Volleyball Continues MAC Play on the Road at Miami & at WMU This Week

Thursday, October 8

Oxford, Ohio

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Miami

Photo by: Ruben Kappler, BGSU Marketing & Communications

Volleyball Continues MAC Play on the Road at Miami & at WMU This Week

October 07, 2015 | Volleyball

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

Bowling Green (5-12, 1-3 MAC)
at
Miami (11-6, 3-1 MAC)
Match 18
Thursday, October 8, 2015; 7 p.m. ET
Millett Hall / Oxford, Ohio
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO ON ESPN3
LIVE AUDIO
WEEK 7 - BGSU MATCH NOTES

Bowling Green (5-12, 1-3 MAC)
at
Western Michigan (7-12, 3-1 MAC)
Match 19
Saturday, October 10, 2015; 7 p.m. ET
University Arena / Kalamazoo, Mich.
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE AUDIO
WEEK 7 - BGSU MATCH NOTES

MAC PLAY CONTINUES
BGSU will continue its MAC slate this week with road bouts at Miami and at Western Michigan. The schedule is a little different this week, as the Falcons will take on the Miami RedHawks on Thursday night, Oct. 8, at 7 p.m. ET. BGSU will then head north to face off with the Broncos of Western Michigan on Saturday night, Oct. 10, at 7 p.m. The Falcons will wrap up their first trip through the MAC East with the contest at Miami, before opening up their cross-divisional slate at WMU on Saturday.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
Both matches this week can be followed via live stats. Thursday night's match at Miami will have live stats at www.muredhawks.com, while Saturday night's contest at Western Michigan will have stats at www.wmubroncos.com. BGRSO will also be on-hand to provide flagship audio coverage of both matches at www.falconradio.org. The Thursday night match at Miami will also be video streamed live at ESPN3, while Saturday night's match will be video streamed live at www.wmubroncos.com. 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
Bowling Green is a combined 48-81-1 versus Miami (Ohio) and Western Michigan all-time in volleyball action. The Falcons are 29-44 versus the RedHawks and are just 13-20 on the road at Miami all-time. BGSU has dropped two straight to Miami after sweeping the RedHawks in both 2013 and 2012. Versus Western Michigan, BGSU is 19-37-1 all-time and only 5-21 versus the Broncos in Kalamazoo, Mich. The Falcons last win over the Broncos came in the semifinals of the 2012 MAC Championship Tournament, as BGSU edged WMU 3-2 on its way to the championship match where the Falcons defeated Northern Illinois 3-2.

BGSU IN MAC PLAY IN 2015
The Falcons are 1-3 in MAC play thus far this season, but are 0-2 on the road in conference action with losses at Ohio and Kent State. BGSU is coming off a 1-1 split last weekend at home with Akron and Buffalo. In their win over Akron, the Falcons out hit the Zips (.227 to .201), totaled more kills (56 to 53), controlled the net with the blocking game (9.0 to 4.0), and dominated the serve and serve receive game with six more aces (13 to 7). In the three losses, the Falcons have been out hit each match and have not posted a side out percent of higher than 55 percent (vs. Kent State) overall.

FOCUS ON THE FALCONS
Coming off a weekend of play in which a number of Falcons set new career match high records led by Jelena Sunjic's 25 kills versus Akron and 15 digs versus Buffalo, Kallie Seimet's 28 digs against the Bulls and Alyssa Maloney's five aces over Akron, BGSU will look to pick up its first MAC road win of the season with contests at Miami and Western Michigan this week. Sunjic leads the team and is in the top-five in kills with 250 on the year, while Katie Scholten has totaled 613 assists in her first year as the full time setter, which ranks fifth overall in the MAC. Seimet continues to shine as the libero, totaling 20 kills or more three times this year and averaging 3.85 digs per set, while juniors Madeline Garda and Delaney Arkeilpane each posted double-digit digs for the Falcons last weekend.

MAPPING OUT MIAMI (OHIO)
Behind the current MAC East Offensive Player of the Week Paige Hill, the RedHawks went 2-0 last weekend with home wins over Buffalo and Akron to improve to 11-6 overall and 3-1 in MAC play on the year. Ranked in the top-five in the MAC in hitting percentage (.213), kills (12.63 per set), assists (11.86 per set) and digs (15.83 per set), the RedHawks have won 10 out of their last 12 matches dating back to Sept. 4. Hill leads Miami with 167 kills and 55 total blocks, while the tandem of Mackenzie Zielinski and Krista Brakauskas have combined for 670 assists on the season in the RedHawks' 6-2 offense. Five different players have totaled over 100 digs, highlighted by a team-best 254 digs from Maeve McDonald.

WATCHING WESTERN MICHIGAN
Coming off back-to-back MAC West wins over Toledo and Ball State last weekend, the Broncos improved to 7-12 overall and 3-1 in MAC play. The Broncos have been strong defensively this season, as WMU ranks second in the MAC in blocks with 2.22 per set (164 total), fifth in digs at 15.53 per set and fifth in opponent hitting percentage at .212. Western Michigan has four players with over 130 kills on the season, while setter Mary Murphy has passed out 665 assists. WMU has struggled in the serve receive area this season, as the Broncos have allowed 94 service aces overall.

COACH'S COMMENTS
"We have two challenging road matches this week against two very good teams. I was proud of our team for coming back to practice on Monday motivated and ready to work hard and get better. Our focus this week is making our offense more balanced and efficient, and as always continuing to improve our serve and serve receive game. We had only three days to prepare for Miami that runs a very balanced and efficient 6-2 offense with strong middle blockers. WMU runs a balanced 5-1 offense and a strong, scrappy defense and is always a tough team to play on the road. We will have a good game plan ready for both matches for our team and I am confident that our players will do their best to execute it."

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; 3 aces two times
   * 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

FIVES SETS ... NO PROBLEM
The Falcons are 3-1 this season in five set thrillers. BGSU came back from down 2-1 versus Cleveland State at the Blue Raider Bash on Aug. 29 and at home versus IPFW on Sept. 5 to win 3-2 by taking both the fourth and fifth sets in each contest. In MAC play, BGSU erased a 2-0 deficit to Akron to storm back and defeat the Zips 3-2 in five sets on Oct. 2. The Falcons' lone five set loss came in the season opener against Indiana on Aug. 28.

SLOW STARTERS
The young Falcons have been notoriously slow starters this season having been victorious in the first set to start a match just twice out of their 15 matches. BGSU took the opening set versus IPFW 27-25 in the Falcons' 3-2 win over the Mastodons and most recently took set one versus Lehigh 25-15 in a 3-0 sweep at the Panther Invitational. In fact, the Falcons have been outscored 420-339 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.

THE TOMIC FILE
BGSU volleyball coach Danijela Tomic is one of the winningest coaches in NCAA Division I, posting a career winning percentage of .630. At 206-121 overall, she posted her 200th career win a 3-0 sweep of Akron on Oct. 31, 2014. Tomic helped the Falcons to a 22-11 mark in her initial season at Bowling Green in 2012 and has guided BGSU to a 27-21 record in the Mid-American Conference over her first three seasons heading into the 2015 slate.

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 both Central Michigan and Eastern Michigan on Homecoming Weekend. The Falcons will host Central Michigan on Friday night, Oct. 16, at 7 p.m., before wrapping up the Homecoming festivities with a Dig Pink Match versus the Eagles on Saturday, Oct. 17, at 7 p.m.

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