Mastodons Take Bowling Green Best Western Falcon Plaza Invitational Title

Saturday, September 11

Bowling Green, Ohio

4:30 PM

Purdue Fort Wayne

5-5

Cornell

1-5

IPFW

Cornell

Mastodons Take Bowling Green Best Western Falcon Plaza Invitational Title

9/11/2010 7:56:09 PM | Women's Volleyball

Box Score

Box Score

Bowling Green, OH - For the second time this season the IPFW Mastodons have earned a team championship, going undefeated at the 2010 Bowling Green Best Western Falcon Plaza Invitational after a 3-1 victory over the Big Red of Cornell (22-25, 29-27, 25-20, 33-31) on Saturday afternoon.

Maya Schlindwein led three Mastodons in double figure kills with 18, as Stephanie Lamberti had 11 and Taryn Parker 10. Lamberti, Schlindwein, and Megan Steenhuysen (46 assists, 13 dis) all picked up double-doubles. Tessa McGill dug up 19 digs in the match, her 10th consecutive game with double figures in the category, as freshman Jen Milligan had a career-high 17 digs in the victory.

The teams came out trading points, with the match tied at six before the Big Red of Cornell scored three straight to lead by three at 9-6. The lead grew to as many as four at 14-10, and by three at 23-20 before holding on for the 25-22 opening-set win.

IPFW, now 5-5 on the season, used the early portions of the second set to jump out to a 10-5 lead, and kept that same margin at 20-15. Cornell then followed with a 10-4 run to give the Big Red a one-point advantage and serve for the set victory. The teams then traded sideouts for the next four total points, as the set was tied for a final time at 27-27 before a Parker/Schlindwein combo block and a Cornell attack error, sending the teams into the intermission knotted at one set apiece.

Cornell (1-5) led 4-2 early in the third set before the 'Dons ran off nine straight points behind the service prowess of Schlindwein, who had two aces and a kill during the stretch. Leading by seven at 12-5, the Big Red mounted a streak of their own, out-scoring IPFW 10-2 to take a one-point lead of their own at 15-14. In a set full of runs, it was fitting that after Cornell once again tied the set at 18 apiece, IPFW scored seven of the final nine points, ending the set with a Cornell attack error, and taking a 2-1 lead in the match.

The Mastodons jumped ahead 4-1 early in the fourth set, behind a pair of McGill aces, and the 'Dons kept their lead until Cornell pushed ahead 19-18. Neither team would be able to lead by more than two the rest of the way, as the teams were tied at every score from 22 through 31, as the Mastodons were then able to take advantage of a service error and a kill by Lamberti to take the tournament title with a 33-31 fourth-set win.

Parker had a team-best five blocks, as Schlindwein added three. Schlindwein and McGill each had three service aces, as Haley Emenhiser narrowly missed her second straight double-figure kill match with nine.

Kelly Hanson led the Big Red with 19 kills as Janel Forte added 16 while Risa Ka'awa had a match-high 25 digs.

The Mastodons return to action on Tuesday afternoon, when the squad plays host to the Cardinals of Ball State University at the Hilliard Gates Sports Center.

~Dons~