Offensive Freshmen:
For the first time in BGSU history, two freshmen passed the 300 kill plateau in the same year. Paige Penrod (Circleville, Ohio) set the BG record for most kills by a freshman with 405 kills. She broke the record held by Susie Norris (360) since the fall of 2000. Danielle Tonyan (McHenry, Illinois) became just the 5th Falcon ever to get 300 kills as a freshman. They are in pretty good company…see the top ten best totals for a season below:
KILLS IN A SEASON:
Paige Penrod 2010 405
Susie Norris 2000 360
Lori Kemerer 1996 336
Corey Domek 2006 313
Danielle Tonyan 2010 301
Heather Murphy 1996 274
Maggie Karges 2004 252
Kendra Halm 2005 250
Meghan Mohr 2005 231
Stephanie Swiger 2004 225
Penrod and Tonyan’s 706 kills rank as the highest total by two freshmen in BGSU history and account for a little over 51% of the team’s total kills this fall. Another freshman, Lindsey Butterfield (Springfield, Ohio), finished 4th on the team with 146 kills. All totaled, the freshmen class knocked down 880 of BG’s 1380 kills.
Defensive Freshmen:
Bowling Green, Ohio native Chelsey Meek is the All-Time dig leader in BGSU history. It seemed like she was setting records every time she stepped on the court. Now, it seems another Bowling Green, Ohio native is filling Meek’s shoes pretty well. Ashley Dunn’s 457 digs this season is the 4th best total by a freshman, the 8th best seasonal total ever, and only one dig less than Chelsey Meek in her freshman campaign. Dunn’s 4.27 digs-per-set average ranks as the 5th best mark in BG history and the second most by a freshman. She finished the year just ahead of Meek’s 4.13 digs-per-set freshman performance. She is in pretty good company as well…check out the top ten season totals below:
DIGS IN A SEASON:
Chelsey Meek 2008 663
Chelsey Meek 2007 629
Chelsey Meek 2006 537
Chrissy Gothke 2003 497
Susie Norris 2003 467
Susie Norris 2000 462
Chelsey Meek 2005 458
Ashley Dunn 2010 457
Holli Costein 1992 455
Alex Zlabis 2009 447
DIGS PER SET:
Chelsey Meek 2007 5.62
Chelsey Meek 2006 5.21
Chelsey Meek 2008 4.98
Susie Norris 2000 4.28
Ashley Dunn 2010 4.27
Chelsey Meek 2005 4.13
Chrissy Gothke 2003 4.11
Alex Zlabis 2009 4.06
Jo Lynn Williamson 1987 3.80
Susie Norris 2003 3.80
A HELPING HAND:
I have already mentioned four freshmen who played major roles this past season (Penrod, Tonyan, Butterfield, and Dunn) but there is a fifth freshman who should be mentioned as well. Laura Avila (Yorktown, Indiana) led the team in assists this fall with 796. With the contributions our freshmen made this fall, we know that the future is very bright for BGSU Volleyball!
*** Pictured above in order from top to bottom are Penrod, Tonyan, Butterfield, Dunn, and Avila.
Thanksgiving is one of my favorite holidays of the year because I get to enjoy a big homemade meal cooked by my mother, as well as get to see and be with my whole family and friends at home in California for the first time since July. Ever since I was a kid, one of my favorite Thanksgiving tradition was to put black olives on all of my fingers, and then eat them! I'm truly thankful for my healthy family and life that I have, especially to be living by the beach :)
