Bowling Green State University
Tulane
Falcons Top Tulane In Five Games
September 21, 2002 | Volleyball
Sept. 21, 2002
MADISON, Wis. - The Bowling Green State University volleyball team gutted out a five-game win over Tulane University to conclude play at Wisconsin's Badger Invitational Saturday (Sept. 21). With the win (28-30, 30-23, 30-25, 28-30, 15-13), the Falcons finished the day with a 2-0 mark, and BG went 2-1 overall in the Badger Invite.
The Falcons improve to 5-7 on the season with the win, dropping Tulane to 7-8 in the process. A pair of BGSU performers, senior Kristin Gamby and sophomore Bridget Protas, were named to the all-tournament team.
The Falcons overcame a career night by Tulane's Britney Hurst. The senior set a Green Wave single-match record with 37 kills, and took a total of 95 swings in the match.
Gamby paced a balanced offensive attack for the Brown and Orange, with 19 kills and a .279 hitting percentage. Three other Falcons had double-digit kill totals, including Protas with 16. Juniors Susie Norris (11) and Nadia Bedricky (10) also were included in that group.
Defensively, BG got solid performances from a pair of youngsters. Emily Manser, the team's lone freshman, had 20 digs to give her a total of 41 on the day. She entered the weekend with 67 on the season.
Protas had a total of 10 blocks in the win, setting a career high. Laura Twyman had five blocks on the night.
Three players joined Manser in the double-digit digs department. Norris had 19, while junior Sara Sikorski had 15 and Bedricky 13. Sikorski also had 56 set assists.
In addition to Hurst's record-breaking performance for TU, Karlyn Daly had a match-high 26 digs.
Tulane had a slight advantage in both the kills (71 to BG's 69) and digs (90 to 83) departments, and the Green Wave had 18 blocks to the Falcons' 13. But, Tulane committed 39 attack errors in the loss. BGSU had a hitting percentage of .173 to Tulane's .155 pct.
The Green Wave rolled out to a 3-1 start in game one, but a 12-3 BG run gave the Falcons a 13-6 advantage. Tulane would regroup, though, and fight back to retake the lead at 25-24. The Green Wave pushed their lead to as many as three at 27-24. The Falcons cut the lead to one on a pair of occasions, but Tulane was able to hang on and take the opening stanza, 30-28.
Tulane fell behind early in game two as the Falcons streaked out to a 5-1 lead. TU came back with a 3-0 run to cut the lead to one, but Bowling Green responded, taking an eight-point lead at 20-12 before the Green Wave called a timeout. After the break, Tulane was able to cut the lead to five at 24-19, but errors spelled doom for the Green Wave as BGSU evened the match at a game apiece.
In game three, Tulane rolled out to a 10-5 lead. Bowling Green, however, answered with a 6-1 rally to tie it up at 11-all before taking the lead at 14-13. The Falcons pushed their lead to as many as three on three occasions, but the Green Wave were able to fight back to tie at 24-all. After Tulane took a brief 25-24 lead, Bowling Green came right back with a 6-0 run to end the frame and take the contest 30-24.
Game four turned into a back-and-forth battle, as the teams traded points throughout much of the stanza. The Falcons claimed the early lead and would not relinquish the advantage until 41 points into the contest when Tulane went ahead, 21-20. The Green Wave lead swelled to as many as three at 23-20, and despite Bowling Green tying the game at 27-all, Tulane was able to hang on for a 30-28 win and force a fifth game
Tulane claimed the early lead in that final game, jumping out to a 5-1 advantage. But, BGSU rallied to take the lead, and the Falcons were up, 8-6, at the teams' traditional switching of benches. Tulane battled back to take an 11-9 lead, but the Falcons outscored the Green Wave 6-2 the rest of the way to take the match with a 15-13 victory.
BGSU now looks ahead to the Mid-American Conference slate. The Falcons will hit the road for a pair of matches next weekend, facing Ohio Friday (Sept. 27) and Akron the following night. The UA match ends a stretch of 13 consecutive contests away from home for the Brown and Orange.
