BGSU Volleyball’s Season Comes to an End with Loss to NIU

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Sep 12

3 p.m. EST

Volleyball

vs Stephen F. Austin

Sep 13

3 p.m. EST

Volleyball

at Loyola Chicago

Sep 17

6 p.m.

Volleyball

vs Oakland

Sep 19

7 p.m.

Volleyball

at Michigan State

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Final Stats: Box Score (PDF)
Final Stats: Box Score (HTML)
Video: Postgame Interivew with Coach Tomic
Photos: Photo Gallery (JD Pooley)
Photos: Photo Gallery (Ruben Kappler, BGSU Marketing & Communications)
Season Stats: 2015-16 BGSU Season Stats (PDF)

Bowling Green, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team's season came to an end on Saturday night with a loss to the Northern Illinois Huskies in straight sets 3-0 at home in the Stroh Center. The Huskies held off the Falcons with scores of 25-19, 25-16 and 25-15.

BGSU finished the season at 7-22 overall and 3-13 in the MAC with the loss. NIU won the 2015 MAC volleyball regular season championship with the win over the Falcons, as the Huskies improved to 18-10 overall and 14-2 in league play.

"We had one hour of practice with our two defensive specialists who have never set in high school or college and they did an amazing job. Delaney Arkeilpane and Madeline Garda stepped up and we ran a 6-2 system and competed really well against the best team in the MAC in NIU," Danijela Tomic commented. "I couldn't be more proud of this group of young ladies. It's unbelievable what they have done all season long. Of course we wanted to have a better record and have more wins then what we had this season, but the character that this group of young women have shown over and over again. Especially tonight to play in a lineup we have never played before and without a setter and to compete against an excellent NIU team just showed what these young ladies are made up of."

Playing without setter Katie Scholten, who missed the match due to injury, BGSU's duo of defensive specialists Madeline Garda and Delaney Arkeilpane combined for 26 set assists in the match, the first time that either of the two Falcons had ever played setter in their volleyball careers.

BGSU's Nicole Slimko tallied a match-high 14 kills on a .346 attack percentage, while Alyssa Maloney and Isabel Kovacic added seven and five kills apiece, respectively, for the match. Outside hitter Jelena Sunjic finished with a match-high 13 digs, while freshman libero Kallie Seimet wrapped up her first year as a Falcon with 12 digs.

As a team, BGSU finished with 8.0 total team blocks which included four solo blocks from Sunjic and two block assists from both Madeline Brandewie and Mahlia Blair.

The Huskies had two players with double digit kills in T'ara Austin with 13 spikes and Mary Grace Kelly with 12. Setter Alexis Gonzalez finished with 29 assists, six digs and a service ace, while five different Huskies had six digs or more on the night.

A Slimko spike opened the match up on Saturday night to put the Falcons on the scoreboard first at 1-0, before a 9-2 NIU run, capped off by back-to-back kills from Jenna Radtke, pushed the visitors in black in front by six at 9-3.

Following a BGSU timeout, the Falcons clawed back to within three at 11-8 on kills from Slimko and Kovacic, as well as a NIU attack error. However, a BGSU service error gave side out back to the Huskies who added three straight points to the Falcon miscue for a 4-0 spurt and a15-8 lead.

The two teams traded points on service errors and blocks until two consecutive spikes from Austin gave the visitors a double digit lead at 20-10 and force the Falcons to use their second timeout of the first set.

Down 22-14, the Falcons picked up back-to-back kills from Maloney and Slimko, a block from the freshmen combo of Blair and Brandewie, and two more kills from Slimko to close the gap to within four of NIU at 22-18.

It proved to be too little too late, as NIU picked up kills from Meg Wolowicz, Lauren Zielinski and Kelly over the next four points to hold on for the 25-19 first set win.

In the second set, BGSU tied the set up at 4-4 on an NIU attack error and then took the lead at 5-4 on a kill from Sunjic.

NIU then grabbed the lead back with two straight spikes from Kelly, only to see a Maloney kill knot the score up for a third time at 6-6 early in the set.

Three straight points from the Huskies gave the visitors a 9-6 lead, a lead that NIU would not relinquish for the remainder of the set.

Bowling Green got to within two at 9-7 on an NIU error, but couldn't string together a series of points, as NIU charged out to an eight point lead at 16-8 on two more Austin kills.

Refusing to quit, the Falcons got to within five on four occasions at 16-11, 18-13, 19-14 and 21-16, but wouldn't get any closer in the 25-16 loss.

BGSU went point for point with the Huskies to start the third set, as kills from Slimko and Kovacic, and a solo stuff by Maloney, put the Falcons up 3-2 early in the game.

The Falcons took a 4-3 lead on another Kovacic kill and then a 5-4 edge on a Sunjic spike, yet couldn't pull away from the Huskies who pulled back out in front by one at 6-5 on a Falcon attack error.

A Slimko slam tied the set up once more at 6-6, before a 7-0 run by the Huskies gave the visitors a 13-7 lead midway through the set.

That run proved to be the difference in the set, as BGSU battled back to within six at 13-7 and again at 14-8 on two NIU mistakes. However, the lead and the Huskies proved to be too much down the stretch for the home team, as NIU sealed the 3-0 straight set win with a 25-15 third set victory.

NIU posted six service aces to the Falcons zero for the match.

BGSU will return all 11 players from this year's 2015 squad next season, as Coach Tomic's roster this year consisted of four juniors, two sophomores and five freshmen.

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Nicole Slimko

Alyssa Maloney

Isabel Kovacic

Jelena Sunjic

Players Mentioned

Delaney Arkeilpane

Mahlia Blair

Madeline Brandewie

Madeline Garda

Isabel Kovacic

Alyssa Maloney

Katie Scholten

Kallie Seimet

Nicole Slimko

Jelena Sunjic

Players Mentioned

Delaney Arkeilpane

Mahlia Blair

Madeline Brandewie

Madeline Garda

Isabel Kovacic

Alyssa Maloney

Katie Scholten

Kallie Seimet

Nicole Slimko

Jelena Sunjic

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