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Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Rice
Falcons Head To Louisville For Final Non-Conference Tuneup
September 19, 2013 | Volleyball
BGSU will square off with Virginia Tech and Rice this weekend
2013 Louisville Invitational
Bowling Green vs. Virginia Tech | Saturday, September 21, 10:00 a.m. | Live Audio
Bowling Green vs. Rice | Saturday, September 21, 5:30 p.m. | Live Audio
First Serve
The Bowling Green State University volleyball team will head to Louisville this weekend as they play Rice and Virginia Tech at the Louisville Invitational. The two matches will serve as the final tune-ups prior to the Mid-American Conference slate beginning next week. Both matches will be on Saturday, as the Falcons take on Virginia Tech at 10:00 a.m. before squaring off with Rice at 5:30 p.m.
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Falcons Freeze The Penguins
Bowling Green was dominant in their return to the Stroh Center on Tuesday night, sweeping the visiting Youngstown State Penguins 25-13, 25-16, 29-27. Paige Penrod and Lindsey Butterfield led the offensive attack, as they recorded 12 and 11 kills respectively. The defensive effort was strong against the Penguins, as the Falcons had 11 blocks as a team in just three sets. Kaitlyn Skinner, Jelena Sunjic, and Kelsey Bates all had five blocks in the match. Erica Fullenkamp had 35 assists while Ashley Dunn had 15 digs.
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Home Court Advantage
The Stroh Center, now in its third season, has provided a home court advantage for the Falcon volleyball program and a tough atmosphere for opponents to play in. The Falcons are 16-8 all-time in the Stroh, including a record of 10-3 since Danijela Tomic took over the reigns of the program. Some of the wins in the Stroh era have included a four-set win over Big Ten power Michigan State, and a five-set win over No. 13 Brigham Young. After losing the first two games of the season at the Stroh, the Falcons have rebounded with back-to-back wins to get to .500 (2-2) in the Stroh this season.
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Overflow The Stroh
Bowling Green will look to draw its biggest crowd of the season to date when they host Northern Illinois on Saturday, September 28, at 7:00 p.m. The game, which will be played at the Stroh Center, is a rematch of last season's thrilling MAC championship game which saw the Falcons claim a five-set, come-from-behind victory. The game will be aired live on Time Warner Cable Sports and has been designated as "Overflow The Stroh." With a flyer from BGSU Athletics, youth tickets will be just $2 for the match. In addition, fans can show their football ticket vs. Akron from that afternoon for a free volleyball ticket that night.
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Butterfield Heating Up
Over the first five matches of the season, Lindsey Butterfield totaled 39 kills, an average of just 2.05 per set. However, during the past four matches, Butterfield has been on fire, tallying 58 kills in just 14 sets, an average of 4.14 kills/set.
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Been There, Dunn That
Senior libero Ashley Dunn has been a constant in the Falcons' lineup during her career, playing in all 275 sets during the past three seasons. Dunn currently leads the team with 147 digs in 2013.
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Scouting Virginia Tech
Virginia Tech enters the weekend with an overall record of 10-1, having won 32-of-38 sets on the year. The Hokies have won seven straight matches entering their contest with Rice on Friday afternoon. As a team, VT is hitting .293, while holding their opponents to an attack percentage of just .147. Four Hokies have over 75 kills, with Samantha Gostling's 115 (3.29 k/s) leading the charge. Defensively, Latasha Samson-Akpan leads the way, averaging 1.45 blocks/set. Jordan Fish, sister of former Falcon Sam Fish, leads the Hokies with 396 (10.70 a/s) assists. Saturday's meeting will be just the second meeting between the Falcons and Hokies. BGSU is 1-0 all-time against Virginia Tech.
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A Look At Rice
Rice brings a 3-8 record into the weekend at the Louisville Invitational, coming off a four-set loss to Baylor on Wednesday night at home. The Owls are led by Jillian Humphrey, who has 140 kills on the season. Rice uses a two-setter system, as both Megan Murphy and Sara Blasier have over 220 assists. On the defensive side of the net, the Owls average 2.05 blocks per set. Saturday's matchup will be just the second between the Falcons and Owls in the all-time series, with Rice having won the only other match.
