Falcons Unable To Close Out Zips On The Road

Saturday, September 27

Akron, Ohio

5 PM

Bowling Green State University

3-11, 0-2

Akron

7-10, 1-1

Bowling Green

Akron

September 27, 2014 | Volleyball

Box Score

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

Boxscore

Akron, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team struggled to win critical points late in sets for the second consecutive night and the Akron Zips came away with a 26-24, 26-24, 25-22 win over the Falcons Saturday evening in Mid-American Conference action.

For the second night in a row, the Falcons went into each of the three sets tied or leading late but were unable to put away their opponent. On Saturday against Akron, BGSU led the first set 20-15, was tied 24-24 in the second and led 20-16 in the third. But each time, the Zips were able to overcome.

"This was another tough loss for us knowing that we could have and should have won at least two sets that we led up until 20 points," BGSU head coach Danijela Tomic said. "We have to get mentally tougher to be able to close sets. We had some positive individual performances but until all six players fulfill their role on the court and execute the game plan, we will continue to struggle. It is still early in the MAC and we will get back in the gym and work on things that we have to improve to get ready for Miami Thursday."

The loss spoiled a strong match from senior Kelsey Bates, who finished with 11 kills, five blocks and four digs. Freshman Michaela Gabanic added a career-best seven kills and a .429 attack percentage, while freshman Nicole Slimko posted nine kills and nine digs. One night after a career-best four kills from Clara Martinez Rubio, the freshman posted five kills against Akron. Madeline Garda added 17 digs from the libero position.

Tied at 14-14 in the first set, Bowling Green used a 6-1 run on kills from four different Falcons to go ahead 20-15. Akron, though, clawed back into the set with a 7-2 run to tie the score at 22-22. Slimko and freshman Paige O'Connor recorded kills that put the Falcons ahead 24-23 and serving for the first frame. But Mary Delich had back-to-back kills for Akron and a Falcon ball handling error gave the Zips a 26-24 win.

Neither team could gain much traction in the second set until Akron scored three consecutive points to take a 22-18 lead. The Falcons still trailed 24-21 but got a Gabanic kill, followed by a Katie Scholten ace and a block from O'Connor and Bates to tie the score at 24-24. The Zips, though, posted kills on consecutive points to earn another 26-24 win.

The two teams traded points through much of the early stages of the third set and Bowling Green led 17-16 before getting kills from Martinez Rubio and Slimko during a three-point spurt that put the Falcons ahead by four. Akron used a timeout to recover and rebounded with four straight points to tie the set at 20-20. A Martinez Rubio block put the Falcons ahead 22-21 but Akron closed out the match with four straight points, the final two on Amanda Bedell kills, to win the match.

The Falcons outblocked an opponent for the fifth straight match, recording 8.0 team blocks, three more than Akron. BGSU also equaled the Zips with 47 digs and had four aces, double Akron's total. But the Falcons hit just .176 and had nine fewer kills than the Zips, who hit .254 for the match.

With the win, Akron climbs to 7-10 on the season and 1-1 in MAC play. Bowling Green falls to 3-11 and 0-2 in conference action. The Falcons will snap a string of 11 straight contests away from home Thursday evening when the team hosts Miami at 7 pm for Dollar Night. Tickets purchased Monday through Wednesday of this week will be just $1 and hot dogs, popcorn and soda at the match will also cost just $1.