Falcons Upset Indiana In Four Sets

Saturday, September 1

Bloomington, Ind.

12:00 p.m.

Bowling Green State University

Indiana

September 01, 2012 | Volleyball

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

Boxscore

Bloomington, Ind. – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team handed Indiana its first loss of the year, defeating the Hoosiers 22-25, 25-18, 27-25, 25-20 Saturday on day two of the Indiana Invitational.

Paige Penrod had a career-high 26 kills as the Falcons defeated a Big Ten opponent in four sets for the second consecutive year. Last year, BGSU beat Michigan State in the opening match of the Stroh Center.

"This is a very special win for all of us for a few different reasons," BGSU head coach Danijela Tomic said. "First of all, it was a total team effort and everyone on the team contributed in some way. Second of all, our team removed an invisible mental obstacle that was holding us back in the previous matches. Third of all, my coaching staff and I just earned our first win at BGSU, hopefully one of many to come."

The Falcons hit .237 for the match and held Indiana to a .178 clip. Bowling Green hit at least .300 in both the second and fourth sets to overcome a loss in the opening stanza. Penrod's 26 kills were one more than her previous career-high, a 25-kill effort against Buffalo on Oct. 29, 2010. Lindsey Butterfield tied her career-high with 13 kills.

Ironically, the Falcons pulled off the upset despite Danielle Tonyan, a preseason All-MAC selection, having her smallest output of the year. She had only eight kills, but added four digs, a block, and an ace. Indiana entered the match at 4-0 on the season, while Bowling Green was 0-3 after playing BCS opponents in all of its first four matches.

Indiana led wire-to-wire in the first set but the Falcons bounced back in the second by serve receiving well (Indiana had no aces) and hitting .300. Bowling Green never trailed or saw Indiana tie the score as the Falcons built the lead throughout the frame. Penrod had six kills during the set and the Falcons had three aces.

BGSU was unable to rely on its hitting as much in the third, posting 10 attack errors, but the Falcons served up three more aces and outdug the Hoosiers 16-14. Penrod added six more kills and six digs in the set. BGSU led 24-21 but a service error and two attack errors tied the score. Still tied at 25-25, Butterfield posted a kill and then Leah Shaw and Laura Avila teamed up for a block to get the 27-25 win.

In the fourth, the Falcons' consistent offense game returned as BGSU hit .312. Kaitlyn Skinner had three blocks on the defensive side and Ashley Dunn had six of the team's 12 digs. BGSU never trailed in the fourth set as Penrod started with back-to-back kills. With the Falcons leading 19-16, Penrod had three more kills in a 4-1 run that put the match away.

Indiana falls to 4-1 with the loss and Bowling Green improves to 1-3 with the win. The Falcons will play again this evening against Cleveland State at 5 p.m.