First-Place Falcons Look To Remain Undefeated In MAC

BGSU at Akron
Friday, Sept. 28, 2012; 7:00 p.m.
James A. Rhodes Arena/Akron, Ohio
Live Stats: GoZips.com
Live Video: GoZips.com

BGSU at Buffalo
Saturday, Sept. 29, 2012; 7:00 p.m.
Stroh Center/Buffalo, N.Y.
Live Stats: BuffaloBulls.com
Live Video: BuffaloBulls.com

2012 MAC STANDINGS
EAST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Bowling Green	2-0	6-7
Akron	1-1	8-6
Ohio	1-1	6-8
Kent State	1-1	4-10
Buffalo	0-2	6-8
Miami	0-2	5-10
WEST TEAMS	MAC	OVERALL
Ball State	2-0	9-6
Eastern Michigan	1-1	11-7
Western Michigan	1-1	8-6
Northern Illinois	1-1	10-8
Central Michigan	1-1	7-6
Toledo	1-1	7-7

MAC East Division leader Bowling Green heads on the road this weekend, attempting to keep its unbeaten MAC record intact. At 2-0 in the conference, the Falcons are one of just two undefeated teams remaining in the league and the only one in the East. BGSU will play at 1-1 Akron Friday night at 7 p.m. before play at 0-2 Buffalo Saturday evening at 7 p.m.

LINKS, LINKS, LINKS
Here's a list of links that fans may find interesting heading into the weekend's matches:
* BGSU volleyball players single-match season and career highs (.pdf)
* Mid-American Conference statistical leaders
* NCAA statistical leaders
* Butterfield, Shaw Named MAC Players of the Week
* Akron Preview (not yet available)
* Buffalo Preview (not yet available)

ABOUT AKRON
Akron is 8-6 on the season and split its first two conference matches, defeating Buffalo in three sets before losing to Ball State in four. The Zips are first in the league with a .252 attack percentage and are second in aces at 1.40 per set. Tina Dimitrijevs, a 6-foot senior middle, is a dangerous attacker who hits at a .386 clip and is averaging more than 3.00 kills per set. Senior setter Morgan Kuhn is fourth in the league with 10.74 assists per set. Head Coach Ron Arenz is 52-83 in five seasons at the helm and has a career mark of 86-112 in seven years as a head coach.

ABOUT BUFFALO
Buffalo is 6-8 on the season and opened the year with losses at Toledo and at Akron. The Bulls rank last in the MAC with a .171 attack percentage but have made up for that with a league-leading 1.45 aces per set to go with 2.28 blocks per set, second best in the conference. Dani Reinert, a 5-foot-11 junior setter, is second in the conference (behind BGSU's Paige Penrod) with 0.42 aces per set and 6-1 freshman middle blocker Akeila Lain leads the MAC with 1.29 blocks per set. Todd Kress is in his fourth season as head coach of the Bulls with a record of 51-59. In 18 years as a head coach (also at Fairfield, Northern Illinois, and Florida State), he is 306-218.

FOLLOWING THE FALCONS
If you can't be at the games this weekend, there are a variety of ways to follow the action. Live stats will be available for both matches via links on BGSUFalcons.com. As well, fans can keep up with the action on Twitter by following @BGAthletics and @jknavel.

TURN THE DIAL
The Bowling Green Radio Sports Organization (BGRSO) will provide a radio broadcast of all BGSU volleyball home matches this season, which will also be available on the web via live streaming. Follow links at BGSUFalcons.com to listen on the web.

ON THE TUBE
Two of BGSU's volleyball matches this year have been televised regionally. The Buckeye Cable Sports Network (BCSN), broadcasting to the greater Toledo area, televised the team's Brown and Orange scrimmage as well as the BGSU's home match against Kent State on Sept. 22.

LEADERS OF THE MAC
At 2-0 in conference play, Bowling Green is one of only two unbeaten teams remaining in the MAC (along with Ball State). The Falcons are 2-0 for the first time since 2007 and swept their first two league matches for the first time since 2006 (three-set sweeps of Toledo and Ball State). That 2006 team started league play 10-0. BGSU leads Ohio, Kent State and Akron by one game in the East Division standings.

HOGGING THE HARDWARE
In the past two weeks, BGSU has had three student-athletes earn Mid-American Conference Player of the Week honors. Paige Penrod was named MAC East Division Offensive Player of the Week on Sept. 17 and then the Falcons swept the awards this past week. Lindsey Butterfield was named MAC East Offensive Player of the Week and Leah Shaw was named MAC East Defensive Player of the Week. For Penrod, it was the third time she has earned MAC Player of the Week honors, but for Butterfield and Shaw, it was their first such awards. Along with those three, Danielle Tonyan, Ashley Dunn and Kari Galen also have been named MAC Player of the Week at least one time in their careers.

NEW COACHING STAFF
For the first time in 30 years, the BGSU volleyball team has a new head coach. Three-time Sun Belt Conference Coach of the Year Danijela Tomic takes over leadership of the program after 29-year head coach Denise Van De Walle retired following the 2011 season. Tomic spent seven years as the head coach at FIU, racking up a career record of 158-61. Assistant coaches Tucker Short and Jessica Hohl are also new to the program, as is Coordinator of Operations Lindsay Laurent.

HITTING ON ALL CYLINDERS
Junior outside hitter Paige Penrod and junior setter Laura Avila have been playing at an extraordinary level lately. Penrod is averaging 4.95 kills per set over the past six matches, posting double-digit kill totals in all of those contests. During the same stretch, Avila is averaging 12.1 assists per set and has had at least 50 three times. Prior to these past six matches, Avila had only handed out 50 assists in a match one time in her career.

SHE'S ON A ROLL
Junior outside hitter Lindsey Butterfield was a key part of the Falcons' 2-0 start in league play. She had 21 kills over the weekend with just three attack errors, posting a team-best .364 attack percentage. Butterfield has bounced back from a difficult sophomore season to reach double-digit kill totals in six of the past 10 matches.

BEST IN THE MAC
Junior Paige Penrod leads the MAC in two of the six statistical categories the league tracks. Her 4.13 kills per set make her the only player in the league to be averaging more than 4.00. She also leads the conference with 0.43 aces per set, just ahead of Buffalo's Dani Reinert, who is at 0.42.

CAN YOU DIG IT?
In the team's first three matches, BGSU had 28 fewer digs than its opponents, but the Falcons have worked hard to improve in that area and it has paid off. The Falcons have outdug eight of their 10 opponents since that time, posting a total of 51 more than their opponents. In two league games, BGSU had 22 more digs than Ohio and Kent State.

HOME COURT ADVANTAGE
BGSU is 2-0 inside the Stroh Center in 2012 and the Falcons have the second-best home attendance in the league at 812 (only Ohio is better). Of 328 NCAA Division I programs, BGSU ranks 58th nationally in average home attendance. A year ago, BGSU stunned Michigan State in four sets in the Stroh Center behind a program-record crowd of 2,961.

STACKING UP THE MAC
The list below shows where BGSU ranks as a team and individuals among the MAC leaders in various statistical categories. Team or individual stats that rank first in the MAC are bolded and italicized:

OVERALL STAT LEADERS
TEAM STATS (Rank out of 12 MAC team)
Hitting Percentage – 7. BGSU .200
Opponent Hitting Percentage – 11. BGSU .222
Assists – 5. BGSU 12.36
Kills – 5. BGSU 13.62
Blocks – 4. BGSU 2.02
Service Aces – 3. BGSU 1.34
Digs – 7. BGSU 14.51

INDIVIDUAL STATS (Top 10 rankings)
Hitting Percentage – 6. Leah Shaw .304
Kills – 1. Paige Penrod 4.13; 7. Danielle Tonyan 3.34
Assists – 5. Laura Avila 10.53
Service Aces – 1. Paige Penrod 0.43

MAC MATCHES ONLY STAT LEADERS
TEAM STATS (Rank out of 12 MAC team)
Hitting Percentage – 2. BGSU .240
Opponent Hitting Percentage – 1. BGSU .115
Assists – 2. BGSU 14.67
Kills – 1. BGSU 15.83
Blocks – 3. BGSU 2.67
Service Aces – 1. BGSU 1.83
Digs – 4. BGSU 18.17

INDIVIDUAL STATS (Top 10 rankings)
Hitting Percentage – 3. Lindsey Butterfield .360
Kills – 4. Paige Penrod 4.17; 8. Lindsey Butterfield 3.50
Assists – 3. Laura Avila 12.00
Service Aces – T2. Cassie Berning 0.50, T2. Ashley Dunn 0.50, 10. Leah Shaw 0.33
Blocks – 2. Leah Shaw 1.50
Digs – 5. Ashley Dunn 4.67

NATIONAL RANKINGS
Much like the MAC leaders, Paige Penrod ranks among the top 50 in the country in three statistical categories – kills, points, and aces. Listed below is how BG ranks nationally as a team and individually

TEAM STATS (Rank out of 328 NCAA Division I teams)
Service Aces – 105. Bowling Green 1.34
Assists – 101. Bowling Green 12.36
Blocks – 151. Bowling Green 2.02
Digs – 173. Bowling Green 14.51
Hitting Percentage – 154. Bowling Green .200
Kills – 68. Bowling Green 13.62

INDIVIDUAL STATS (Top 250 Nationally)
Aces – 49. Paige Penrod 0.43
Assists – 63. Laura Avila 10.53
Digs – 226. Ashley Dunn 3.72
Hitting Percentage – 222. Leah Shaw .304
Kills – 36. Paige Penrod 4.13; 177. Danielle Tonyan 3.34
Points – 33. Paige Penrod 4.78; 181. Danielle Tonyan 3.82

DUNN IS DIGGING IT
Ashley Dunn has already put her name in the BGSU record book a couple of times. As a freshman, she posted 457 digs, eighth most in program history. She followed that up with 450 a year ago, tenth most. She went over 1,000 career digs earlier this year and needs only 42 more to tie Jo Lynn Williamson for the top 10 in a career at BGSU.

PENROD PACES
While it is just midway through the season, Paige Penrod has an opportunity to break into the top 10 in a single-season in a handful of statistical categories. Her 4.13 kills per set would rank 10th all-time and her 1,210 attack attempts would-be sixth-most in a single season at BGSU.

CHARTING THEIR CAREERS
Junior setter Laura Avila moved into 10th place in career assists at BGSU two weeks ago and became just the 10th player in program history with 2,000 career assists in the win over Ohio. She needs 555 more to tie Wendy Watkins (1994-97) for ninth place on the leaderboard. Paige Penrod is on pace to move into the top 10 in two career statistical categories by the end of her junior year. She needs 377 more attack attempts to tie Kendra Halm for tenth place and 21 more aces to tie Wendy Watkins for tenth. Ashley Dunn is 42 digs away from Jo Lynn Williamson to move into the top 10 all-time at BGSU.

THE DYNAMIC DUO
Bowling Green has one of the most talented attacking duos in the Mid-American Conference in juniors Paige Penrod and Danielle Tonyan. The pair is the only set of teammates in the MAC to both rank in the top seven in the league in kills (Penrod is first and Tonyan is sixth) and they were the only set of teammates to both rank in the top 10 a year ago. Both have recorded more than 300 kills in each of their first two years and are on pace to reach that total again this year. Only one player in program history, Corey Domek, reached 300 kills in all four years of a career.

DOUBLE-DOUBLES
Five active players have recorded at least one double-double in their career (posting at least 10 kills, digs, assists, blocks, or aces in a match in two of those categories). Paige Penrod has a team-high 22 career double-doubles after posting six so far this year. Laura Avila follows with 16 (also six this year) and Erica Fullenkamp has five. Danielle Tonyan has both of her career double-doubles this year and Ashley Dunn has one. Penrod's 22 career double-doubles are the most since Chrissy Gothke had 38 from 2003-06.

Double-Doubles In 2012
8/24/12 at Marquette – Danielle Tonyan 12 kills, 10 digs
8/25/12 vs. Northwestern – Danielle Tonyan 19 kills, 10 digs
8/25/12 vs. Northwestern – Paige Penrod 13 kills, 11 digs
9/1/12 at Indiana – Paige Penrod 26 kills, 10 digs
9/1/12 at Indiana – Laura Avila 44 assists, 10 digs
9/7/12 vs. Portland State – Laura Avila 49 assists, 11 digs
9/8/12 at BYU – Paige Penrod 11 kills, 13 digs
9/8/12 vs. Utah – Paige Penrod 30 kills, 19 digs
9/8/12 vs. Utah – Laura Avila 64 assists, 14 digs
9/14/12 vs. UAB – Paige Penrod 19 kills, 12 digs
9/14/12 vs. UAB – Laura Avila 60 assists, 10 digs
9/14/12 vs. Jacksonville State – Laura Avila 50 assists, 15 digs
9/21/12 vs. Ohio – Paige Penrod 14 kills, 13 digs
9/21/12 vs. Ohio – Laura Avila 37 assists, 11 digs

20 KILLS OR 20 DIGS
Danielle Tonyan and Paige Penrod have each recorded 20 kills in a match eight times in their career. Against Jacksonville State, Tonyan and Penrod both recorded 20 kills, marking the third time in their careers that they have done it in the same match. Penrod has reached 20 or more kills three times this year. Those eight career 20-kill matches, Tonyan and Penrod have the most since Corey Domek had nine from 2006-09. Ashley Dunn posted seven 20-dig matches as a freshman, three more as a sophomore, and has two more this year for a career total of 12. Her career total is the most since Chelsey Meek had 44 career matches with at least 20 digs from 2005-08. Cassie Berning posted the first 20-dig match of her career against UAB this weekend.

20-Dig Matches In 2012
8/25/12 vs. Northwestern – Ashley Dunn 23 digs
9/1/12 at Indiana – Ashley Dunn 20 digs
9/14/12 vs. UAB – Cassie Berning 22 digs

20-Kill Matches In 2012
9/1/12 at Indiana – Paige Penrod 26 kills
9/8/12 vs. Utah – Paige Penrod 30 kills
9/14/12 vs. Jacksonville State – Paige Penrod 21 kills
9/14/12 vs. Jacksonville State – Danielle Tonyan 20 kills

ALL-TOURNAMENT HONORS
Four different BGSU players earned all-tournament honors at one of the four pre-conference tournament this year. Paige Penrod earned the honor twice (making five in her career), being named to the team at the last two tournaments, the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge and the BYU Nike Invitational. Laura Avila was also named all-tournament at the Purdue Active Ankle Challenge (the second of her career), while Kaitlyn Skinner earned her first career all-tournament honor at the Indiana Invitational. Danielle Tonyan opened the year by being named to the Marquette Challenge All-Tournament team, the third all-tournament honor she has earned in her three years at BGSU.

PRESEASON PICKS
BGSU was picked to finish third in the Mid-American Conference East Division, by vote of the league's 12 head coaches in the MAC Preseason Poll. The Falcons trailed just Ohio and Miami in the poll, and ranked ahead of Buffalo, Kent State, and Akron. Western Michigan was picked to win the West and the Broncos were also selected as the overall regular season champions and the tournament champions.

TONYAN NAMED PRESEASON ALL-MAC
Junior right side hitter Danielle Tonyan was named East Division Preseason All-MAC, in voting by the league's 12 head coaches. Tonyan is coming off of a sophomore year in which she was named first team All-MAC and ranked third in the league in kills. She finished the year among the top 100 nationally in both kills and points. She joined Ohio's Chelsea Bilger, Lexie Hartnett and Kelly Lamberti, Buffalo's Liz Scott and Miami's Madison Hardy on the team. The West Division Preseason All-MAC team consisted of Western Michigan's Jessica Brown and Terin Norris, Ball State's Kara Bates, Central Michigan's Kaitlyn McIntyre, Eastern Michigan's Rachel Iaquaniello, and Northern Illinois' Mary Kurisch.

OLD SCHOOL
For the past few years, we've talked about how young the BGSU volleyball team is, but that's not the case anymore. Eleven of the 13 team members are either juniors or seniors (four seniors and seven juniors). That total is more than any other in the Mid-American Conference. Akron, Ball State, and Northern Illinois all have nine juniors and seniors. On the other end of the spectrum, Kent State has just three and Western Michigan has four.

TRANSFER OF POWER
The lone newcomer on the BGSU volleyball team is sophomore transfer Kelsey Bates. Bates, who hails from Willshire, Ohio, spent her freshman season at Syracuse before returning to her home state for this season.

MOST IMPROVED
With an 11-win increase over a year ago, Bowling Green was easily the most improved team in the Mid-American Conference a year ago. The Falcons improved from 8-24 in 2010 to 19-12 in 2011. The second most improved team in the conference was Central Michigan, which had a five-win increase.

MAC ATTACK
Danielle Tonyan was named first team All-MAC as a sophomore in 2011, becoming the first player to earn that honor since Shari Luther in 2009. Kendra Halm, in 2006, was the last BGSU sophomore to be named first-team All-MAC and she went on to earn first team honors again as both a junior and senior.

HITTING THE BOOKS
Bowling Green has always stressed academics and Falcon volleyball has been a model of that philosophy. The 2011 BGSU volleyball team received the AVCA Academic Team Award for the 12th consecutive season, compiling a cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or better. The Falcons have the second longest streak in all of NCAA Division I and has received the award 13 times overall. Two BGSU players, Laura Avila and Kari Galen, were named Academic All-MAC a year ago, while Lindsey Butterfield, Libby Dachenhaus, Ashley Dunn, and the graduated Emily Kauth were named honorable mention.

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