Springfield High School graduate Lindsey Butterfield has experienced the complete transformation of the Bowling Green volleyball team.

The Falcons were 8-24 in 2010 when she was a freshman. Last year, they were 19-12. This year, they are 21-10, and they will play in the NCAA tournament for the first time in 21 years at 5 p.m. today against Yale in University Park, Pa.

Butterfield, a junior who ranks third on the team in kills, has played a big role in Bowling Green’s success.

“We’re more than excited,” she said. “We had a tough early season schedule. We knew it was getting us prepared for these big games. We had a couple of slip-ups during the season, but you can only learn from those, and it carried us through the MAC tournament.”

Bowling Green beat Northern Illinois 20-25, 24-26, 26-24, 25-20, 15-4 on Nov. 18 to advance to the NCAA tournament. The Falcons hadn’t won a match at the MAC tournament since 2009 before winning all three matches this season.

“That championship match was a nailbiter,” Butterfield said. “We came back and won the last three. We refused to lose.”

Earlier this week, Butterfield was named to the All-MAC first team. That’s just her latest honor. She was also named to the All-MAC tournament team, and earlier this month, she was named to the Capital One Academic All-District First Team. She holds a 3.89 GPA and majors in biology.

On the court, Butterfield has been one of the team’s most improved players. She never had more than 7 kills in a match last season, but this year, she had at least 10 kills in 13 MAC matches. She had at least 12 kills in each match in the MAC tournament.

“I played more my freshman year than last year,” she said. “Last year, I struggled with injuries. They had a pretty successful year. It just wasn’t my time yet. If anything, it gave me more fire and desire to earn my spot this year.”

The Falcons dealt with a big change in the offseason. Denise Van De Walle, who had coached for 29 years, retired after the 2011 season. The new coach is Danijela Tomic.

“She’s an intense person in every apsect,” Butterfield said. “I’ve never been pushed by a coach so hard. I’ve never been expected to give so much. That’s what I need. As intense as she is in practice, that’s how intensely she loves us.”

If Bowling Green wins tonight, it will face No. 1 Penn State or Binghamton in the second round at 7:30 p.m. Saturday. Bowling Green has never won a NCAA tournament match. It lost in straight sets to Wisconsin in its only other appearance in 1991.