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The Stroh Center will play host to the Best Western Falcon Plaza Invitational this weekend.
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BG volleyball team to open fall season at Stroh Center

THE BLADE

BG volleyball team to open fall season at Stroh Center

BOWLING GREEN -- Friday will be a red-letter day for the Bowling Green State University volleyball team.

The Falcons will christen the new Stroh Center with a match against nationally ranked Michigan State on Friday at 6 p.m., the first of six matches in the Best Western Falcon Plaza Invitational this weekend.

BG will take on the Spartans, who are 6-0 and have received votes in the most-recent American Volleyball Coaches Association Division I poll, followed by a match between Southern Illinois-Edwardsville and Canisius at 8 p.m.

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The Falcons will play SIU-Edwardsville at 11 a.m. Saturday, then host Canisius at 5 p.m. Michigan State and Canisius will play at 1 p.m., while the Michigan State match vs. SIU-Edwardsville will start at 7 p.m.

Bowling Green has matched the Spartans' 6-0 record as the Falcons already have won tournament titles at Navy and at South Florida this year. That 6-0 record marks BG's best start to a season since 1990.

Sophomore outside hitter Danielle Tonyan was named MVP of the Navy tournament, posting 27 kills in two matches to also earn Mid-American Conference East Division offensive player of the week Aug. 29. Senior middle Emily Kauth had nine blocks in two matches to also earn a berth on the all-tournament team.

At South Florida last weekend junior middle Kari Galen was named tournament MVP after posting 26 blocks and 29 kills in four matches. Galen was named MAC East Division defensive player of the week Monday for her efforts.

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Galen was joined on the all-tournament team in South Florida by Kauth, who had 35 kills, and sophomore Ashley Dunn, a Bowling Green native who had 47 digs and a pair of aces in the tournament.

ANOTHER GOOD START: The Falcons' men soccer team also started this season with a bang, opening with a 2-0 win over ninth-ranked Michigan in the season opener Aug. 26.

Freshman Danny Baraldi and sophomore Ryan Snashall scored second-half goals for BG in the match while sophomore Michael Wiest was credited with five saves to earn a shutout in his first career start.

Bowling Green knocked off Indian-Purdue at Fort Wayne 3-0 on Aug. 31 before falling to Cleveland State 2-1 on Saturday.

Even with the loss, BG's 2-0-0 start was the program's best since 1999.

CHIRICOSTA WINS MAC AWARD: Tennis standout Christine Chiricosta received the 2011 Bob James Award, given annually by the Mid-American Conference to one senior male and female athlete for their performance in their sport and in the classroom.

Chiricosta completed her eligibility last spring by winning All-MAC first team honors for the second straight season. She holds the BG tennis career records for singles and doubles victories (89 each) as well as total victories (178).

Off the court, Chiricosta posted a perfect 4.0 GPA while getting her bachelor's degree in education, earning a spot on the Division I at-large academic All-American team. She has begun graduate classes at Bowling Green in curriculum and teaching thanks, in part, to the James Award, which awards a $5,000 post-graduate scholarship to its winners.

CROSS COUNTRY GETS RUNNING: Both the men's and women's cross country teams placed third at the Toledo Rocket Opener on Sept. 2, the teams' first race under new coach Lou Snelling.

Snelling took over as cross country and track coach at Bowling Green after serving as head cross country coach and assistant track coach at Stephen F. Austin University in Nacogdoches, Texas, since 2003.

Contact John Wagner at: jwagner@theblade.com, 419-724-6481 or on Twitter @jwagnerblade.

First Published September 7, 2011, 5:56 a.m.

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