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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Falcons Continue MAC Play This Weekend On The Road
October 02, 2013 | Volleyball
BGSU takes on Kent State and nationally-ranked Ohio
Bowling Green at Kent State (Friday, 7:00 p.m.) Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Bowling Green at #20 Ohio (Saturday, 7:00 p.m.) Live Stats | Live Audio
Game Notes (.pdf)
The Week Ahead
The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will continue Mid-American Conference play this weekend, taking to the road for a pair of East Division contests. On Friday night, the Falcons will take on Kent State at the M.A.C Center. Then, on Saturday, the Falcons will travel to Athens, for a showdown against the 20th-ranked Bobcats.
A Rematch, Not A Replay
On Saturday night, 1,503 fans poured into the Stroh Center to watch the Falcons defeat Northern Illinois in straight sets. The match, which was tabbed "Overflow The Stroh," was a rematch of the 2012 MAC Championship game. In 2012, the Falcons won in comeback fashion, defeating NIU in five sets. But, on Saturday, the Falcons never trailed en route to a straight sets victory. The crowd was the second largest volleyball crowd in Stroh Center history.
Falcons Start MAC Play Strong
BGSU traveled to Miami on Thursday night (Sept. 26) to open MAC play against the RedHawks. The Falcons, who won both matches against MU in 2012, quickly fell behind two sets to none. The Orange and Brown would battle back, winning the next two sets to even up the match. The Falcons - who are undefeated in five-setters under Danijela Tomic in MAC play - would go on to win the fifth set, 18-16.
Scouting Kent State
Kent State is coached by Don Gramala, who is in his second year at the helm of the Golden Flashes' program. Gramala and KSU struggled to just six wins in his first season, but they have turned the corner in 2013, already piling up seven wins. The Golden Flashes began MAC play last weekend by going 1-1, as they defeated Akron on Friday night before falling to Buffalo on Saturday. KSU has been tough at home this season, beginning the year with a 3-0 record inside the M.A.C Center. Offensively, Bianca Cifaldi leads the way averaging 2.98 kills/set. Aleksandra Nowak is the setter for the Golden Flashes, dishing out 9.84 assists per set. The Golden Flashes struggle defensively, only averaging two blocks per set.
Previewing Ohio
Ohio enters the weekend ranked 20th in the country, with a 12-2 record overall. The Bobcats are 2-0 in the MAC. The Bobcats only two losses on the season came vs. ranked foes, as they lost to No. 24 North Carolina and No. 10 Michigan, both in five sets. The 'Cats have also won a pair of games against ranked foes, sweeping No. 8 Oregon and No. 21 Western Kentucky, both on the road. Rayn Theis is in his sixth season at the helm of the Green and White, with a career record of 129-50. Kelly Lamberti leads the Bobcat attack, averaging 3.26 kills per set. Alexis Pinson anchors the Bobcats' defense at the net, blocking 1.28 attacks per set.
Stacking Up Against The MAC
Similar to 2012, the Falcons struggled against a difficult non-conference schedule early on this season. While the Falcons ranked last in the MAC in both hitting percentage and opponent hitting percentage through the non-conference schedule in 2013, that stat is not indicative of the Falcons' potential in MAC play. After one weekend of MAC matches, the Falcons currently rank seventh in hitting percentage, and third in opponent percentage. Additionally, the Orange and Brown are second is assists, fifth in blocks, third in digs, and second in kills.
Falcons' Rank Among Best In MAC
Several Falcons got off to strong starts in Mid-American Conference play this past weekend, as multiple Falcons rank at, or near the top of several statistical categories. Lindsey Butterfield, with 36 kills through two games, ranks first in the MAC with 4.50 kills per set. Paige Penrod (3.50) ranks sixth in kills per set. Kaitlyn Skinner, averaging 1.88 blocks per set, ranks first in the MAC in blocks through the first weekend.
Successful Senior Class Closes In On Career Marks
Several members of the senior class are quickly closing in on career records.
*Laura Avila currently ranks 5th all-time with 3,068 assists. She is just 51 assists shy of moving into 4th place in school history.
*Ashley Dunn currently sits in 2nd with 1,681 career digs. She is 606 digs shy of Chelsea Meek's all-time record.
*Paige Penrod currently sits in the top 10 in three different categories. Penrod's 3,881 attack attempts rank first all-time in school history. She surpassed Carlyn Esslinger with her 52 attempts at Miami on September 26. Penrod currently sits in 5th place in school-history with 1,382 career kills. She is just 45 shy of 4th place, and 327 short of Tammy Schiller's all-time mark. Penrod is currently 9th all-time with 105 service aces. She is 20 shy of Corey Amos for 8th on the all-time list.
*Senior Danielle Tonyan is just shy of the top ten all-time for a couple of different statistical categories. Her 1,216 career kills are just 27 shy of Holli Costein's mark for 10th all-time, while her 2,980 attack attempts are just 4 shy of Heather Murphy's 2,984 for 10th on the all-time list.
Butterfield Has CLASS
Senior Lindsey Butterfield is not only a star on the volleyball court, but one off of it, as well. A nominee for the Senior CLASS Award, Butterfield embodies what it means to be a student-athlete. Butterfield, who was named first team all-MAC last season, holds a 3.824 GPA in biology. Butterfield is currently second on the team in kills, with 119, and was named to the preseason all-MAC East team by the MAC's head coaches prior to the season.
Been There, Dunn That
Senior libero Ashley Dunn is a veteran on the court for the Falcon volleyball program. A graduate of Bowling Green High School, Dunn came to Bowling Green in 2010 under head coach, at the time, Denise Van de Walle. Dunn currently ranks second all-time at Bowling Green with 1,681 career digs. She has played in every set during the past three seasons for the Falcons, and was an integral part of last season's MAC Championship team.
Skinner A Dual Threat At The Net
Kaitlyn Skinner has been a force at the net for the Falcons all season long, playing strong defense and picking and choosing when to use her offensive skills. A native of Ontario, Skinner currently leads the Falcons with 50 blocks (3 BS, 62 BA). She also has 64 kills on the season, making her a dual-threat at the net.
Strength Of Schedule Continues To Climb
Saturday night's matchup against Ohio will mark the fifth time this season that the Falcons will have faced a ranked opponent. The Falcons are 1-3 so far in 2013 against ranked foes, and 1-6 under Danijela Tomic against such opponents. Last season, the Falcons faced three opponents which were ranked, including No. 1 Penn State in the NCAA Tournament. This season, the Falcons hosted two ranked opponents in the Bowling Green Hampton Inn Invitational to begin the season. BG lost to No. 25 Creighton in straight sets, before defeating No. 13 BYU in five. The Falcons have also played No. 22 Purdue and No. 25 Wisconsin.
Skinner Named MAC East Co-Defensive Player Of The Week
Skinner, a native of Cambridge, Ontario, continued to be a major threat at the net for the Falcons, as she played an integral role in the 2-0 start in MAC play. Skinner recorded 16 kills and 15 blocks in two matches, as she hit .379 on the week. In Thursday's five set win, Skinner set season-highs with eight kills and nine blocks against the RedHawks. In Saturday's three-set win over Northern Illinois, Skinner once again tied her season-high with eight kills. In the match, Skinner recorded her eight kills in just 10 attempts, compiling a hitting percentage of .800—her career high. She also added six blocks in the match, including the block on match point to seal the three-set win over NIU. Skinner contributed 10 digs on the week, capping off an impressive week. It was the second time that she has won the award this season.
Butterfield Named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week
Butterfield, a native of Springfield, Ohio, recorded two double-doubles this week to begin Mid-American Conference play, as the Falcons won both games to start 2-0. Butterfield recorded 36 kills and 31 digs on the week, as she led the Falcons with an attack percentage of .299. In Thursday night's five-set win at Miami, Butterfield led the offensive comeback with 25 kills and two blocks, while also adding 18 digs. In Saturday's three-set win, Butterfield registered her second straight double-double, this time with 11 kills and 13 digs. Butterfield averaged 4.50 kills/set and 3.89 digs/set for the Orange and Brown.
A Look Back At The Non-Conference Schedule
The Falcons were 3-8 as they headed into MAC play last week, after facing arguably the toughest non-conference schedule in school history. The Falcons faced six teams that were ranked or receiving votes in the AVCA Preseason Top 25 Poll, and faced a total of four ranked teams in the first 11 games. The Falcons began the season by hosting Marquette, #25 Creighton, and #13 BYU in the Bowling Green Hampton Inn Invitational. The Orange and Brown went 1-2 during that tournament, defeating 13th-ranked BYU in five sets for the program's first ever win against a top 25 opponent. The next weekend, the Falcons went 0-2, falling at Notre Dame and vs. No. 22 Purdue, as well as in an exhibition to Polish professional team Dabrowa. The following weekend, the Falcons played another ranked team in No. 25 Wisconsin, in the InnTowner Invitational hosted by the Badgers. The Falcons closed the non-conference portion of the schedule by winning two of the final three, defeating Youngstown State and Rice.
