MAC West Leader NIU Edges Falcons

Saturday, November 8

DeKalb, Ill.

8 PM

Bowling Green State University

7-19 (4-10MAC)

Northern Illinois

20-8 (13-1MAC)

Bowling Green

Northern Illinois

November 08, 2014 | Volleyball

Box Score

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

Box score

DeKalb, Ill. – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team went toe-to-toe with Mid-American Conference West leader Northern Illinois Saturday evening but the Huskies battled back from a first set loss to defeat the Falcons 24-26, 25-23, 25-22, 25-22.

Northern Illinois improved to 13-1 in the MAC with the win and Bowling Green fell to 4-10. Despite the fact that the Huskies have nine more conference wins than the Falcons, the two teams were evenly matched throughout with 30 ties and 10 lead changes. Neither team led by more than five points at any point during the match.

"I am extremely proud of how our team competed and played their hearts out the whole match," BGSU Head Coach Danijela Tomic said. "Unfortunately, we could not create enough swings for our hitters. They had 16 more kills than us and had three hitters with double-digit kills, while we only had one. Scoring was the number one key for us to win tonight and we did not do that."

With 11 freshmen or sophomores among the 13-person roster, Bowling Green has made strong strides during the season. The Falcons hit .212 during the match marking the seventh time in the past 10 contests that the Falcons have hit at least .200 and the fourth match in a row. BGSU hit .200 or better just three times in the first 16 matches of the season.

Sophomore libero Madeline Garda continued her torrid pace, recording 27 digs in the four sets. She set a program record Thursday night with 34 digs in four sets and has at least 15 digs in 12 of the past 13 matches. In the last three contests, she has 90 digs, an average of 6.92 per set.

With such an inexperienced team, the Falcons have had difficulty at times in closing out sets and matches. But on Saturday night, BGSU came from behind late in the first set for the win.

NIU led throughout the opening frame, building an advantage as large as four points. The Huskies still held a 24-22 lead late but a service error followed by an ace from sophomore Delaney Arkeilpane tied the score. Freshman Nicole Slimko gave the Falcons the lead with a strong kill off the block and sophomore Alyssa Maloney clinched the set with a solo block in the middle of the court for the 26-24 win.

In the second set, Northern Illinois led through the early stages of the frame but the Falcons scored three straight to take a 16-15 lead. Freshman Paige O'Connor recorded a kill before NIU hit wide. Garda added an ace and BGSU led 20-17. The Falcons still led by three at 21-18 when Northern Illinois turned the tables with a five point run. O'Connor added another kill and the Huskies hit long as BGSU tied the score at 23-23. Northern Illinois, though, posted back-to-back kills to get the 25-23 win and even the match.

With the teams splitting the first two sets, the third became critical and BGSU looked as if it might pull away. Garda recorded her second ace during a spurt that gave the Falcons a 13-8 lead. But Northern Illinois answered with a 7-2 run to tie the score. Bowling Green settled down and the two teams battled back-and-forth until an O'Connor block gave the Falcons a 22-21 lead. Northern Illinois closed with four consecutive points for the 25-22 win.

Needing to win the fourth set to force the clinching stanza in the fifth, Bowling Green started well, getting a trio of blocks to lead 10-8. Northern Illinois, though, took the lead midway through the set and took a 22-19 advantage late. Senior Kelsey Bates had a kill that helped the Falcons get within one at 22-21 and sophomore Jelena Sunjic terminated an attack to make it 23-22. But the Huskies were able to close out the match with two kills for the 25-22 win.

Sunjic led Bowling Green with 11 kills but she was the only Falcon in double-digits. Slimko, Maloney and O'Connor all finished with nine kills and Bates added eight. Bates also had a team-high five blocks while Maloney added four. As a team, BGSU held a 62-59 edge in digs and both teams had five aces. But NIU posted 16 more kills and added 9.0 blocks, one more than the Falcons.

BGSU closes out the regular season on the road next weekend. The Falcons will play at Ohio Friday at 7 pm and at Kent State Saturday at 7 pm. BGSU needs to win both matches to have a chance at qualifying for the MAC Tournament.