First-Place Falcons Host Miami, WMU This Week

BGSU vs. Miami
Thursday, Oct. 4, 2012; 7:00 p.m.
Stroh Center/Bowling Green, Ohio
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com
Live Audio: BGRSO
Live Video: America One Network

BGSU vs. Western Michigan
Saturday, Oct. 6, 2012; 7:00 p.m.
Stroh Center/Bowling Green, Ohio
Live Stats: BGSUFalcons.com
Live Audio: BGRSO
Live Video: America One Network
Television: BCSN

2012 MAC STANDINGS
EAST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Bowling Green	4-0	8-7
Ohio	3-1	8-8
Akron	2-2	9-7
Buffalo	1-3	7-9
Kent State	1-3	4-12
Miami	0-4	5-12
WEST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Western Michigan	3-1	10-6
Northern Illinois	3-1	12-8
Central Michigan	3-1	9-6
Ball State	2-2	9-8
Eastern Michigan	1-3	11-9
Toledo	1-3	7-9

Mid-American Conference leader Bowling Green carries a four-match winning streak into the week as the Falcons return home for a pair of pivotal contests. The Falcons, at 4-0 in league play, host 0-4 Miami Thursday night at 7 p.m. to conclude the first round of MAC East competition. Bowling Green then faces its first West Division opponent Saturday night, hosting 3-1 Western Michigan at 7 p.m. BGSU is the only undefeated team remaining in MAC play, but four other teams (including WMU) sit just one game behind. With two wins this weekend, the Falcons would tie their season total of six conference wins a year ago.

LINKS, LINKS, LINKS
Here's a list of links that fans may find interesting heading into the weekend's matches:
* BGSU volleyball players single-match season and career highs (.pdf)
* Mid-American Conference statistical leaders
* NCAA statistical leaders
* NCAA RPI Rankings
* Dunn Named MAC Defensive Player of the Week
* Miami Preview (not yet available)
* Western Michigan Preview (not yet available)

ABOUT MIAMI
Miami was selected to finish second in the Mid-American Conference East Division in the coaches preseason poll, but the RedHawks have struggled to a 5-12 record and an 0-4 mark in conference play. The team enters Thursday night's contest on a six-match losing streak since winning their own home tournament and is 0-5 in true road matches. Libero Madison Hardy, a 5-foot-11 junior, is one of the best in the conference, averaging 4.48 digs per set and 6-1 senior setter Amy Kendall's 0.28 aces per set are among the league leaders. With the retirement of BGSU coach Denise Van De Walle, Miami Head Coach Carolyn Condit is the dean of MAC coaches in her 29th season at Miami. She won her 500th match at Miami earlier this year and has a record of 504-396. Including four seasons as the head coach at Xavier, she is 603-476.

ABOUT WESTERN MICHIGAN
Western Michigan has started the season at 10-6 overall and is tied for first in the MAC West Division at 3-1 in league play. The Broncos are led by the exceptional play of 5-foot-9 sophomore setter Terin Norris, who ranks among the top 15 in the country with 11.83 assists. Western Michigan is an interesting team in that the Broncos lead the MAC in both kills and digs, but rank last in both blocks and service aces. Libero Lena Oliver, a 5-5 junior, is at 4.91 digs per set and 5-11 senior middle blocker Jessica Brown is posting 3.34 kills per set. Head Coach Colleen Munson is in her eighth season leading the Broncos and has a record of 170-79. Along with five seasons at East Carolina, she has a career mark of 222-178.

FOLLOWING THE FALCONS
If you can't be at the games in the Stroh Center this weekend, there are a variety of ways to follow the action. Live stats, audio and video will be available for both matches via links on BGSUFalcons.com. Saturday night's match against Western Michigan will be televised live on BCSN, broadcasting to the greater Toledo area. As well, fans can keep up with the action on Twitter by following @BGAthletics and @jknavel.

TURN THE DIAL
The Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) will provide a radio broadcast of all BGSU volleyball home matches this season, which will also be available on the web via live streaming. Follow links at BGSUFalcons.com to listen on the web.

ON THE TUBE
Saturday night's match against Western Michigan will be the third this year for the Falcons that have been televised regionally. The Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN), broadcasting to the greater Toledo area, televised the team's Brown and Orange scrimmage as well as BGSU's home match against Kent State on Sept. 22.

LEADERS OF THE MAC
At 4-0 in conference play, Bowling Green is the only unbeaten team remaining in the MAC. Four teams – Ohio, Western Michigan, Northern Illinois and Central Michigan – sit just one game back at 3-1. The Falcons are 4-0 for the first time since 2006 and swept their first three league matches in straight sets for the first time in program history. That 2006 team started league play 10-0.

LOOKING WAY AHEAD
Eight teams advance to the Mid-American Conference Tournament played at the SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio beginning Nov. 16. If play were to start today, the Falcons would be the No. 1 seed for the tournament and would face off against one of four teams with a 1-3 MAC record – Miami, Kent State, Eastern Michigan or Toledo.

RPI LEADERS
In the first Ratings Percentage Index (RPI) ranking of the 2012 season on Oct. 1, Bowling Green was ranked No. 68 in the country, the highest ranking of any school in the MAC. The Falcons are up 70 spots from a year ago when the team ended the year at 138. Central Michigan is the second-highest ranked team in the MAC at No. 76.

A RECORD-BREAKING NIGHT
In Bowling Green's win over Buffalo Saturday night, the Falcons set or tied a number of blocking records. The team had 23.0 team blocks, which are the most ever by a BGSU team in a four-set victory. The team also had a program record 40 block assists, while Leah Shaw tied the school record with 11 block assists in a four-set match.

HOGGING THE HARDWARE
In a three week stretch, BGSU has had four student-athletes earn Mid-American Conference Player of the Week honors. Most recently, Ashley Dunn earned MAC East Division Defensive Player of the Week honors (along with two others) on Oct. 1. The week prior, Lindsey Butterfield was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week and Leah Shaw was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week. The week before that, Paige Penrod earned MAC East Division Offensive Player of the Week honors. For Penrod, it was the third time she has earned MAC Player of the Week honors, and it was the second such award for Dunn. For both Butterfield and Shaw, it was their first such awards. Along with those four, Danielle Tonyan and Kari Galen also have been named MAC Player of the Week at least one time in their careers.

NEW COACHING STAFF
For the first time in 30 years, the BGSU volleyball team has a new head coach. Three-time Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year Danijela Tomic takes over leadership of the program after 29-year head coach Denise Van De Walle retired following the 2011 season. Tomic spent seven years as the head coach at FIU, racking up a career record of 158-61. Assistant coaches Tucker Short and Jessica Hohl are also new to the program, as is Coordinator of Operations Lindsay Laurent.

HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS
Junior outside hitter Paige Penrod and junior setter Laura Avila have been playing at an extraordinary level lately. Penrod is averaging 4.66 kills per set over the past eight matches, posting at least 11 kills in all of those contests. During the same stretch, Avila is averaging 11.7 assists per set and has had at least 50 three times. Prior to these past eight matches, Avila had only handed out 50 assists in a match one time in her career.

SHE'S ON A ROLL
Junior outside hitter Lindsey Butterfield has possibly been the most critical part of the Falcons' 4-0 start in league play, stepping up her game once conference action began. Butterfield had a season-high seven kills a year ago as a sophomore and reached double-digit kill totals just four times in 11 non-conference matches this year. But since MAC play has begun, she has at least 10 in every contest and is hitting a team-best .306.

BLOCK PARTY
Senior middle Leah Shaw has been almost impossible to hit around since MAC play began. She set a new career-high with seven blocks in a three-set win over Kent State and then followed that up with 12 blocks in the four-set win at Buffalo, the most for a BGSU player since Kendra Halm had 14 in 2008. Her 11 block assists in that match tied the program record for a four-set match. Since MAC play has begun, Shaw has 24.0 blocks, an average of 1.85 per set, easily the best in the conference.

BEST IN THE MAC
Junior Paige Penrod leads the MAC with 4.07 kills per set, making her the only player in the league averaging more than 4.00. For much of the year, she has also led the league in aces, but currently ranks second at 0.37 per set.

CAN YOU DIG IT?
In the team's first three matches, BGSU had 28 fewer digs than its opponents, but the Falcons have worked hard to improve in that area and it has paid off. The Falcons have outdug 10 of their 12 opponents since that time (including all four league opponents), posting a total of 70 more than their opponents. In four league matches, BGSU has 41 more digs than opponents.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
BGSU is 2-0 inside the Stroh Center in 2012 and the Falcons have the second-best home attendance in the league at 802 (only Ohio is better). A year ago, BGSU stunned Michigan State in four sets in the Stroh Center behind a program-record crowd of 2,961.

STACKING UP THE MAC
The list below shows where BGSU ranks as a team and individuals among the MAC leaders in various statistical categories. Team or individual stats that rank first in the MAC are bolded and italicized:

OVERALL STAT LEADERS
TEAM STATS (Rank out of 12 MAC team)
Hitting Percentage – 7. BGSU .203
Opponent Hitting Percentage – 7. BGSU .205
Assists – 5. BGSU 12.39
Kills – 5. BGSU 13.70
Blocks – 3. BGSU 2.28
Service Aces – 4. BGSU 1.26
Digs – 7. BGSU 14.96

INDIVIDUAL STATS (Top 10 rankings)
Hitting Percentage – 8. Leah Shaw .286
Kills – 1. Paige Penrod 4.07; 10. Danielle Tonyan 3.28
Assists – 4. Laura Avila 10.56
Service Aces – 2. Paige Penrod 0.37
Blocks – T3. Leah Shaw 1.06; 7. Kaitlyn Skinner 1.00
Digs – 9. Ashley Dunn 4.09

MAC MATCHES ONLY STAT LEADERS
TEAM STATS (Rank out of 12 MAC team)
Hitting Percentage – 5. BGSU .229
Opponent Hitting Percentage – 1. BGSU .110
Assists – 2. BGSU 13.54
Kills – 2. BGSU 15.00
Blocks – 1. BGSU 3.38
Service Aces – 4. BGSU 1.23
Digs – 3. BGSU 18.08

INDIVIDUAL STATS (Top 10 rankings)
Hitting Percentage – 9. Lindsey Butterfield .306
Kills – 6. Paige Penrod 3.92; 9. Lindsey Butterfield 3.62
Assists – 3. Laura Avila 11.31
Service Aces – T3. Ashley Dunn 0.46, 7. Cassie Berning 0.31
Blocks – 1. Leah Shaw 1.85, 5. Kaitlyn Skinner 1.27
Digs – 1. Ashley Dunn 5.69

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Much like the MAC leaders, Paige Penrod ranks among the top 100 in the country in three statistical categories – kills, points, and aces. Listed below is how BG ranks nationally as a team and individually:

TEAM STATS (Rank out of 328 NCAA Division I teams)
Service Aces – 146. Bowling Green 1.26
Assists – 90. Bowling Green 12.39
Blocks – 84. Bowling Green 2.28
Digs – 136. Bowling Green 14.96
Hitting Percentage – 152. Bowling Green .203
Kills – 59. Bowling Green 13.70

INDIVIDUAL STATS (Top 250 Nationally)
Aces – 81. Paige Penrod 0.37
Assists – 60. Laura Avila 10.56
Blocks – 144. Leah Shaw 1.06; 188. Kaitlyn Skinner 1.00
Digs – 164. Ashley Dunn 4.09
Kills – 45. Paige Penrod 4.07; 191. Danielle Tonyan 3.28
Points – 38. Paige Penrod 4.70; 206. Danielle Tonyan 3.74

DUNN IS DIGGING IT
Ashley Dunn has already put her name in the BGSU record book a couple of times. As a freshman, she posted 457 digs, eighth most in program history. She followed that up with 450 a year ago, tenth most. She went over 1,000 career digs earlier this year and passed Jo Lynn Williamson for 10th place in BGSU history against Buffalo. With 1,128 career digs, Dunn is just three from tying Lisa Mika (1988-91) for ninth, eight from tying Emily Manser (2002-05) for eighth, and 14 from reaching Tammy Schiller (1988-91) for seventh.

CHARTING THEIR CAREERS
Junior setter Laura Avila moved into 10th place in career assists at BGSU two weeks ago and became just the 10th player in program history with 2,000 career assists in the win over Ohio. She needs 480 more to tie Wendy Watkins (1994-97) for ninth place on the leaderboard. Paige Penrod is on pace to move into the top 10 in two career statistical categories by the end of her junior year. She needs 297 more attack attempts to tie Kendra Halm for tenth place and 20 more aces to tie Wendy Watkins for tenth. Ashley Dunn has already moved into the top 10 in program history in digs and could move into seventh by the end of this weekend.

THE DYNAMIC DUO
Bowling Green has one of the most talented attacking duos in the Mid-American Conference in juniors Paige Penrod and Danielle Tonyan. The pair is one of only two sets of teammates in the MAC to both rank in the top 10 in the league in kills (Penrod is first and Tonyan is tenth) and they were the only set of teammates to both rank in the top 10 a year ago. Both have recorded more than 300 kills in each of their first two years and are on pace to reach that total again this year. Only one player in program history, Corey Domek, reached 300 kills in all four years of a career.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Five active players have recorded at least one double-double in their career (posting at least 10 kills, digs, assists, blocks, or aces in a match in two of those categories). Paige Penrod has a team-high 24 career double-doubles after posting eight so far this year. Laura Avila follows with 16 (also six this year) and Erica Fullenkamp has five. Danielle Tonyan has both of her career double-doubles this year and Ashley Dunn has one. Penrod's 24 career double-doubles are the most since Chrissy Gothke had 38 from 2003-06.

Double-Doubles In 2012
8/24/12 at Marquette – Danielle Tonyan 12 kills, 10 digs
8/25/12 vs. Northwestern – Danielle Tonyan 19 kills, 10 digs
8/25/12 vs. Northwestern – Paige Penrod 13 kills, 11 digs
9/1/12 at Indiana – Paige Penrod 26 kills, 10 digs
9/1/12 at Indiana – Laura Avila 44 assists, 10 digs
9/7/12 vs. Portland State – Laura Avila 49 assists, 11 digs
9/8/12 at BYU – Paige Penrod 11 kills, 13 digs
9/8/12 vs. Utah – Paige Penrod 30 kills, 19 digs
9/8/12 vs. Utah – Laura Avila 64 assists, 14 digs
9/14/12 vs. UAB – Paige Penrod 19 kills, 12 digs
9/14/12 vs. UAB – Laura Avila 60 assists, 10 digs
9/14/12 vs. Jacksonville State – Laura Avila 50 assists, 15 digs
9/21/12 vs. Ohio – Paige Penrod 14 kills, 13 digs
9/21/12 vs. Ohio – Laura Avila 37 assists, 11 digs
9/28/12 at Akron – Paige Penrod 15 kills, 15 digs
9/29/12 at Buffalo – Paige Penrod 11 kills, 11 digs

20 KILLS OR 20 DIGS
Danielle Tonyan and Paige Penrod have each recorded 20 kills in a match eight times in their career. Against Jacksonville State, Tonyan and Penrod both recorded 20 kills, marking the third time in their careers that they have done it in the same match. Penrod has reached 20 or more kills three times this year. Those eight career 20-kill matches, Tonyan and Penrod have the most since Corey Domek had nine from 2006-09. Ashley Dunn posted seven 20-dig matches as a freshman, three more as a sophomore, and has three more this year for a career total of 13. Her career total is the most since Chelsey Meek had 44 career matches with at least 20 digs from 2005-08. Cassie Berning posted the first 20-dig match of her career against UAB.

20-Dig Matches In 2012
8/25/12 vs. Northwestern – Ashley Dunn 23 digs
9/1/12 at Indiana – Ashley Dunn 20 digs
9/14/12 vs. UAB – Cassie Berning 22 digs
9/29/12 at Buffalo – Ashley Dunn 27 digs

20-Kill Matches In 2012
9/1/12 at Indiana – Paige Penrod 26 kills
9/8/12 vs. Utah – Paige Penrod 30 kills
9/14/12 vs. Jacksonville State – Paige Penrod 21 kills
9/14/12 vs. Jacksonville State – Danielle Tonyan 20 kills

THE CLASSROOM COMES FIRST
Following her MAC East Offensive Player of the Week recognition, Lindsey Butterfield was also named the MAC Scholar-Athlete of the Week on Sept. 26. A biology major with a 3.89 GPA, Butterfield earned the league's weekly award given to just one male and one female student-athlete across all sports.

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Four different BGSU players earned all-tournament honors at one of the four pre-conference tournament this year. Paige Penrod earned the honor twice (making five in her career), being named to the team at the last two tournaments, the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge and the BYU Nike Invitational. Laura Avila was also named all-tournament at the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge (the second of her career), while Kaitlyn Skinner earned her first career all-tournament honor at the Indiana Invitational. Danielle Tonyan opened the year by being named to the Marquette Challenge All-Tournament team, the third all-tournament honor she has earned in her three years at BGSU.

PRESEASON PICKS
BGSU was picked to finish third in the Mid-American Conference East Division, by vote of the league's 12 head coaches in the MAC Preseason Poll. The Falcons trailed just Ohio and Miami in the poll, and ranked ahead of Buffalo, Kent State, and Akron. Western Michigan was picked to win the West and the Broncos were also selected as the overall regular season champions and the tournament champions.

TONYAN NAMED PRESEASON ALL-MAC
Junior right side hitter Danielle Tonyan was named East Division Preseason All-MAC, in voting by the league's 12 head coaches. Tonyan is coming off of a sophomore year in which she was named first team All-MAC and ranked third in the league in kills. She finished the year among the top 100 nationally in both kills and points. She joined Ohio's Chelsea Bilger, Lexie Hartnett and Kelly Lamberti, Buffalo's Liz Scott and Miami's Madison Hardy on the team. The West Division Preseason All-MAC team consisted of Western Michigan's Jessica Brown and Terin Norris, Ball State's Kara Bates, Central Michigan's Kaitlyn McIntyre, Eastern Michigan's Rachel Iaquaniello, and Northern Illinois' Mary Kurisch.

OLD SCHOOL
For the past few years, we've talked about how young the BGSU volleyball team is, but that's not the case anymore. Eleven of the 13 team members are either juniors or seniors (four seniors and seven juniors). That total is more than any other in the Mid-American Conference. Akron, Ball State, and Northern Illinois all have nine juniors and seniors. On the other end of the spectrum, Kent State has just three and Western Michigan has four.

TRANSFER OF POWER
The lone newcomer on the BGSU volleyball team is sophomore transfer Kelsey Bates. Bates, who hails from Willshire, Ohio, spent her freshman season at Syracuse before returning to her home state for this season.

MOST IMPROVED
With an 11-win increase over a year ago, Bowling Green was easily the most improved team in the Mid-American Conference a year ago. The Falcons improved from 8-24 in 2010 to 19-12 in 2011. The second most improved team in the conference was Central Michigan, which had a five-win increase.

MAC ATTACK
Danielle Tonyan was named first team All-MAC as a sophomore in 2011, becoming the first player to earn that honor since Shari Luther in 2009. Kendra Halm, in 2006, was the last BGSU sophomore to be named first-team All-MAC and she went on to earn first team honors again as both a junior and senior.

HITTING THE BOOKS
Bowling Green has always stressed academics and Falcon volleyball has been a model of that philosophy. The 2011 BGSU volleyball team received the AVCA Academic Team Award for the 12th 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 13 times overall. Two BGSU players, Laura Avila and Kari Galen, were named Academic All-MAC a year ago, while Lindsey Butterfield, Libby Dachenhaus, Ashley Dunn, and the graduated Emily Kauth were named honorable mention.

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