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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
19-12
Northern Illinois
14-15
Falcons Eliminated From MAC Tournament
November 22, 2013 | Volleyball
Geneva, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team was unable to defend its 2012 Mid-American Conference Tournament Championship, losing to No. 5 seed Northern Illinois in the quarterfinals Friday afternoon. The Falcons, seeded fourth, won the opening set 25-15 but lost the next three, 25-22, 25-14, 25-19.
The match was a rematch of last year's MAC Championship in which the Falcons came from two sets down to win in dramatic fashion. This time, however, Northern Illinois came back after losing the opening set.
Bowling Green cruised in the first, hitting .250 and holding the Huskies to just seven kills with seven attack errors. But Northern Illinois found the offense early in the second set and never looked back. The team hit .417 in the second and .435 in the third to take control.
The Falcons, on the other hand, hit a respectable .242 for the match but could not overcome six aces and 8.5 blocks from NIU. The Huskies also had one more dig than BGSU.
Northern Illinois took an early 6-5 lead in the first set but Bowling Green scored the next five points and the Huskies got no closer than two the rest of the way. When NIU did get a Mackenzie Roddy kill to make it 14-12, Lindsey Butterfield answered with a kill that sparked a four-point run. At 20-15, Danielle Tonyan had three kills in succession and the Falcons rolled 25-15.
Northern Illinois took a 15-9 lead midway through the second but Bowling Green battled back with a 7-2 run to get within one. At 18-17, NIU scored three straight and, although, BGSU got within two points four times, the Falcons could never get back to even in the 25-22 loss.
After the break, Northern Illinois dominated the third set, jumping out to a 10-1 lead and rolling to a 25-14 victory. The Falcons, though, scored nine of the final 14 points to build momentum for a tight fourth set.
With their backs against the wall, the Falcons jumped out quickly by scoring four of the first five points. BGSU still 14-12 when the set turned. Northern Illinois posted the next four points and the Falcons never led again. A Paige Penrod kill did square the set at 16-16 but NIU scored five of the next six points and finished off the match 25-19.
Butterfield, who was named First Team All-MAC earlier this week, had team highs with 15 kills and 18 digs, while hitting .300. Penrod added 12 kills and a .400 attack percentage. Kaitlyn Skinner led the team with two service aces and four blocks.
Northern Illinois improves to 19-12 with the win and will face No. 1 seed Ohio in the MAC Tournament semifinals Saturday. The Falcons fall to 14-15 and will close the 2013 season with a match at Dayton Friday at 7 p.m.
