Falcons Travel To Golden Dome Invitational

This Weekend
Bowling Green State University volleyball travels to the Golden Dome Invitational this weekend, hosted by University of Notre Dame. The Falcons (1-2) will join Notre Dame, No. 22 Purdue, and TAURON MKS Dabrowa Górnicza. The Falcons will play host Notre Dame at 7:00 p.m. on Friday night, Dabrowa at 3:30 p.m. on Saturday afternoon, and Purdue at 11:30 a.m. on Sunday.

Last Weekend
The Orange and Brown went 1-2 in the Bowling Green Hampton Inn Invitational, defeating No. 13 BYU in five sets in the tournament's final match. The win over BYU was the first ever win for the Falcon Volleyball program over a ranked opponent. BGSU began the tournament with a four-set loss to Marquette, of the Big East Conference. The next morning, the Falcons fell in three sets—25-23, 26-24, 27-25—to No. 25 Creighton, before closing the tournament with the win over BYU.

Scouting The Falcons
After a 1-2 start in the Bowling Green Hampton Inn Invitational, the Falcons will continue their daunting non-conference schedule with a trip to the Golden Dome Invitational. The Falcons were led offensively by MAC Player of the Year candidate Paige Penrod, who recorded 50 kills in just three matches. Penrod recorded 4.17 kills/set, while hitting .304. The Falcons also got 20-plus kills from Lindsey Butterfield, Danielle Tonyan, and Jelena Sunjic. As a team, the Falcons are hitting just .191 through the first three games. Penrod is also second on the team in digs, with 27. Senior libero Ashley Dunn leads the way with 50 digs. On the defensive side, three Falcons—Kaitlyn Skinner, Tonyan, and Penrod—have double-digit blocks through the first weekend.

Skinner Named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week
Kaitlyn Skinner was a force at the net during the Bowling Green Hampton Inn Invitational, recording 1.55 blocks/set on the weekend. She was named the MAC East Defensive Player of the Week for her efforts. In Friday's four-set loss to Marquette, Skinner totaled eight blocks and four kills, helping the Falcons to a first-set win in that match. In Saturday's win over BYU, Skinner also recorded eight blocks and four kills. In the fifth set, which the Falcons won 15-12, Skinner recorded two block assists and one solo block.

Penrod Named To All-Tournament Team
Paige Penrod was named to the Bowling Green Hampton Inn Invitational all-tournament team this past weekend, recording 50 kills (4.17 k/s) in just three matches. Penrod led the Falcons in kills in every match, recording 13 to begin the season in a four-set loss to Marquette. In Saturday morning's match against No. 25 Creighton, Penrod totaled 21 kills in the three-set defeat. In Saturday night's win over No. 13 BYU, Penrod led four Falcon players who recorded double-digit kills with 16.

The Coaches
Head Coach Danijela Tomic made a bang in her first season in Bowling Green, leading the Falcons to a 22-11 record and the program's first ever NCAA Tournament win. Tomic enters her ninth season as a head coach overall, with a career record of 180-72. Tomic will be joined by second-year assistant coach Jessica Hohl, and first-year assistant Rodnei Santos. The staff will be rounded out by first-year volunteer coach Madeline Amon and first-year Director of Volleyball Operations Jordan Cravens.

A Look At The Irish
The Fighting Irish began the season at 1-2 overall, playing three games at the Blue Raider Bash over the weekend. In similar fashion to the Falcons, the Irish lost a three-set and four-set match, while winning their five-set match. On Friday, the Fighting Irish were defeated in three-sets by North Carolina. They would fall in four-sets in their first match Saturday to the host Middle Tennessee, before winning their final match—a five-setter over San Francisco. UND is led by Toni Alugbue on offense, who is averaging 2.92 kills/set. Setter Maggie Brindock is averaging 8.42 assists/set. Only one Fighting Irish has double digit blocks, as Brindock also had 10 blocks last weekend. The Falcons are 2-7 all-time against Notre Dame.

Previewing Purdue
No. 22 Purdue also began their season 1-2, dropping two games to ranked opponents over the weekend in the Mortar Board Premier, hosted by Purdue. In the first match of the season, the Boilermakers lost to No. 4 USC, 3-1. They would defeat Alabama A&M in their first match on Saturday, before falling to No. 21 Western Kentucky in five sets. Purdue is led offensively by Val Nichol, who is averaging 2.92 kills/set. The Boilermakers, like the Falcons, ran a two-setter offense over the weekend, as both Nichol and Rachel Davis recorded over 60 assists. Two Purdue defenders had double-digit blocks, as Faye Adelaja had 11 and KiKi Jones had 12. All-time, the Falcons are 1-1 against Purdue.

Who's Dabrowa?
The Falcons will also play an exhibition match against Polish professional club, TAURON MKS Dabrowa Górnicza. Dabrowa competes in Pool D of the Women's Champions League in Poland, and finished third out of four teams in their division in 2012. They will play just a handful of collegiate teams while touring the United States. Besides this weekend, Dabrowa has faced Kent State, Penn State, and Pittsburgh. Kent State was defeated by Dabrowa in three sets on Monday night.

Ranked Foes
The Falcons played numerous ranked foes in 2012, and head coach Danijela Tomic will continue that trend in 2013. Of the Falcons' non-conference opponents, six were at least receiving votes in the Preseason AVCA Top 25 this season. The Falcons have already played No. 13 BYU and No. 25 Creighton, and they will face No. 22 Purdue in the Golden Dome Invitational this weekend.

Butterfield Has CLASS
Senior Lindsey Butterfield was chosen as one of the 30 semifinalist for the Senior CLASS Award, given out to student-athletes who excel both on and off the court. Butterfield, a biology major, has a 3.824 GPA. The volleyball list will be narrowed to 10 student-athletes in the middle of the season, and a finalist will be chosen at the National Championships.

Falcons Picked To Win The MAC
Among the 12 head volleyball coaches in the MAC, the Bowling Green State University volleyball team was selected first in the MAC East, receiving 7-of-12 votes. The Falcons also tied for the most votes to win the MAC Tournament championship. Find the full poll and voting below:

MAC East
1. Bowling Green (7 first place votes)
2. Ohio (5)
3. Miami
4. Buffalo
5. Akron
6. Kent State

MAC West
1. Western Michigan (5 first place votes)
2. Northern Illinois (4)
3. Central Michigan (3)
4. Ball State
5. Eastern Michigan
6. Toledo

Predicted MAC Tournament Champions:
Bowling Green/ Ohio (4 Votes Each)
Northern Illinois/Western Michigan (2 Votes Each)

Preseason All-MAC Team
Three Falcons were named to the Preseason All-MAC team, voted by the 12 head coaches in the Mid-American Conference. Seniors Lindsey Butterfield, Paige Penrod, and Danielle Tonyan all received preseason accolades, a season after earning first team All-MAC honors.

The Longer The Match, The Better
The 2012 version of the Falcons excelled in extended matches. The longer the Falcons hung around, the tougher it became to beat them. The Falcons were 9-1 in such matches a season ago. That trend continued this past weekend, when the Falcons beat No. 13 ranked BYU in five sets.

Season Long Coverage
All season long, Falcon fans can hear the Falcons live, online, at BGSUFalcons.com. The Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization will have flagship coverage of Falcon Volleyball during 2013, carrying every match—home and away—live.

Twitter
Fans can follow Falcon Volleyball all season long on Twitter. For general volleyball updates through the athletics department, fans should be sure to follow @BGAthletics. BGSU Volleyball is also on Twitter, @BGSUVolleyball. Finally, Volleyball SID Scott Swegan can be found on Twitter @Scott Swegan.

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