Bowling Green avenges loss to Northview
Bobcats sweep to stay tied for Northern Lakes League lead
9/28/2016
Bowling Green's Gracyn Amos spikes the ball against Sylvania Northview.
THE BLADE/JEREMY WADSWORTH
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BOWLING GREEN — It became lights-out rather quickly for Northview during Bowling Green’s “red-out” night held Tuesday at BG.
The Bobcats streaked to a 25-16, 25-21, 25-11 victory over the Wildcats, avenging their only Northern Lakes League loss of the season.
“Tonight we came out so strong,” BG setter Mackenzie Dunn said. “We played so hard; we’ve been working hard in practice.”
Dunn led the way as the Bobcats (14-1, 8-1 NLL) got payback for losing on the road to the Wildcats. She tallied a game-high 34 assists, along with 13 digs and 11 kills.
Mackenzie’s cousin, Maddy Dunn, provided 12 kills and 12 digs to contribute to a win that keeps them in a first-place tie with Anthony Wayne in the NLL.
IN PICTURES: Bowling Green sweeps Northview
“They came out very relaxed and confident,” BG coach Mandy Pasley said of her team. “When we’re relaxed we play pretty well.”
It became evident early the Bobcats were ready to take on the Wildcats (10-6, 5-4 NLL).
The Bobcats won the first game, surprisingly easier than perhaps expected after losing to the Wildcats in a tough five-game match the first time they met. The Bobcats, following the Dunns’ lead, gradually pulled away from the Wildcats, who committed more than their share of unforced errors to allow BG the early advantage in the match.
The Wildcats kept the second game close right to the end, but still weren’t able to come out on top. Gracyn Amos (two aces) and Kayla Miller (two aces) were solid in doing their part to help BG hold up down the stretch to guide the Bobcats to a 2-0 lead.
Overcoming that deficit to the Bobcats in front of BG’s home crowd was not in the cards for the Wildcats. BG bolted out to a 4-0 lead in the third game and led the rest of the way.
The Falcons owned the momentum for the entire match.
“I’m very happy with the way our team performed,” Maddy Dunn said. “We had a lot of goals for this game. We really wanted to show our community and our students that we can come out and play strong.
“This was the best we’ve played to start a match. We knew they’d come in very competitive and we knew we’d have to step it up in order to win.”
Led by Paige Beck, Hannah Frame, and Rachel Phalen, the Wildcats never got it going against the Bobcats on Tuesday.
Northview coach Chad Rutkowski couldn’t figure out why the Wildcats didn’t produce the same kind of effort that led to a win in the earlier meeting.
“When a team has all their tools, they need to reach deep into the toolbox,” Rutkowski, said. “I don’t think we even opened the toolbox today.”
“It’s the same preparation. It’s the same practice plan. It’s the same game plan. Unfortunately, if you can’t execute the game plan and the game plan is right, you lose.”
Contact Donald Emmons at: demmons@theblade.com, 419-724-6302 or on Twitter @DemmonsBlade.