Stories Courtesy of MAC Media Relations Offices

Ohio 3, Bowling Green 0
Bowling Green, Ohio - The Bowling Green volleyball team completed its regular season Saturday evening, losing to Mid-American Conference regular season champion Ohio in three sets on Senior Day 25-19, 26-24, 25-21.

The Falcons honored their three seniors after the match in Corey Domek, Shari Luther, and Kaitlin Jackson. But during the match, Ohio hit .337 and held Bowling Green to just a .179 attack percentage. Domek led the team with 11 kills and Jackson added nine, followed by Luther with six.

Bowling Green took an early 6-5 lead in the first set but Ohio scored the next three points and never trailed again. The Bobcats built a five-point lead at 14-9 but Bowling Green rallied to get within two points on numerous occasions, including at 21-19. Ohio, though, answered with blocks on three consecutive points and won the set 25-19.

The Falcons were much more aggressive in the second set, turning a 15-11 deficit into a 23-21 lead and forcing Ohio to burn a timeout. Coming out of the break, the Bobcats struck again at the net, picking up a key block and kill to tie the score. Ohio had a set point at 24-23 before a service error tied the score, but the Bobcats executed with a 25-24 lead, getting a Mandy Nichols kill for the set.

In the third set, neither team was able to get a lead larger than two points until Ohio scored two in a row to go on top 21-18. Lauren Mizgalski and Jackson had back-to-back kills to make it 21-20 but Ohio answered with two straight points and finished off the match with kills by Nichols and Faith Robins.

Ohio finishes the regular season with a record of 23-5 overall and 15-1 in MAC play. Bowling Green ends the regular season at 12-19 overall and 5-11 in the MAC. The Falcons will go on the road for the first round of the MAC Tournament Tuesday against an opponent yet to be determined. Keep following BGSUFalcons.com for the latest news regarding Bowling Green's opponent in the MAC Tournament.

Kent State 3, Miami 0
OXFORD, Ohio - An off-hitting night proved to be too much for the Miami University volleyball team to overcome, as the Kent State Golden Flashes defeated the RedHawks, 3-0 (31-29, 26-24, 25-16), Saturday night in the regular-season finale for both teams at Millett Hall on Miami's Senior Night. Despite being swept over the weekend, Miami (16-12, 11-5 Mid-American Conference) earned the No. 3 seed in the upcoming MAC Tournament, which gives the RedHawks a first-round bye.

The win was Kent State's (14-15, 7-8 MAC) first over Miami since 2005, as the RedHawks had won the last eight meetings with the Golden Flashes, including a 3-1 win in Kent earlier this season.

Miami hit just .140 for the match while KSU swung at a .262 clip, led by Arjola Prenga's double-double of 19 kills (a game high) and 11 digs. The Flashes also recorded 26 block assists and a block solo, compared to the RedHawks' six block assists and two block solos.

Senior Hallie Hanks paced Miami with nine kills on team-high .238 hitting, while freshman libero Lisa Treadway had a team-high 13 digs. Junior Michele Metzler added seven kills, six digs, two block assists and a block solo for Miami. KSU setter Jenny Keck had a triple-double with 41 assists, 13 digs and 10 blocks.

The 'Hawks earned the first two points of the match on a Hanks kill and a KSU error and raced to a 7-3 edge early. Miami stretched the lead to as much as five three times, the last time being 15-10 on a Kent State service error. The Flashes evened the match at 16 all, however, with a 6-1 run powered by a pair of kills from Prenga, who finished with nine kills in the opening set. The teams traded points until a put-down from senior Maria Leahy gave Miami set point at 24-23. Another Prenga kill kept the set going though and eventually kills by Meredith Paskert and Prenga closed out the set for KSU, 31-29, despite the RedHawks fighting off five set points.

The second set was another tight set that featured 12 ties and five lead changes with neither side leading by more than two until the Flashes grabbed a 16-13 edge on a Miami attack error. The 'Hawks fought back to even the frame at 18 on an ace by Metzler. The RedHawks then grabbed a two-point cushion at 21-19 thanks to a pair of attack errors by Paskert and earned a set point at 24-23 on a service error, but KSU closed out the set with three straight points, including a pair of kills by Prenga sandwiched around a Miami error for the 26-24 decision.

The RedHawks couldn't seem to find a rhythm in the third and final set, as they hit -.083 in the frame while the Flashes hit .162 and also had five blocks and a pair of service aces. Miami's only lead in the set came at 3-2 on a kill by sophomore Jenn Caylor, but five straight points from Kent State put them on top 7-3. The KSU advantage ballooned to 12-6 on a Miami attack error but three Flashes attack errors allowed the RedHawks to close within two at 13-11, forcing a KSU timeout. Miami would get no closer, however, as Kent State finished out the match on a 12-5 spurt to win the final set 25-16 with Kathy Krupa's kill ending the match.

The contest was the final home match for Miami seniors Hanks, Leahy, who had seven kills and nine digs, Andrea Atteberry, who handed out 37 assists, and Megan Griffin, who is now just 13 kills shy of 1,000 for her career after six in her final match at Millet Hall.
With the third seed, the RedHawks earn a first-round bye and will open MAC Tournament play Friday, Nov. 20 in the quarterfinals in Toledo, Ohio.

Toledo 3, Buffalo 1
BUFFALO, NY - The University at Buffalo volleyball team fell in its final regular season match on Saturday night, as it lost to Toledo, 3-1, at Alumni Arena. The Bulls finish the regular season at 15-15 and 5-11 in the MAC as they head into the Mid-American Conference Tournament.

The Rockets took the match 25-20, 25-16, 19-25, 25-18 as they hit .207, opposed to UB's .128. The Bulls got down early in multiple sets and although they were able to fight back in each set, the Bulls ran out of energy in forcing a comeback.

"I thought we gave a better effort tonight than we had the past few matches, but when you can't match that with execution, you are still going to fall short," said head coach Todd Kress. "I am disappointed for our seniors, but at the same time we have to get right back to work because everyone starts the MAC Tournament with a clean slate. No matter who we play, we will be ready come Tuesday."

The Bulls were led by 12 kills from senior Dani Silvers, who was one of four seniors playing in her final match at Alumni Arena. Junior Kristin Bignell added 10 kills and seven total blocks, while junior Marisa Hornbaker added eight kills and just one error on 32 attempts, while also recording three service aces. Junior Lindsey Schlegel had three kills, 36 assists and nine digs, while freshman Tori Beckman had 20 digs on the night, putting her over 500 digs on the season. Sophomore Abby Niekamp had seven total blocks on the night.
Toledo had three players in double figures in kills, led by 12 from Sarah Wilson and 10 from Amber DeWeerdt and 10 from Liz Sundburg. Kassie Kadera had 45 assists, while Katie Westerfeld added 20 digs.

Prior to the match, UB honored it senior class of Silvers, Maria Mezzadri, Lauren Fensten and Ellen Robertson.

The Bulls will now hit the road for the 2009 Mid-American Conference Tournament. The Bulls are still waiting to see where they will travel for a first round match on Tuesday night.

Western Michigan 3, Eastern Michigan 2
YPSILANTI, Mich. (EMUEagles.com) - The Eastern Michigan University volleyball team fell behind early and nearly rallied to claim the match after trailing 2-0, but Western Michigan University was able to pull out the 3-2 decision in the regular season finale Saturday, Nov. 14. The Broncos had an impressive early run winning 25-18 and 25-18, but the Eagles took the next two 25-19 and 25-23. An early WMU lead proved costly for the Eagles in the finale, as the Red Raiders took the victory with a 15-8 game five decision.

The Eagles will be the No. 12 seed in the upcoming 2009 MAC Tournament and will travel to No. 5 Central Michigan University for a first-round showdown Tuesday evening, Nov. 17. First serve will be at 7 p.m. inside the Rose Center in Mount Pleasant, Mich.. Tuesday's showdown will mark the second time the Eagles and Chippewas have squared off in the postseason tournament. EMU won the only other meeting, a 3-0 sweep in the opening round of the 2004 MAC Tournament at the Convocation Center, Nov. 16.

The match marked the final time seniors Victoria Randolph (Cincinnati, Ohio-Mount Notre Dame) and Kim Jarzynka (Pittsburgh, Pa.-Baldwin) would take to the Convocation Center floor. Both had solid evenings, with Randolph leading as she surpassed 900 career kills in her career as she finished with 15 put-a-ways to go along with her 14 digs. Jarzynka also notched six digs off the bench. Sophomore Ashley Mason (Eastlake, Ohio-Lake Catholic) led the team with 42 assists and 20 digs as well.

Western Michigan's Michelle Moore had 20 kills and 13 digs and Jessica Brown added 19 kills and hit .300. Caitlin Strimel added a match-high 33 digs for the Broncos, while Jillian Mitchell added a season-high 60 assists. Katie Eberling added 16 kills and 20 digs for the Broncos (21-10, 13-3 MAC) against the Eagles (5-27, 4-12 MAC).

WMU hit .200 with 14 kills and seven errors, while EMU countered with five blocks and hit .405 with 18 kills and three errors. Eberling had nine kills for WMU in the fourth frame.

Overall, WMU hit .250 with 73 kills, 26 errors, 101 digs, 10 blocks and four aces, while EMU hit .201 with 55 kills, 17 errors, 78 digs, 10 blocks and two aces.

Central Michigan 3, Northern Illinois 0
MOUNT PLEASANT -- Alexis Lonneman broke the Central Michigan volleyball career digs record en route to helping the Chippewas sweep the Northern Illinois Huskies in Mid-American Conference action at Rose Center on Saturday.

Lonneman's eight digs in the first set not only pushed her past Ali McCrite's career total of 1,996, but also allowed her to become the first player in CMU history to tally 2,000 career digs. She finished with 27 in the match.

"Setting a school record is one thing, but to surpass the 2,000 dig barrier is tremendous," head coach Erik Olson said. "What makes Alexis special though is her focus today was on getting the job done for the team and getting a win. It was neat though to have her reach the mark on senior night at home."

The victory snapped a three-match losing skid and ended the MAC season on a high note after a tough loss in five sets to Western Michigan on Friday.

"Winning on senior night is always great. We had awesome crowds all weekend, and our three seniors played some of their best volleyball of the season this weekend," Olson said. "We should be able to surge with the confidence we've gained this weekend and carry that into next week."

Junior Lauren Krupsky finished with 17 kills and senior Kaitlyn Hurt added 11. Sophomore Kaitlyn Schultz hit .471 and finished with nine kills.

Senior Stephanie Budde guided the CMU offense with 44 assists and added six digs and three blocks. Hurt led all players with four stuffs. Lonneman's 27 digs were a match high. Junior Lisa Johnson added 11.

The Chippewas' offense got hot early, hitting .297 in the first set to claim a 25-17 victory.

CMU won the second set with stout defense, holding NIU to just a .075 hitting percentage to take a 2-0 lead.

The third set would also go to extras, with the Chippewas claiming victory on back-to-back kills by Hurt and Krupsky, 27-25.

The Chippewas hit .243 in the match while holding the Huskies to .138. Each team finished with seven blocks and CMU edged NIU in digs, 62-59.

"Tonight was hard fought, but we managed to surpass our averages in nearly every category. You can't play average volleyball this time of year if you're going to win. NIU pushed us and made us earn everything tonight," Olson said. "Last night was tough on this team, but we made a great decision to leave that behind and play hard today and it paid off."

The win creates a three-way tie between CMU, NIU and Toledo at 8-8 for the No. 4-6 seeds. Official word has yet to be handed down from the MAC office, but it's believed the Chippewas will miss out on the first round bye and host a first round MAC Tournament match on Tuesday, Nov. 17.

"It's a quick turnaround for everyone, but it's a huge advantage to get the first round game at home," Olson said. "We'll prepare as best we can, and we'll get ready to battle on Tuesday."

Check back with cmuchippewas.com for more information as it is released throughout the night.

Ball State 3. Akron 2
AKRON, Ohio - - In a hard-fought match on both sides, the Ball State women's volleyball team secured the No. 8 seed and a first round home match in the 2009 Mid-American Conference Tournament with a 3-2 (25-21, 20-25, 25-14, 23-25, 15-9) victory over Akron Saturday night at James A. Rhodes Arena.

With the victory, the Cardinals finish the regular season with a 14-15 overall record, including a 7-9 mark in league play. Akron ends the regular season with 14-17 (5-11 MAC) record.

The Cardinals will host a yet-to-be determined opponent in MAC Tournament first round play Tuesday at 7 p.m. in Worthen Arena.
Ball State was able to spread out its offensive attack on the night, with five players smashing double-figure kills. Kelsey Brandl (Lakeville, Minn./Lakeville North H.S.) paced the Cardinals with 16 markers, while hitting .536 (16-1-28) in the contest. She also added five digs and five blocks.

Hannah Sullivan (New Albany, Ind./New Albany H.S.) added 14 kills and a .265 (14-1-49) attack percentage, while Charde' Phillips (Elyria, Ohio/Elyria H.S.) and Jennifer Boyd (Evans City, Pa./Seneca Valley H.S.) scored 11 kills each. Alisha Green (Country Club Hills, Ill./Hillcrest H.S.) rounded out BSU's double-digit kill scorers with 10, including the match winner.

As a team, the Cardinals finished the night with a .262 (65-17-183) attack percentage, as setter Brittany McGinnis (Fraser, Mich./Fraser H.S.) led BSU to above .400 marks in each set they won.

On the defensive side Alyssa Rio (Wayne, Ill./St. Francis H.S.) paced the Cardinals with 26 digs, while Kaylee Schembra (Indianapolis, Ind./Roncalli H.S.) posted 21. Sullivan added 18 for her second double-double of the season, while McGinnis tallied 11 for her fifth double-double on the year.

Akron's Brionna Patterson paced all players with 20 kills in the contest, while Jackie Goleman added 14 and Liz Martin tallied 10. Chelsea Harvey earned a match-high 34 digs for the Zips, while both Megan Rodriguez and Courtney Jarvis added 14.

As a team, Akron finished the match with a .189 (65-28-196) attacking percentage.

The opening set saw the teams battle to an 11-11 deadlock before a BSU error and a kill from Jarvis gave the hosts a 13-11 edge. The Cardinals answered with a kill from Boyd and a Schembra service ace to tie the set once again at 13.

With the score knotted at 14, an ace from Rio sparked a 4-0 run to give the Cardinals an 18-14 advantage. Moments later a kill from Brandl gave Ball State a five-point lead at 20-15. The Cardinals would win the set 25-21 on a kill from Phillips.

Three early kills from Goleman would help the Zips pound out the first five points in the second frame and force an early Ball State timeout. BSU cut the gap to three at 6-3 on a block assist from Brandl and Sullivan, but Akron pushed the lead back to five at 9-4 with a block of their own.

From there, the hosts built a nine-point advantage at 16-7 off another Goleman kill. Back-to-back kill from Boyd helped the Cardinals cut the lead to six at 17-11, while a Phillips and Green block assist got the Cardinals within five at 21-16.

Akron would reach set point at 24-18 after a BSU error. Boyd kept the Cardinals alive on the next two plays, with a kill and block, but it was not enough as Akron's Goleman used the BSU block to score the frame-winning kill at 25-20.

After scoring just six kills in the entire second set, the Cardinals came out firing in the third frame, as two kills from both Phillips and Boyd plus a Sullivan marker helped BSU establish a 5-1 edge. With the lead still at four, kills from Rio and Brandl led to a Zips timeout at 11-5.

The Cardinals added the first three points after the break to extend their lead to nine at 14-5. Later, three straight markers from Green and an Akron attack error led to the hosts' second timeout at 18-6. While Akron was able to battle back within eight, at 22-14, the Cardinals scored the final three points to win the set 25-14 on a Brandl kill.

Akron came out strong once again in the fourth set, pulling ahead 4-1 early after a Patterson kill. The Zips continued to lead by four at 12-8, only to see the Cardinals rally off the next four points thanks in part to an ace from Rio and a Sullivan kill. A few plays later, an Akron attacking error gave BSU its first lead of the set at 14-13.

Following three straight Akron points, BSU called its first timeout trailing 16-14. From there, the teams battled to a 19-19 stalemate. The Zips would regain their two-point lead at 21-19 after a kill from Liz Martin and a BSU error, only to see kills from Boyd, Sullivan and Phillips push the score to 22-21 in favor of the Cardinals.

Ball State extended its lead to a pair of points following a Zips' timeout and error. However, Akron's Jarvis blasted back-to-back slams to tie the score at 23. Following a Ball State timeout, the Zips used kills from Goleman and Jarvis to win the set 25-23 and force a deciding fifth frame.

Despite a kill from Boyd giving the Cardinals the first point of the fifth set, a 4-0 run from Akron led to a Ball State minute break at 4-1. BSU responded with a 4-0 run of its own, using a pair of kills from Sullivan, a Green marker and an Akron error to force a Zips' timeout at 5-4.

After Akron tied the set on a kill from Jarvis, a McGinnis dump and back-to-back Sullivan kills lead to an 8-5 BSU lead at the side switch. Three plays later, Akron used its second timeout as a kill from Brandl and a Sullivan solo block pushed Ball State's advantage to 10-6.

The Cardinals extended their lead to six points, at 13-7, after a pair of Akron errors, while reaching match point at 14-8 after a Brandl kill. Following a block from the Zips, Ball State secured the No. 8 seed and home court advantage in the first round of the 2009 MAC Tournament as a swing from Green hit the floor.