The big swings for thundering kills, and the big-time blocks at net are what catches the eye
of many when they are watching volleyball.What goes unnoticed most of the time is the dig or a serve
reception that gets the ball to the setter and eventually the front row.Ashley Dunn has been making those
digs and service receptions for the last four years for the Bowling Green State University volleyball team.A
Bowling Green High School graduate, Dunn is getting ready to help the Falcons defend their Mid-American
Conference tournament title this weekend. Bowling Green faces Northern Illinois Friday at 2 p.m. at the
SPIRE Institute in Geneva, Ohio.Dunn is just nine digs away from 2,000 for her career. She is second on the
Falcons’ career list behind Chelsey Meek, also a BGHS graduate, who had 2,287 digs.”She is in charge of the
defense. You need somebody with a lot of energy. You need somebody who will be like a defensive coordinator
on the floor, and somebody who is selfless,” said BG head coach Danijela Tomic.When she started in
volleyball, Dunn was also a hitter, but she relishes the defensive role even though it involves spending a
lot of time diving on the floor.”Defense is a mind-set; it takes a lot of heart,” Dunn said. ”The point
of the game is to keep the ball off the floor. The first contact is keeping that ball off the floor; that’s
just what defense is all about.”Dunn is closing out her career, playing her best volleyball. This year, she
has 14 matches with 20 or more digs, including each of the last six. In BG’s 16 conference matches, Dunn has
had 20 or more digs 12 times.”This year, she has been one of the most consistent players on our team,”
Tomic said. ”She has been playing really, really solid defense.”She’s doing what you want your seniors to
do, really being committed, really working hard, and wanting to finish her senior year the best that she
can.”Tomic added she has seen improved leadership from Dunn this season.”There has just been a huge amount
of growth and development from last year to this year,” Tomic said. ”She was a good leader, but she took
it to the next level.”When Dunn has played her final match for the Falcons, she wants to be remembered as a
tough competitor.”I want to be known as the player who is really passionate and competitive, and had the
heart and the will,” Dunn said.”She can leave this program and say I’ve done my best, and that’s what
she’s doing,” Tomic said.Dunn will graduate in May and would like to be a creative director for an
advertising firm.