Lindsey Butterfield (Outside Hitter, Junior, 3.89, Biology) had 21 kills and hit .360 as the Bowling Green volleyball team opened MAC play by stunning MAC East Division favorite Ohio in a three-set sweep and then sweeping past Kent State. Butterfield had 10 kills and hit .450 in the win over Ohio, sparking the Falcons early in the match and setting the tone for the win. She followed that up with 11 kills in the win over Kent State, hitting .300. Butterfield added three blocks on the weekend.
The MAC Scholar Athlete of the Week honor is presented to a MAC male and female student-athlete who has a cumulative grade point average of 3.0 or better and performs well during the week’s competition. The winners are selected by a group of the conference’s faculty athletic representatives.
Other Female Nominees:
Akron: Ksenia Berestetska (Tennis, Sophomore, 3.90, Mass Media – Radio/TV) advanced to the quarterfinal round of eight in the flight B singles bracket at Penn's Cissie Leary Invitational in Philadelphia over the weekend. She won 6-1, 7-5 versus Columbia's Amy Li in the round of 16 on Saturday, after earning a first-round bye and topping Drexel's Alex Bell 6-4, 6-0 in the round of 32 on Friday.
Central Michigan: Laura Gosse (Soccer, Forward, Sophomore, 3.53, Undecided) scored her first two goals of the season over the weekend to help the Chippewas start Mid-American Conference play with 2-0 record. Gosse scored her first goal of the season just seven minutes into Friday's MAC opener versus Kent State to give the Chippewas a 1-0 lead only to score earlier in Sunday's match versus Ohio by scoring in the fourth minute. The goal versus Ohio proved to be the game winner as the Chippewas ended the Bobcats' six-match winning streak with a 1-0 victory. Gosse's play was instrumental in the Chippewas extending their home unbeaten streak to 36 matches, as they have gone 32-0-4 since a 1-0 loss to Toledo in 2008.
Eastern Michigan: Cara Cutaia (Soccer, Midfielder, Junior, 3.36, Exercise Science) turned in a dominating performance on the road in EMU's 3-0 shutout over Toledo on Sunday. The junior midfielder scored two goals and added an assist for a five-point afternoon. The five-point output tied Cutaia for the third-most points scored by an EMU player in the 18-year history of the program. Cutaia is now tied for the most points on the team with 12 and notched her first game-winning marker of the year in the 30th minute. Sunday's game valuted Cutaia well past her previous career-high points total of eight. EMU is 2-0 to begin MAC play for the first time since 2000 and beat Toledo in the Glass City for the first time since 2003.
Kent State: Melanie Kahn (Field Hockey, Midfielder, Junior, 3.68, Fashion Merchandising) scored the game-winning goal on a breakaway 9:17 into overtime to give Kent State a dramatic 2-1 victory over defending conference champion Ohio in the 2012 Mid-American Conference opener Friday (Sept. 21) at Murphy-Mellis Field. Kahn, who has three goals on the season, also netted a goal in the Golden Flashes’ 8-2 loss at Ohio State on Wednesday (Sept. 19).
Miami: Kayla Zakrzewski (Soccer, Midfielder, Junior, 3.27, Sport Studies) led Miami to a 2-0 start to MAC play, tallying two goals and two assists for six points in a pair of matches over the weekend. She entered the weekend with just two goals and three assists all season. In Friday’s 4-1 MAC-opening victory over Akron, Zakrzewski stole the show as she had a hand in each of Miami’s first three goals, scoring two and assisting on the other. She scored Miami’s first goal of the match in the 51st minute to break a scoreless deadlock on a great individual effort, beating her defender one-on-one and firing a hard shot that snuck past the keeper. She then assisted on the RedHawks’ second goal, which was the game-winner, with a perfect cross along the end line that led to an easy goal. Zakrzewski capped her outburst with a blast from the top of the 18-yard box that landed in the top corner of the net for an unassisted goal. It was her first multi-goal game this year and third of her career, tying a career high for goals, while her five points in the match were a season high, one shy of her career high. She did all this in just 55 minutes of action, as she took a game-high five shots in the match and put all five on goal, while all of her points came in a 12-minute stretch in the second half. In Sunday’s 2-0 shutout of Buffalo, Zakrzewski again started at outside midfield and played 75 minutes. She assisted on Miami’s second goal in the 57th minute with a perfect cross to set up the score, which secured the victory. Her only shot of the game was on goal, as well, as all of her shots for the weekend were on target.
Northern Illinois: Amy Carr (Soccer, Goalkeeper, Junior, 3.609, Exercise Science) totaled six saves over, one shutout and allowed one goal in the opening weekend of Mid-American Conference play. Carr lead the Huskies to a 0-1-1 record between the sticks, allowing her only goal on a penalty kick in the 62nd versus Eastern Michigan. In her last four appearances, the junior has only allowed two goals, both PKs. She last allowed a shot on goal slip past her in the 61st minute versus Northwestern on Sept. 7, 399 minutes ago.
Ohio: Mattie Liston (Soccer, Goalkeeper, Junior, 3.113, Engineering Tech and MGMT) had a strong week for Ohio Soccer, helping pace the Bobcats to a 1-1 start in Mid-American Conference play. The junior made four saves en route to recording her fifth shutout of the season on Friday during a 1-0 win in Bowling Green. The shutout against the Falcons was her second in a row and her fifth in six games. She followed this up with a heroic 11-save effort in a narrow 1-0 loss at Central Michigan on Sunday. Liston’s 11 saves on Sunday marked the sixth highest single-game save total in Ohio history and the second highest in her career.
Following this weekend’s action, Liston has moved into second place all-time in Ohio history in terms of number of total saves. The junior has stopped 234 shots during her career as a Bobcat.
Western Michigan: Michelle Watson (Soccer, Goalie, Junior, 3.83, Interdisciplinary Health Services) played all 220 minutes of soccer in goal for the Broncos making seven total saves on the weekend to record two shutouts. Watson made two saves in WMU's 0-0 tie with defending MAC Champions Toledo to earn the Broncos' first shutout of the season. She followed it up with a five save performance in a 0-0 tie with Northern Illinois on the road to help the Broncos earn two points on the weekend. The shutouts were the 13th and 14th of her career, putting her just six shy of tying the program record.