's 258 kills to this point are the second-most for any BGSU player in their first 22 collegiate matches over the past decade, while Tonyan's 197 rank fifth. As well, Lindsey Butterfield's 83 kills are the 10th most for a Falcon freshman. The rookie class is having just as big of an impact defensively as Ashley Dunn, Penrod, and Laura Avila rank first, second, and third on the team in digs. Dunn's 315 digs are the third-most for a BGSU freshman in her first 22 matches in the past decade.

PENROD AND TONYAN RISING TO THE TOP
Paige Penrod's 258 kills this year already rank as the fifth-most in a freshman season in program history. She needs 16 more this week to match Heather Murphy (1996) for fourth and 42 to become just the fourth freshman in program history to reach 300 kills for the season. Susie Norris set the freshman record with 360 kills in 2000. With nine regular season matches remaining, Penrod needs to average 11.3 kills per match to equal Norris' total by the end of the year (postseason excluded). Danielle Tonyan has also moved into the top ten, tied with Laura Cramer for 10th, with 197 kills this year.

THE YOUNGEST EVER?
This year's team has seven freshmen and four sophomores on the roster. No team under head coach Denise Van De Walle has ever had more than six freshmen and none have had a combined 11 freshmen and sophomores. Since volleyball became a varsity sport under the athletics department in 1976, there is no record of any other team having seven freshmen on the varsity roster. While it certainly means big things could be in store for the future, the Falcons will be relying on inexperienced players to learn through on-the-job training.

VAN DE WALLE STARTS ON THE NEXT 500
With a victory over rival Toledo in the Mid-American Conference Tournament a year ago, Bowling Green coach Denise Van De Walle won her 500th career match, becoming the first to reach that total as a coach in the MAC. The team's win over IUPUI during the opening weekend started her on the backside to 1,000 with her 501st victory. She is now 506-358 all-time, including 236-195 in conference play. In 28 seasons at the helm, she has 13 20-win seasons and a 30-win campaign in 1992. Her teams have won five MAC regular season championships and Van De Walle has been named MAC Coach of the Year four times.

NEW FALCON NEST
The volleyball team will move into the Stroh Center, a new convocation center, in 2011 along with the men's and women's basketball and gymnastics teams. It has been announced that the Falcons will open the arena Friday, Sept. 9, 2011 against Michigan State. The last time BGSU hosted a Big Ten school came in 2005 when the Falcons lost a five-set match to Ohio State in the BGSU Invitational.

PENROD/SPITLER SWEEP ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Freshman Paige Penrod and senior Noelle Spitler were each named to an all-tournament team twice during the non-conference portion of the schedule. Penrod was honored for the first time in her college career at the Campus USA Credit Union Invitational, hosted by the University of Florida, and then followed that up by being named to the all-tournament team at Pittsburgh's Blue and Gold Invite. Spitler was honored at Michigan State's MSU Showcase and then at home in the Best Western Falcon Plaza Invitational.

MARK THE CALENDAR
Bowling Green has announced a number of promotions throughout the year. The Falcons already recognized the All-Anderson Volleyball Team and held Alumnae Day on Oct. 2 when BGSU hosted Western Michigan. The Oct. 22 home game against Toledo at 7 p.m. will serve as the annual Pink Out game to raise Cancer awareness. Parent's Night will take place Oct. 29 against Buffalo at 7 p.m. and Senior Night will be the next day against Akron at 3 p.m.

HITTING THE BOOKS
Bowling Green has always stressed academics and Falcon volleyball has been a model of that philosophy. The 2009 BGSU volleyball team received the AVCA Academic Team Award for the 10th consecutive season, compiling a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or better. The Falcons have the second longest streak in all of NCAA Division I and has received the award 11 times overall. The volleyball team has been a big part of BGSU leading the way in the MAC in academics. Bowling Green was awarded the Faculty Athletic Representatives' award for the second consecutive year in recognition of having the highest GPA among women student-athletes and the Falcons also received the 2010 MAC Institutional Academic Achievement Award for having the highest GPA among all of its student-athletes in the conference.

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