Senior Night Win Vaults Falcons Into MAC Tourney Contention

Saturday, November 1

Bowling Green, Ohio

5 PM

Bowling Green State University

7-17, 4-8MAC

Buffalo (Senior Night)

14-12, 4-8MAC

Buffalo

Bowling Green

November 01, 2014 | Volleyball

Box Score

By: by Jason Knavel, Assistant Athletic Director for Athletic Communications

Box Score
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Bowling Green, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team completed a perfect weekend by defeating Buffalo in five dramatic sets as the Falcons continue to make a late charge towards qualifying for the Mid-American Conference Tournament. BGSU defeated Buffalo 19-25, 25-23, 25-17, 20-25, 15-9 for the team's third win in the last four contests after going just 1-7 through the first half of MAC play.

The victory was Bowling Green's first this year when losing the opening set and the Falcons were forced to rebound after giving away a six-point lead in that opening frame. In fact, BGSU trailed by as many as four points in the second set before making clutch plays down the stretch. After giving up the final five points in a 25-20 fourth-set loss, the Falcons again answered by jumping out quickly and never looking back.

"What a way to finish our season at home," BGSU Head Coach Danijela Tomic said. "We showed a lot of resiliency, discipline, grit and willpower. I couldn't ask to see our team develop and progress the way they have since the beginning of the year. I'm very proud that Kelsey (Bates) and Erica (Fullenkamp) could finish their careers with two wins here in the Stroh Center."

It was, in fact, Senior Night for the Falcons and the program recognized Bates and Fullenkamp for their time. They are the only remaining members from a team that won the MAC Championship in 2012 and advanced to the second round of the NCAA Tournament. And both played crucial roles in the win Saturday night.

Bates finished with nine kills and a team-high six blocks, while Fullenkamp handed out 51 assists, added 12 digs and tossed in two blocks, two kills and an ace.

On the defensive side, Bowling Green was able to limit the MAC's most dangerous hitter, Tahleia Bishop. She was well below her season average with 17 kills and a .167 attack percentage. Buffalo hit .202 as a team, compared to .226 for the Falcons.

"We did make some adjustments to her," Tomic said. "We knew she was going to get her kills. We were hoping to limit her hitting percentage and we did that. The big reason for that was our defense. Madeline Garda had an outstanding defensive match. A few of the saves she had in the fifth set were highlights."

Garda tied her career high with 29 digs as Bowling Green held a 71-60 edge in the category for the evening. The Falcons also recorded 12.0 blocks with six coming from Bates and five from Alyssa Maloney.

Buffalo scored nine of the final 11 points in the fourth set to overcome a deficit and pick up a 25-19 win. That gave the Bulls momentum heading into the critical fifth set. Buffalo did score two of the first three points in the final stanza but sophomore Jelena Sunjic had a kill that started a three-point spurt that gave the Falcons a lead it would never relinquish.

Leading 4-3, Sunjic added another kill, followed by one from freshman Paige O'Connor. BGSU continue to methodically add to the lead until Nicole Slimko slammed the door shut with Bowling Green's seventh ace of the night for the 15-9 victory.

Slimko led all players in the match with 20 kills, adding three digs and three blocks. Sunjic added a season-best 16 kills and hit a career-high .538 for the match. She also posted a strong all-around contest with four blocks and a career-best three aces. O'Connor added 13 kills , while sophomore Delaney Arkeilpane dug out 10 balls. The Falcons finished with three more aces, 11 more digs and four more kills than Buffalo.

With the loss, Buffalo falls to 14-12 overall and 4-8 in MAC play. Bowling Green improves to 7-17 overall and has an identical 4-8 conference mark. The Falcons are now tied with the Bulls and Central Michigan for the eighth and final spot to the MAC Tournament with four matches left to play. BGSU will head to the road this weekend to face Miami, 9-3 in the MAC, Thursday at 7 pm and Northern Illinois, 11-1 in the MAC, Saturday at 7 pm.