Falcons Have Busy Week Ahead

Complete Game Notes (.pdf)

Bowling Green, Ohio - Bowling Green plays five matches in a five-day stretch this week, beginning with a home game against Wright State Tuesday night at 7 p.m. The Falcons will then be on the road, playing four matches at the Pittsburgh Invitational Friday and Saturday. The team will face St. Francis (Pa.), Pittsburgh, Eastern Illinois and Robert Morris in Western Pennsylvania.

THE OPPONENTS
• Bowling Green is 16-9 all-time against Wright State and the Raiders are 4-6 so far on the season, including a win over MAC opponent Ball State and losses to Western Michigan and Miami (Ohio). Wright State is hitting .194 on the season and is led in the attack by 5-foot-8 senior outside hitter Jessica Woods, who is averaging 3.33 kills per set. She also leads the team with 4.28 digs per set. Coach Trina Smith is in her sixth year at the helm of the Wright State program with a career mark of 71-97.
• The Falcons have played St. Francis (Pa.) just once all-time, defeating the Red Flash in three sets during the 2006 season. This year, St. Francis is 2-7 overall with a four-set win over Cornell -- a team BGSU swept this past weekend. The Red Flash is hitting just .114 on the year, led by 6-foot-1 sophomore middle Lauren Wingard at 2.94 kills per set and a .329 attack percentage. Coach Chuck Martin is 22-52 in his third season leading St. Francis.
• Pittsburgh is only 1-9 to start the 2010 season but Bowling Green is 0-6 all-time against the Panthers. Three of those losses came at the hands of MAC opponents, losing to Western Michigan, Kent State, and Ohio. Pitt is hitting only .147 on the year and opponents are attacking at a .307 rate. The team also has just 11.59 kills per set while opponents have 14.28. Pitt has also struggled blocking at the net and has been outblocked 84.0-47.0. Coach Toby Rens is rebuilding a program that went 20-12 a year ago, including 12-2 in the Big East, and he is 38-34 in three seasons with the Panthers to go with a 251-152 career mark.
• Bowling Green is 3-0 all-time against Eastern Illinois and the Panthers are 4-3 on the year with a loss to MAC opponent Eastern Michigan. Kelsey Orr, a 5-foot-10 senior outside hitter, averages 3.42 kills per set and Chrissie Albers, a 6-0 junior setter, has directed a strong offensive attack with 10.68 assists per set. First year coach Kate Price, at 23 years old, is one of the youngest coaches in the country but has an excellent pedigree having won a national title as a player at Penn State.
• Bowling Green is also 3-0 all-time against Robert Morris but the Colonials are only 3-7 this year, including being swept by MAC opponent Ball State and Oakland -- a team that also swept the Falcons. The team has been strong defensively at the net with 2.21 blocks per set, with 34 from 6-foot-2 senior Amanda Graham and 32 from 6-foot-1 junior Hannah Veith.

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 downside to 1,000 with her 501st victory. She is now 502-349 all-time, including 235-188 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.

SPITLER NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT AGAIN
Senior Noelle Spitler was named to an all-tournament team for the second time in the first three weeks of the season after being honored at the Best Western Falcon Plaza Invitational and the MSU Showcase. Spitler had 23 kills and hit .271 during Bowling Green's home tournament, adding a team-best seven blocks. In the win over Cornell, she had 11 kills, five digs and five blocks. At Michigan State, she posted 29 kills and a .417 attack percentage in three matches, including a career-high 13 kills in a win over IUPUI with a .524 attack percentage.

PENROD NAMED ALL-TOURNAMENT AT FLORIDA
Freshman Paige Penrod was honored for the first time in her college career at the Campus USA Credit Union Invitational, hosted by the University of Florida, as an all-tournament selection. Penrod had a team-high 29 kills and hit .221 for the Falcons, adding 18 digs and four blocks. She had her first career double-double against Albany, finishing with 11 kills and 10 digs in the match.

.200 IS KEY
So far in 2010, a .200 attack percentage has been the critical number for BGSU success. The Falcons are 2-0 when reaching that total for a match (hitting .283 vs. IUPUI and .238 vs. Cornell) and 0-7 when they do not.

FIVE-SET SPECIALISTS
In recent history, Bowling Green has thrived in five-set matches, posting a .500 record or better in such contests in each of the last five years. Overall, the team is 24-8 in such matches since 2005. In fact, of Bowling Green's final six wins of the 2009 season, five of those matches went the distance.

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

BUT WHAT IF THEY CAN'T GET TO FIVE SETS
Bowling Green's first nine matches have all gone just three sets. Last year, approximately half (17-of-33) of the team's matches went only three sets. In fact, this is the first time in program history that the team's first nine matches of a season were all sweeps and is the second-longest string overall. In 1987, Bowling Green played in 16 consecutive three-set matches.

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.

FRESHMAN CONTRIBUTIONS
With such a young team in 2010, Bowling Green will be relying on freshmen to produce right from the start. The class has not disappointed through the first three weekends, led by Paige Penrod and Danielle Tonyan. Penrod's 69 kills to this point are fifth-most for any BGSU player in their first nine collegiate matches in the past decade, while Tonyan's 62 are sixth. The Falcon freshmen class may have an even bigger impact defensively as Ashley Dunn, Penrod, and Laura Avila rank first, second, and third on the team in digs. Dunn's 90 digs are the fifth-most for a BGSU freshman in her first nine matches in the past decade.

CLOSING THE DOORS OF THE HOUSE THAT ROARS
All year long, Bowling Green will be celebrating the final year of Anderson Arena with "Closing The Doors Of The House That Roars". Anderson Arena has hosted BGSU volleyball matches for 35 years and the athletics department has announced that season tickets are just $35. Call 877-BGSU TICKET to order your season tickets today.

ALL-ANDERSON VOLLEYBALL TEAM
As part of the "Closing The Doors Of The House That Roars" celebration, Bowling Green has announced the All-Anderson Volleyball Team, recognizing the 14 best players to play for BGSU in the Anderson Arena era. The group represents 20 First Team All-MAC selections, 13 First Team Academic All-MAC picks, four MAC Player of the Year awards, and four selections to the BGSU Hall of Fame. The group will be honored at BGSU's home volleyball match against Western Michigan on Oct. 2 at 7 p.m.

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.

FALCONS PICKED TO FINISH FIFTH
Bowling Green was picked to finish fifth in the East Division in the Mid-American Conference Preseason Poll. Ohio was selected to win the East Division, followed by Miami, Buffalo, Kent State, BGSU, and Akron.

MAC Preseason Poll
East Division - 1. Ohio (10 first place votes), 2. Miami (2 first place votes), 3. Buffalo, 4. Kent State, 5. Bowling Green, 6. Akron
West Division - 1. Central Michigan (7 first place votes), 2. Western Michigan (5 first place votes), 3. Northern Illinois, 4. Toledo, 5. Ball State, 6. Eastern Michigan
Regular Season Champion - C. Michigan 5, Ohio 3, W. Michigan 2, Miami 2
Tournament Champion - Ohio 6, C. Michigan 2, W. Michigan 2, Miami 2

MARK THE CALENDAR
Bowling Green has announced a number of promotions throughout the year. The Falcons will recognize the All-Anderson Volleyball Team and hold Alumnae Day on Oct. 2 when BGSU hosts Western Michigan at 7 p.m. 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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