BGSU Freshmen Provide Glimpse Of The Future In Loss To Broncos

Saturday, October 2

Bowling Green, Ohio

7:00 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Western Michigan (Alumnae Day/All-Anderson Team)

October 02, 2010 | Volleyball

By: by Jason Knavel, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications

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Bowling Green, Ohio – On a night in which the Bowling Green State University Athletics Department honored the 14 best volleyball players of the Anderson Arena era, freshmen Danielle Tonyan, Paige Penrod, and Laura Avila proved that they could break some records of their own by the time their careers are over. Despite a 26-24, 31-29, 27-25 loss to Western Michigan Saturday evening, the trio put together some of the best performances of their young careers.

Tonyan posted a career-high 23 kills, most of which were rocket shots, Penrod added 18, and Laura Avila handed out 54 assists, which is the highest total by a Bowling Green player in a three-set match in the rally-scoring era.

As part of the “Closing The Doors Of The House That Roars” year-long celebration of the final season in Anderson Arena, the BGSU Athletics Department honored the 14 best volleyball players of the Anderson Arena era in a postmatch ceremony. The volleyball team will move into the new Stroh Center for the 2011 season.

Playing against a Western Michigan team that is one of the favorite to win a strong Mid-American Conference, Bowling Green had set points in all three stanzas. The Falcons were the first to 24 points in all three frames, holding leads of 24-23 in the first, 24-21 in the second, and 24-23 in the third. But Western Michigan staved off a total of nine set point opportunities for the Falcons.

The Broncos had no answer for Tonyan throughout the match. She had nine kills in 14 swings in the first and Avila kept feeding the hot hitter. She added eight more kills in the second on 16 swings and six more on 10 swings in the third. For the match, she hit .500.

Penrod's 18 kills came just two days after she set a career-high with 22 kills in a four-set loss to Miami (Ohio). She added 10 digs as well to complete the double-double effort.

Avila ramped up her performance as the match went on, finishing with 12 assists in the first before going for 23 and 19 in the final two sets.

All three sets stayed close throughout but Western Michigan built a 21-18 lead in the first. Bowling Green stormed back with four Tonyan kills in a five-point stretch that tied the score at 22-22. A Bronco attack error gave Bowling Green a 24-23 lead but a service error, followed by two Western Michigan kills gave the Broncos the opening frame.

Bowling Green again appeared to have a set won in the second when a Noelle Spitler kill sparked a three-point run that gave the Falcons a 24-21 lead. But Western Michigan came back with four straight before BGSU answered. The Falcons held leads at 27-26, 28-27, and 29-28 but each time Western Michigan answered with a kill, eventually winning the set on a block of a Susie Isphording attack attempt.

The Falcons made one more attempt in the third, battling back from a 23-21 deficit on kills by Tonyan and Penrod to take a 24-23 lead. After a Bowling Green service error, Spitler had another kill to give the Falcons a 25-24 lead. But Western Michigan got three consecutive kills to put the match away.

Western Michigan improves to 12-5 on the season and 3-1 in MAC play with the win. Bowling Green falls to 6-12 overall and 1-3 in league play. The Falcons will be back at home Friday and Saturday, hosting Ohio at 7 p.m. in the first contest and Kent State at 3 p.m. in the second outing.