Bowling Green State University Athletics
Bowling Green State University
Ball State
Falcons Take Flight Against Two MAC West Foes
October 23, 2013 | Volleyball
BGSU travels to Ball State and Toledo this weekend
at Ball State Cardinals (19-4; 7-1 MAC) Live Stats | Live Audio | Live Video
at Toledo Rockets (12-10; 5-3 MAC) Live Stats | Live Audio
Complete Game Notes (.pdf)
Falcons Continue MAC Play On The Road
The Bowling Green State University volleyball team (10-10; 6-2 MAC) will hit the road for a pair of matches against MAC West Division foes this weekend. On Friday night, the Falcons will travel to Muncie, Ind. where they'll take on the MAC leaders in Ball State. Then, on Saturday night, the Orange and Brown will travel the short distance up I-75 to take on the Toledo Rockets.
Follow The Falcons This Weekend
Both games this weekend can be heard online, for free, at BGSUFalcons.com. Fans can also find links to the audio broadcast at falconradio.org. Live stats are available courtesy of each host school, and links can be found at BGSUFalcons.com. Friday's match will be broadcast by Ball State Sports Link on Comcast81 (statewide in Indiana), and will be available for free at BallStateSports.com.
Falcons Look To Take Over First Place
To say this weekend is a big one for Bowling Green volleyball would be an understatement. At 6-2 in the MAC, the Falcons are just one game out of first place. The Falcons will play first-place Ball State on Friday night. A win would bring the Falcons even with the Cardinals in the MAC standings, potentially setting up a three-way tie by weekend's end, between Bowling Green, Ohio, and Ball State.
A Look At Ball State
The Cardinals enter the weekend with the Mid-American Conference's top overall record, as Ball State is currently 19-4 overall and 7-1 in the MAC. Steve Shondell is in his fourth season at Ball State, after graduating from BSU in 1977. Shondell is 82-34 with the Cardinals, after spending 34 seasons at Burris Laboratory School. Alex Fuelling leads the Cardinals' attack, averaging 3.75 kills per set. She is also second on the team with 245 digs. Jacqui Seidel paces the BSU offense with 671 assists, averaging 8.71 per set. The Cardinals outblock their opponents, averaging 2.16 blocks per set as a team. Ball State's only MAC loss came to Bowling Green's Saturday opponent, as they lost to Toledo in four sets.
Read Up On The Rockets
Coached by Greg Smith, Toledo enters the weekend with a 12-10 record overall, including a 5-3 mark in the MAC. The Rockets have won five out of the last six MAC matches after starting 0-2. Lauren Radfal currently leads the Rockets, and MAC, in kills per set averaging 3.93. Setter Adria Pryor averages 10.42 assists per set, as she has racked up 865 this season. Dakota Harkins averages 1.07 blocks per set to pace the UT defense.
The Battle Of I-75
Bowling Green and Toledo resume the Battle of I75 this weekend, with two matchups between the pair of bitter archrivals. Saturday afternoon will feature a matchup of the Falcons and Rockets on the gridiron, while the two schools will also meet at 5:00 p.m. on the hardwood. Falcon volleyball has historically dominated the series, as they have won 51 of the 65 all-time matches. The Orange and Brown has won two straight against the Rockets.
Successful Senior Class Closes In On Career Marks
Several members of the senior class are quickly closing in on career records.
***Paige Penrod currently sits in the top 10 in three different categories. Penrod's 4,042 attack attempts rank first all-time in school history. She surpassed Carlyn Esslinger for first all-time with her 52 attempts at Miami on September 26. Penrod currently sits in 5th place in school-history with 1,452 career kills. She is just 9 shy of 3rd place, and 257 short of Tammy Schiller's all-time mark. Penrod is currently 9th all-time with 108 service aces. She is 17 shy of Corey Amos for 8th on the all-time list.
***Ashley Dunn currently sits in 2nd with 1,817 career digs. She is 470 digs shy of Chelsea Meek's all-time record.
***Danielle Tonyan is just shy of the top ten all-time for a couple of different statistical categories. Her 1,262 career kills are just 3 shy of Lori Kemerer's mark for 9th all-time, while her 3,088 attack attempts are 10th on the all-time list.
***Laura Avila currently ranks 4th all-time with 3,127 assists. She is 280 assists shy of moving into 3rd place in school history.
Butterfield Has CLASS
Senior Lindsey Butterfield is not only a star on the volleyball court, but one off of it, as well. A nominee for the Senior CLASS Award, Butterfield embodies what it means to be a student-athlete. Butterfield, who was named first team all-MAC last season, holds a 3.824 GPA in biology. Butterfield is currently first on the team in kills, with 244, and was named to the preseason all-MAC East team by the MAC's head coaches prior to the season. Butterfield ranks fifth in the MAC, averaging 3.56 kills per set in MAC play.
Skinner Is A Dual Threat At The Net
Kaitlyn Skinner has been a force at the net for the Falcons all season long, playing strong defense and picking and choosing when to use her offensive skills. A native of Ontario, Skinner currently leads the MAC during league play, averaging 1.78 blocks per set. Skinner is seventh in the NCAA, averaging 1.50 blocks per set for the season. Skinner has 110 blocks and 95 kills in the season.
Fullenkamp Finding Her Stride
Erica Fullenkamp, a junior setter from Minster, Ohio, has hit her stride since MAC play started. She is averaging 8.88 assists per set in eight league games, including 130 assists this past week in three matches. Fullenkamp also added seven kills during the week, including a career-high four blocks in a win over Central Michigan.
Dunn Keeps On Digging
Senior Ashley Dunn is making the most of her senior year, as the libero has turned in eight 20-dig matches this season to date. Six of those performances have come in the first eight matches of MAC play. Dunn posted 47 digs over the weekend. She is seventh in the conference in digs, averaging 5.00 per set.
Schedule Benefitting Falcons
The strength of schedule which Danijela Tomic put her team up against early in the season is paying off, as the Falcons are now battle-tested. The Falcons have played eight games against teams inside the RPI's top 50, including a win over No. 20 BYU. Bowling Green has won nine out of 12 games, and has an RPI of 70.
Sunjic Adjusting Nicely To Bowling Green
Freshman Jelena Sunjic, a native of Metkovic, Croatia, has adjusted nicely to the pace of American volleyball during her first season at Bowling Green. Sunjic is currently third on the team with 177 kills, averaging 2.68 kills per set. Sunjic posted 12 kills in each match over the weekend, and set a career-high with 19 kills in a match against Rice on September 21. She is also fourth on the team with 41 blocks on the year.
Falcons Fall In Rare Five-Set Loss To Eastern Michigan
Bowling Green dropped just their second match in Mid-American Conference play last Friday night, as Eastern Michigan came into the Stroh Center and downed the Falcons in five sets. It was the first five set loss for the Falcons under Danijela Tomic in a MAC match. EMU took the first set 25-9, as they dominated play early on. The Falcons took sets two and four, but EMU won set three so the match would go into five. In the fifth set, EMU was able to hold off the Falcons, winning 15-12 to take the match and drop the Falcons to 5-2 in Conference play.
Falcons Bounce Back With Convincing Win Over CMU
The BGSU volleyball team bounced back nicely on Saturday night, rolling to a four-set victory over Central Michigan. The Mid-American Conference match was played inside the Stroh Center in front of 693 fans clad in pink. Saturday's match was Bowling Green's annual "Dig Pink" match, aimed to raise awareness for breast cancer. The Falcons controlled the CMU attack all night, as they held one of the MAC's top hitters, Kaitlyn McIntyre, to just 14 kills in four sets. The Falcons won the first set 25-17 and the second set 25-19, but CMU would win the third set 25-23. In the fourth set the Orange and Brown dominated, as they rolled to a 25-10 victory.
Fullenkamp Named Female Athlete Of The Week
Erica Fullenkamp was named Pizza Hut Female Athlete of the Week by the Bowling Green State University athletics department on Monday afternoon. She posted 130 assists during the week, in which the Falcons went 2-1 to improve their MAC record to 6-2.
Maloney Plays Strong In The Middle
Freshman Alyssa Maloney has played well during her freshman year in the middle, giving the Falcons a boost when called upon by Danijela Tomic. On Friday night, when Maloney was inserted into the match against EMU after the first set (25-9 loss), she went on to post a career-high 10 kills.
In The Thick Of It
After starting the season 1-7 against one of the MAC's toughest non-conference schedules, the Falcons have rebounded nicely, starting MAC play 6-2. The Falcons are tied for first place in the East Division, at 6-2, with Ohio, while they trail Ball State by one game in the race for the MAC's top seed. The Orange and Brown hold their own fate, as they'll travel to Ball State on Friday night, and host Ohio at home in just a few short weeks.
