Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Miami
Falcons Stare Down Miami, WMU This Weekend
October 29, 2013 | Volleyball
vs. Miami (10-12, 2-8 MAC) Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
at Western Michigan Broncos (13-10, 6-4 MAC) Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
FALCONS HIT HOME STRETCH SEEKING MAC CROWN
Just one match out of first place in the Mid-American Conference standings, the Bowling Green volleyball team will host MAC East rival Miami Thursday before heading on the road to face Western Michigan Saturday in Kalamazoo, Mich. The Falcons defeated Miami in five sets earlier this year in Oxford.
FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Both matches this weekend can be heard online, for free, at BGSUFalcons.com. Fans can also find links to the audio broadcast at falconradio.org. Live stats are available courtesy of each host school, and links can be found at BGSUFalcons.com.
FALCONS LOOKING TO KEEP PACE AT THE TOP
After back-to-back weekend splits, Bowling Green sits just one game behind both Ball State and Ohio for the Mid-American Conference lead. Already holding a win over Ball State, the Falcons hold the tiebreak advantage over the Cardinals if the two teams end the season tied. While Bowling Green lost its first meeting with Ohio, the Falcons still host the Bobcats next week with an opportunity to pull even if the league standings remain as they currently are. Toledo has pulled even with Bowling Green at 7-3 in MAC play for a third-place tie.
A LOOK AT MIAMI
Miami opened the season by winning eight of its first nine matches but since conference play began the RedHawks have struggled, sitting in fifth place in the East Division with a 2-8 record. Miami is an aggressive serving team that ranks second in the MAC in aces in conference play and Meg Riley is second during league action with 0.34 per set as an individual. Jenny Ingle's .367 attack percentage leads the MAC. Head coach Carolyn Condit is the dean of MAC coaches with 519 wins in 30 seasons at Miami (and 618 career wins including four years at Xavier). BGSU is 28-42 all-time against the RedHawks, including 12-16 in Bowling Green and 2-0 in the Stroh Center.
BUCKING THE BRONCOS
At 6-4 in Mid-American Conference play, Western Michigan will be a factor down the stretch in the MAC standings and into the MAC Tournament. The Broncos had swept three consecutive league matches (wins over Akron, Buffalo and Kent State) before losing to Ohio in five sets Saturday. Western Michigan is a strong offensive team that ranks second in the MAC in both kills and attack percentage. Ave Stout is hitting .379 in conference action and Lexie Pawlik ranks second in the league with 11.32 assists per set in league play. Head coach Colleen Munson has led the program to four MAC West titles in the past eight years as well as eight consecutive 20-win seasons. BGSU is 19-35-1 all-time against Western Michigan, including just 5-20 on the road against the Broncos.
SUCCESSFUL SENIOR CLASS CLOSES IN ON MARKS
The BGSU senior class will go down as one of the greatest classes in program history, lead the 2012 team to the first NCAA Tournament win ever. Several members of the senior class are quickly closing in on career records.
* Paige Penrod currently sits in the top 10 in three different categories. Penrod's 4,191 attack attempts rank first all-time in school history. She surpassed Carlyn Esslinger for first all-time with her 52 attempts at Miami on Sept. 26. Penrod currently sits in second place in school-history with 1,486 career kills. She is 223 short of Tammy Schiller's all-time mark. Finally, Penrod is currently ninth all-time with 109 service aces.
* Ashley Dunn currently sits in second with 1,848 career digs. She is 439 digs shy of Chelsea Meek's all-time record.
* Danielle Tonyan has reached the top ten all-time in a pair of statistical categories. Her 1,266 career kills are tenth all-time, while her 3,106 attack attempts are also tenth on the all-time list.
* Laura Avila currently ranks fourth all-time with 3,215 assists. She is 192 assists shy of moving into third place in school history.
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 first on the team in kills with 268, and was named to the preseason all-MAC East team by the league's head coaches prior to the season. Butterfield ranks fourth in the MAC, averaging 3.45 kills per set in MAC play.
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 leads the MAC and ranks seventh in the country, averaging 1.50 blocks per set. She has 123 blocks and 104 kills in the season.
FULLENKAMP FINDING HER STRIDE
Erica Fullenkamp, a junior setter from Minster, Ohio, hit her stride since MAC play started. Over the course of the first eight league matches, she averaged 8.88 assists per set. Unfortunately, she played just one set this past weekend due to injury.
DUNN KEEPS ON DIGGING
Senior Ashley Dunn is making the most of her senior year, as the libero has turned in eight 20-dig matches this season to date. Six of those performances have come in the first 10 league matches. She is seventh in the conference in digs, averaging 4.49 per set.
SCHEDULE BENEFITTING FALCONS
The strength of schedule which Danijela Tomic put her team up against early in the season is paying off, as the Falcons are now battle-tested. The Falcons have played nine matches against teams inside the RPI's top 50, including wins over No. 26 BYU and No. 48 Ball State. Bowling Green has won 10 out of its last 14 matches, and has an RPI of 69.
SUNJIC ADJUSTING TO BOWLING GREEN
Freshman Jelena Sunjic, a native of Metkovic, Croatia, has adjusted nicely to the pace of American volleyball during her first season at Bowling Green. She is currently third on the team with 199 kills, averaging 2.73 kills per set. Sunjic set a career-high with 19 kills in a match against Rice on Sept. 21 and has at least 12 kills in four of the past five matches. She is also third on the team with 49 blocks on the year.
EMU ENDS AMAZING FIVE-SET STREAK FOR FALCONS
Under head coach Danijela Tomic, Bowling Green was 9-0 in five-set matches against conference opponents until Eastern Michigan came into the Stroh Center and downed the Falcons in five sets. Overall, Bowling Green is 12-3 in five-setters under Tomic, including five-set victories in the MAC Tournament semifinals, championship and NCAA Tournament First Round a year ago.
DACHENHAUS DEVELOPING
Through the first 17 matches of the 2013 season, Libby Dachenhaus had recorded 10 or more digs just twice. But over the past five matches, she has reached that total four times, including 17 at Toledo.
DEFENDING .211
So far in 2013, the key for the Falcons has been holding opponents to a .211 attack percentage or lower. Bowling Green is 11-0 when opponents do not go above that number (including a four-set win when Kent State hit exactly .211) and 0-11 when they do (including a four-set loss when Toledo hit .212 Saturday).
