Pivotal MAC Contests at Toledo & at Ball State this Weekend for the Falcons

Friday, October 23

Toledo, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Toledo

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Photo by: Bianca Garza, BGSU Marketing and Communications

Pivotal MAC Contests at Toledo & at Ball State this Weekend for the Falcons

October 21, 2015 | Volleyball

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

Bowling Green (5-16, 1-7 MAC)
at
Toledo (3-18, 0-8 MAC)
Match 22
Friday, October 23, 2015; 7 p.m. ET
Savage Arena / Toledo, Ohio
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO ON ESPN3
LIVE AUDIO
WEEK 9 - BGSU MATCH NOTES

GAMEDAY CENTRAL PAGE

Bowling Green (5-16, 1-7 MAC)
at
Ball State (9-13, 3-5 MAC)
Match 23
Saturday, October 24, 2015; 7 p.m. ET
Worthen Arena / Muncie, Ind.
LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO
WEEK 9 - BGSU MATCH NOTES

GAMEDAY CENTRAL PAGE

KEY MAC WEEKEND FOR BGSU
This is a pivotal MAC weekend for the Falcons, as it is the start of the back half of the 2015 regular season MAC slate. With teams vying for spots for the upcoming 2015 MAC Volleyball Championship, the Falcons would like to move up in the league standings with a strong weekend of play on the road.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Both matches this week can be followed via live stats. The match at Toledo on Friday, Oct. 23, will have live stats at www.utrockets.com. For Saturday night's contest at Ball State, live stats can be found at www.ballstatesports.com. BGRSO will also be on-hand to provide flagship audio coverage of both matches at www.falconradio.org. The Friday night match at Toledo will also be video streamed live at ESPN3. Links to all in game media outlets are located on the BGSU volleyball schedule page online at www.BGSUFalcons.com. Fans can also follow along via Twitter @BGSUVolleyball.

FALCONS ALL-TIME VERSUS THIS WEEKS OPPONENTS
The Falcons are an all-time 69-53-1 versus their two opponents this weekend in Toledo and Ball State. BGSU has dominated the overall series with the Rockets, holding a 52-15 overall advantage and have a winning record of 20-12 on the road against UT in Toledo, Ohio. Versus Ball State, the Falcons are just 17-38-1 overall and just 9-16 on the road in Muncie, Ind.

BATTLE OF I-75
The 2015 edition of the Battle of I-75 in volleyball will take place this Friday night, Oct. 23, at 7 p.m. in Savage Arena in Toledo, Ohio. The two teams have split the last two contests over the last two years with the home team holding court in the annual rivalry showdown along I-75. BGSU defeated the Rockets 3-1 last season at the Stroh Center on Oct. 24, in front of 879 fans.

LAST WEEK FALCON RECAP
The Falcons dropped two home MAC contests last week to MAC West foes Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan over Homecoming weekend. However, the Falcons improved in every category from the two days, as BGSU pushed the Eastern Michigan Eagles to five sets before falling 15-8 in the fifth set on Oct. 17. Jelena Sunjic, who had a double-double of 16 kills and 12 digs versus EMU, totaled 28 kills, 13 digs and four total blocks for the Falcons last week. Kallie Seimet, who led BGSU in digs in both contests a week ago, tallied 41 digs overall, including 22 digs in the match versus EMU. Nicole Slimko, who had 16 kills versus the Eagles, recorded 25 kills over the two matches, while middle Alyssa Maloney posted 13 kills and a team-high seven blocks last weekend.

FOCUS ON THE FALCONS
BGSU will hit the road for two road matches against MAC West Divisional foes Toledo and Ball State this week. BGSU's Jelena Sunjic has registered nine straight matches with double digit kills and picked up her fourth double-double of the year with 16 kills and 12 digs in the five set match versus EMU last time out. Freshman libero Kallie Seimet has recorded nine straight matches with double digit digs entering play this week and has totaled 20 digs or more four different times on the year. Both Sunjic and fellow outside hitter Nicole Slimko are averaging over 3.00 kills per set this season, while middle blocker Alyssa Maloney paces the Falcons with 29 service aces and 81 total blocks on the year. Sunjic ranks second in the MAC with 303 kills and an average of 3.79 per set overall, while setter Katie Scholten is fifth in the league in assists per set with an average of 9.41.

REVIEWING THE ROCKETS
Toledo returns home to play in Savage Arena for the first time since Oct. 3 and will look to snap a nine-match losing streak this weekend. The Rockets, who are 0-8 in MAC play and 3-18 overall this season, haven't posted a 'W' in the wins column since defeating both Robert Morris and Radford on Sept. 18 at the Country Financial Redbird Classic hosted by Illinois State. The Rockets are seventh in the MAC in assists with an average of 11.30 per set and ninth in kills at 12.05 per frame. UT is also fourth in the MAC in digs with an average of 16.02 per set on the season. Led by Saige Thomas' team-high 207 kills, the Rockets have four players with over 130 kills on the season, while Rachel Vidourek is ranked in the top-10 in the MAC with a kills percentage of .299 overall. Maurissa Leonard is fifth in the MAC with a digs average of 4.71 per set, while setter Alex Hines is seventh in assists at 9.27 per set on the season.

CATCHING UP WITH THE CARDINALS
Ball State enters play this weekend having dropped five straight contests after defeating Northern Illinois 3-0 at home on Oct. 2. The Cardinals, who are 9-13 overall and 3-5 in MAC play, are 5-1 at home this season with their lone loss coming to Western Michigan on Oct. 3. Ball State is fifth in the MAC with 11.66 assists per set, sixth in kills at 12.39 per set and sixth in blocks at 2.07 per frame. Setter Jenna Spadafora leads the team and is fourth in the MAC with 848 total assists and an average of 9.64 per set, while Kati Vasalakis is sixth overall in the league in digs with an average of 4.42 per set on the season. A total of six different Cardinals have registered over 100 kills on the year, while nine different players have totaled double digit blocks at the net on the season for Ball State.

COACH'S COMMENTS
"We saw last time out that when we execute our game plan and play the way we have seen our team play in practice that we can compete with teams in the MAC. We have watched video where we highlighted our positives and worked towards correcting our mistakes this week in practice in preparation for our two road matches this weekend. The rivalry with the Rockets is always a special match each year and Ball State has played well at home all season long. It will be two more tough MAC matches for us. We know going into these matches that we have to execute our game plan, be mentally tough and play aggressive."

STREAKING FALCONS
Jelena Sunjic has posted nine straight matches with double digit kills which dates back to her 13 kill performance on Sept. 19 in the Falcons' 3-0 win over Lehigh at the Panther Invitational. Not to be outdone, freshman libero Kallie Seimet has recorded double digit digs in nine straight matches as well. Her streak started with 16 digs in the 3-0 win over Lehigh on Sept. 19.

CLOSING IN ON CAREER MILESTONE 1,000
A trio of Falcons are closing in on a 1,000 career milestone in a number of different categories. Junior Madeline Garda enters play this weekend with 897 career digs and is only 103 digs away from the 1,000 career mark. Fellow junior Jelena Sunjic is only 230 kills away from 1,000 career spikes in her career at BGSU, having totaled 770 slams thus far. Setter Katie Scholten has passed out 782 set assists in just her two years at BGSU and is only 218 assists shy of the 1,000 career mark.

CAREER MATCH RECORDS SET ALL AROUND THIS SEASON
A number of Falcons set new career match high records so far this season.
   * Ryann Cox: 8 digs vs. Indiana; 2 aces vs. MTSU
   * Kallie Seimet: 28 digs vs. Buffalo & Loyola; 2 aces vs. Indiana
   * Isabel Kovacic: 9 kills vs. Indiana; 6 blocks vs. CSU; 3 service aces (twice); 11 digs at Pitt
   * Jelena Sunjic: 25 kills vs. Akron; 15 digs vs. Buffalo
   * Katie Scholten: 49 assists vs. CSU & IPFW; 7 kills at Miami
   * Delaney Arkeilpane: 5 assists vs. CSU
   * Alyssa Maloney: 10 blocks vs. Notre Dame; 5 aces vs. Akron; .529 attack percentage vs. NAU
   * Madeline Brandewie: 8 kills at Pitt;7 blocks vs. CSU
   * Mahlia Blair: 1 dig vs. CMU; 1 block vs. CMU

SLOW STARTERS
The young Falcons have been notoriously slow starters this season having been victorious in the first set to start a match just four times out of their 21 matches. BGSU took the opening set versus IPFW 27-25 in the Falcons' 3-2 win over the Mastodons and took set one versus Lehigh 25-15 in a 3-0 sweep at the Panther Invitational. BGSU dominated the Western Michigan Broncos en route to a 25-12 first set win on Oct. 10 and most recently held off Eastern Michigan to take the first set 25-18 on Oct. 17. In fact, the Falcons have been outscored 500-430 over the first set of play thus far on the year.

POWER 5 PLAY IN 2015
BGSU played a total of five matches versus teams out of the Power 5 conferences Indiana twice, Notre Dame, Virginia Tech and Pitt. The Falcons went 1-4 overall versus the Power 5 foes with the win coming over the Fighting Irish on Aug. 29 at the Blue Raider Bash.

SUNJIC & SCHOLTEN: PANTHER INVITE ALL-TOURNEY NODS
The Falcons' Jelena Sunjic and Katie Scholten each earned a spot on the Panther Invitational All-Tournament Team on Sept. 18-19. Sunjic led the Falcons with 41 kills, an average of 4.10 per set, on a team-best attack percentage of .277 over the three matches. She also tallied 16 digs, six blocks, one ace and led BGSU with a total of 45.5 points. Scholten passed out 107 assists, an average of 10.70 per set, and totaled 27 digs in 10 sets of play. The sophomore setter also recorded six kills, three blocks and a service ace on the weekend.

MALONEY MAKES IU INVITATIONAL ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM
BG middle Alyssa Maloney was named to the Indiana Invitational All-Tournament Team for the weekend of Sept. 11-12. Maloney was the most consistent Falcon over BGSU's three matches, totaling 21 kills, eight blocks, five service aces and five digs. She also posted a career-high attack percentage of .529 versus NAU on Friday, Sept. 11.

SUNJIC SEIZES HAMPTON INN ALL-TOURNEY RECOGNITION
Outside hitter Jelena Sunjic earned Hampton Inn All-Tournament Team honors from the weekend of Sept. 4-5. Sunjic led the team with 47 kills, 3.92 per set, over the Falcons' three matches. The junior was third on the team with 19 digs and five total blocks. She also led the Falcons with 52.0 total points overall.

#MAKEHISTORYNOW
The 2015 Falcons made history in the first weekend of play with their 3-1 win over Notre Dame at the Blue Raider Bash on Aug. 29. The win was BGSU's first win over an Atlantic Coast Conference opponent since defeating Maryland back in 2001. It was also the Falcons' first win over a Power 5 conference foe since beating Indiana of the Big Ten in 2012.

MALONEY GARNERS MAC EAST DPOTW HONORS (9/1)
Junior Alyssa Maloney was a force for the Falcons at the net on opening weekend, as the BGSU middle led the Falcons with a total of 24 blocks, an average of 1.41 per set, over the four matches. She was second on the team with an attack percentage of .262 overall and third in kills with 30 spikes overall. Maloney totaled a season-best 12 kills and 10 total blocks in the 3-1 win over Notre Dame, the Falcons' first win over an ACC foe since beating Maryland in 2001. Her 10 total blocks was a new career-high.

SCHOLTEN SNAGS ALL-TOURNAMENT TEAM HONORS
Sophomore Katie Scholten was named to the Blue Raider Bash All-Tournament Team for her play over the Falcons' four matches on Aug. 28-29. The setter totaled 159 assists, an average of 9.18 per set, 33 digs, 15 kills and nine blocks overall. She posted her first two career double-doubles as a Falcons with 43 assists and 12 digs versus Notre Dame and 49 assists and 11 digs in the 3-2 win over the Vikings of Cleveland State.

FALCONS PICKED FOURTH IN MAC EAST
BGSU Volleyball was picked to finish fourth in the Mid-American Conference East Division, as voted on by the league's 12 head coaches. Ohio was picked to win the East, followed by Miami. Kent State was chosen third, while Buffalo and Akron were selected fifth and sixth, respectively.

SUNJIC NAMED PRESEASON ALL-MAC EAST...AGAIN
BGSU junior outside hitter Jelena Sunjic was named to the Preseason All-MAC East Division Team for the second straight year. Sunjic, who earned 2014 All-MAC First Team honors last season despite missing most of the year due to injury, averaged 3.00 kills per set, which was second-best on the team, and hit a Falcon-best .246 overall for the season. She recorded at least 10 kills in nine of the 14 conference matches in which she competed and blasted a season-best 19 kills later in the year against Miami. Her 35 blocks and nine aces in conference play both ranked third on the team, while she also ranked eighth in the MAC in kills both over the course of the entire season and in conference play.

SCHOLTEN SLIDING IN AT THE SETTER SPOT
After spending most of last year as a freshman learning behind four-year letter award winner Erica Fullenkamp, sophomore Katie Scholten slides into the setter position for the Falcons in 2015. Scholten, who played in 20 matches last season in an injury hampered year, tallied more than 1,300 assists during her high school career at Visitation Academy (Mo.) where she was a first-team all-district selection.

KEY RETURNERS FOR 2015
BGSU will look to a number of key returners in 2015. 2014 First-Team All-MAC and 2013 All-MAC Freshman Team selection Jelena Sunjic will look to bounce back from an injury plagued season in which she played in just 15 matches in 2014. Sunjic had 168 kills overall and an average of 3.00 kills per set in just 15 matches in 2014. She posted a team-best .246 attack percentage in 2014 and was fourth on the team with 37 total blocks. Sophomore Nicole Slimko led the Falcons with 340 kills overall and an average of 3.24 kills per set last year as a freshman and was also second on the team with 22 service aces and fourth with 192 digs. Junior libero Madeline Garda returns after leading the MAC in digs in conference play with an average of 5.88 per set and finished second overall in the MAC with 4.89 digs per contest last year. She also led the team with a total of 513 digs and ranked third with 14 service aces on the season. Delaney Arkeilpane, who started in 27 matches for BGSU last season, posted a team-best .953 serve receive percentage and ranked third on the team in digs with 197 in 2014. Junior Alyssa Maloney returns after playing in all 28 matches for the Falcons in 2014 in which she was second on the team with 86 blocks and fifth in kills with an average of 1.48 per set.

YOUTH MOVEMENT
The Falcons are one of the youngest teams in the country this season, as BGSU has only four upperclassmen on the roster and not a single senior. Coach Tomic's squad consists of four juniors - Jelena Sunjic, Madeline Garda, Delaney Arkeilpane and Alyssa Maloney, two sophomores - Nicole Slimko and Katie Scholten, and five freshmen - Mahlia Blair, Ryann Cox, Kallie Seimet, Isabel Kovacic and Madeline Brandewie.

CHAMPIONS IN THE CLASSROOM
BGSU Volleyball has been recognized by the American Volleyball Coaches Association (AVCA) for 15 consecutive years for posting a team cumulative grade point average of 3.30 or higher. The string is the second-longest in the country among all NCAA Division I institutions that sponsor women's volleyball.

UP NEXT FOR THE FALCONS
BGSU will return home to host MAC East Division foes Kent State (Friday, Oct. 30) and Ohio (Saturday, Oct. 31) over Halloween weekend at the Stroh Center.

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