Thursday, April 21, 2011

AN ERA ENDS AFTER 2011.

Below is the release on Coach Van De Walle's retirement. What a great career at BGSU! Let's make her last season her best ever!

Bowling Green, Ohio – Bowling Green State University volleyball coach Denise Van De Walle has announced that she will retire from coaching following the 2011 season. Van De Walle is the winningest coach in Mid-American Conference history with a mark of 508-366 in 28 seasons at Bowling Green.

“The time is right for this change,” Van De Walle said. “I have been blessed beyond words to have spent my entire 28-year Division I head coaching career at one place. Very few coaches get the opportunity to spend their entire career with one school.”

A four-time MAC Coach of the Year, Van De Walle’s teams have posted 13 20-win seasons and a 30-win campaign in 1992. She was honored as the top coach in the league in 1986, 1987, 1989, and 1992.

Van De Walle was named the head coach of BGSU volleyball on June 30, 1983 and has the longest tenure of any current head coach at the University. She has experience coaching at the high school, college, national, and international levels.

“There have been many, many people who have made my time here so special,” Van De Walle said. “I have so many amazing memories of current and former BG coaches and of course, the current and former players who I’ve had the privilege to coach and continue to keep me involved in their lives. I will always be indebted to my first Athletics Director, Jack Gregory, who took a chance on a young, naïve coach and gave me an incredible opportunity to build a championship program. Also, our Falcon fans have made me and our team feel loved throughout the years. The Lord has truly blessed me here. I am very proud of what we’ve accomplished.”

The program’s most successful stretch came from 1989-93 when the team had five consecutive 20-win seasons, won three MAC regular season crowns and was runner-up once. The 1989 team won the program’s first conference title, snapping Western Michigan’s 98-match league winning streak and seven-year reign as league champions. The squad finished a perfect 8-0 in league play, the only undefeated MAC season in program history.

The 1991 team made the program’s first NCAA appearance and the Falcons finished the year ranked No. 19 in the country. The 1992 team then set a school record for victories in a season by going 30-8 and the Falcons capped a spectacular season with a runner-up finish at the National Invitational Volleyball Championship (NIVC) – the highest ever finish by a MAC member. The team again advanced to the NIVC in 1993, placing second in the both MAC regular season and tournament.

“It’s hard to imagine BGSU Volleyball without Denise,” Director of Athletics Greg Christopher said. “Her standard of excellence, both on the court and in the classroom, over the course of 28 years is one that everyone should aim for. As we open the Stroh Center this fall, we will take time to celebrate the legacy of Denise’s career at BGSU.”

For all of the team’s on-court achievements, Van De Walle’s squads have perennially been one of the best in the classroom as well. She has had numerous regional Academic All-Americans and Emily Manser was a member of the Academic All-America team in both 2004 and 2005. Linda Popovich received the Walter Byers Award 1990, given annually to the top graduating male and female seniors in the country and requiring a minimum 3.50 cumulative grade point average. She is the only female in conference history to receive first team all-academic national honors twice.

The program has received the AVCA National Academic Award 11 consecutive years, the second-longest streak in the country, and had one season with the highest overall grade point average in the country.

A 1976 graduate of Ball State, Van De Walle led Northside High School in Muncie, Ind. to a record of 54-9 in two seasons. Her 1977 team went 29-1 en route to the state championship. She was named Indiana High School Athletic Association (IHSAA) Coach of the Year following the 1978 campaign, before moving on to become a graduate assistant at her alma mater in 1979, coaching the junior varsity team.

In 1980, Van De Walle returned to Northside and guided the team to a 25-3 record, while also coaching the Michiana Volleyball Club that participated in the United State Volleyball Association (USVBA) Junior Nationals in California and the Junior Olympics in Illinois. In 1981, she joined the program at Cal Poly-San Luis Obispo as an assistant coach and helped the Mustangs to a 41-8 record and a fifth place finish in the NCAA Division I Championships. She went back to Ball State as an assistant coach in 1982 before landing the head coaching job at Bowling Green.

In May of 2001, Van De Walle was named President of the American Volleyball Coaches Association and has been active in the AVCA during her career, serving on the Board of Directors from 1993-2000. She also sat on the Board of Directors for USA Volleyball.

Van De Walle also coached Athletes in Action in 1983 and 1984, leading teams that toured the Far East with stops in Hong Kong, Japan and China. She also led AIA volleyball teams on tours of Bolivia and South Africa in 1995 and 1996. In 1991 and 1993, she coached at the U.S. Olympic Festival, guiding the East to a bronze medal in Los Angeles in 1991. In 1992, Van De Walle ran the USVBA women’s senior elite camp in Colorado Springs.

From 2003-08, Van De Walle served as the assistant coach for the USA National Sitting Team. Along with Mike Hulett, she founded the team in 2003 and the unit earned a bronze medal in the first Sitting Volleyball Paralympics for women in Athens, Greece in 2004. She helped lead the team to a second place finish in the Asia-Oceanic Cup in the summer of 2007 and captured a bronze medal at the first World Organization Volleyball for the Disabled Intercontinental Cup in Egypt in April of 2008. The team then won a silver medal at the 2008 Beijing Paralympics.

A loyal supporter of Fellowship of Christian Athletes, Van De Walle was part of the first-ever international missions trip for FCA in the summer of 1998, conducting clinics and speaking at various youth and church functions in Singapore. She returned to the country in the summer of 2000. Van De Walle was inducted in the Northwest Ohio chapter of the FCA’s Hall of Champions in May of 2010, being honored in the inaugural class.

In all, Van De Walle’s players have earned 51 All-MAC Awards, 65 MAC Player of the Week honors, 12 MAC Commissioner’s Awards, four MAC President’s Awards, eight All-Mideast Region Awards, 104 MAC Academic Honor Roll Awards, 50 Academic All-MAC honors, three Academic All-American Awards, six BGSU Junior Scholar Athlete Awards, a Senior Scholar Athlete Award, and a BGSU Medal of Honor.

“I love Bowling Green,” Van De Walle said. “However, I’ve been thinking about making this move for a while. One of my goals, though, was to coach my team in the Stroh Center so I wanted to coach long enough to do that. Next season will be a special one!”

Tuesday, April 19, 2011

ANNUAL TEAM BANQUET!



Sunday we held our annual Volleyball Team Banquet. It was a small intimate banquet with family members and a few guests. We gave out team awards, said goodbye to three student-athletes, and closed the banquet with a short DVD with pictures and highlights from this past fall. The food was good and the company was great. There were tears and laughter. In the end, it was an awesome way to spend a Sunday afternoon.

We had to say goodbye to senior Sam Fish (North Branch, MI) and senior Noelle Spitler (Toledo, OH) who finished their careers this past fall. Sophomore Ashley Herzberg (Mentor, OH) is leaving to pursue her Nursing degree which will not allow her to continue to compete.

Below are the recipients of this year’s team awards. The Academic Award is based on GPA and the Coaches Award and Most Improved Player Spring Season awards are selected by the coaches. All other awards are voted on by the team at the conclusion of the fall season.

Patricia Peterson Academic Achievement Award (recognizing players who achieved a perfect 4.0 in this past fall or last spring).

Freshman Laura Avila (Fall 2010)

Freshman Lindsey Butterfield (Fall 2010, Spring 2010)

Freshman Libby Dachenhaus (Fall 2010)

Freshman Kaitlyn Skinner (Fall 2010)

Sophomore Ashley Herzberg (Spring 2010)

Graduate Kaitlin Jackson (Spring 2010)

Graduate Shari Luther (Spring 2010)

Offensive Player-of-the-Year: Freshman Paige Penrod

Defensive Player-of-the-Year: Freshman Ashley Dunn (Bowling Green High School)

Competitor’s Award: Freshman Laura Avila

Larry & Fran Weiss Most Improved Player:

Junior Madison Nitta (2010 Fall Season)

Freshman Lindsey Butterfield (2011 Spring Season)

Freshman Danielle Tonyan (2011 Spring Season)

Rookie-of-the-Year: Freshman Paige Penrod

Best Teammate Award: Junior Susie Isphording

Coaches Award: Freshman Kaitlyn Skinner

Player-of-the-Year: Freshman Paige Penrod

Below is a list of accomplishments and achievements that we highlighted at the banquet:

Michigan State Invitational All-Tournament Team

Noelle Spitler

University of Florida Invitational All-Tournament Team

Paige Penrod

BGSU Best Western Invitational All-Tournament Team

Noelle Spitler

University of Pittsburgh Invitational All-Tournament Team

Paige Penrod

MAC Defensive Player of the Week:

Ashley Dunn - 9/20/2010

Paige Penrod - 9/27/2010

MAC Offensive Player of the Week:

Danielle Tonyan - 10/4/2010

Paige Penrod - 11/15/2010

Academic All-MAC:

Ashley Herzberg

Kari Galen

TOP 10 IN THE MAC:

Paige Penrod: 4th in the MAC with 3.96 kills-per-set.

Danielle Tonyan: 7th in the MAC with 3.35 kills-per-set.

Paige Penrod: 3rd in the MAC with 4.42 points-per-set.

Ashley Dunn: 5th in the MAC with 4.58 digs-per-set.

Laura Avila: 8th in the MAC with 9.02 assists-per-set.

Madison Nitta: 9th in the MAC with .26 aces-per-set.

SINGLE SEASON MARKS:

Paige Penrod: 405 kills is the most ever by a BGSU Freshman.

Danielle Tonyan: 301 kills - only the 5th freshman to surpass 300 kills.

Penrod/Tonyan: First time in school history two freshmen eclipsed the 300 kill mark in the same season.

Ashley Dunn: 457 digs ranks as the 8th best mark in the BG record book.

Ashley Dunn: 4.27 digs-per-set ranks as the 5th in the BG record book.

CAREER MARKS:

Coach Van De Walle: 508 career wins ranks as the 28th best win total among all active Division I coaches and is the most wins by any coach in the MAC. Coach Van De Walle’s 237 MAC wins is the second best win total in MAC history.

Sam Fish: 2,871 assists ranks 5th in the BGSU Record Book.

NATIONAL RANKINGS:

Paige Penrod: ranked 92nd in the Nation with 3.65 kills-per-set. Only 5 freshmen in the country finished with more than 3.65 kills-per-set.

Paige Penrod: ranked 106th in the Nation with 4.05 points-per-set. Only 6 freshmen in the country finished with more than 4.05 points-per-set.

Ashley Dunn: ranked 131st in the Nation with 4.27 digs-per-set. Only 9 freshmen in the country finished with more than 4.27 digs-per-set.

Team – earned 10th Consecutive AVCA Team Academic Awards.

Friday, April 15, 2011

THE LAST DANCE!

Tomorrow (Saturday, April 16th, 2011) will mark the end of an era. Our annual spring volleyball tournament gets underway at 9:30 am. These will be the last volleyball matches to be played in Anderson Arena. It will be a sad day but we plan to go out in style as we battle Toledo, IPFW, Northwood, and an alumni team. The BG matches will be played at approximately 9:30 am (vs. BG Alumni), 10:35 am (vs. IPFW), 11:35 am (vs. Toledo), and 1:10 pm (vs. Northwood). It is a round robin format with everyone playing 2 sets to 25 against each team. The round that we don’t play, our alumni will be on the floor. Should be a great time and a great way to end a great tradition of volleyball in Anderson Arena!

Friday, April 1, 2011

Play date!

This Saturday we host Oakland University for an all day event. We will start out about 10:30 am with a combined practice. It will be fun to run the drills against another team. After lunch (about 1:00 pm) we will scrimmage Oakland in a best of five match. We have seen some great strides by several of our players this spring. It will be great to see how they compete.

Saturday, April 2, 2011 vs. Oakland in Anderson Arena...Come check us out!