Volleyball to Wrap Up Non-Conference Play at the Panther Invitational, Sept. 18-19

Friday, September 18

Pittsburgh, Pa.

7:00 PM

Bowling Green State University

Pittsburgh

Photo by: JD Pooley

Volleyball to Wrap Up Non-Conference Play at the Panther Invitational, Sept. 18-19

September 17, 2015 | Volleyball

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

Bowling Green (3-7, 0-0 MAC)
at
Pittsburgh (7-2, 0-0 ACC)
Match 11
Friday, September 18, 2015; 7 p.m. ET
Fitzgeraled Field House / Pittsburgh, Pa.
LIVE STATS
LIVE VIDEO
LIVE AUDIO
WEEK 4 - BGSU MATCH NOTES

Bowling Green (3-7, 0-0 MAC)
vs.
George Washington (7-4, 0-0 A10)
Match 12
Saturday, September 19, 2015; 10 a.m. ET
Fitzgeraled Field House / Pittsburgh, Pa.
LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO
WEEK 4 - BGSU MATCH NOTES

Lehigh (7-4, 0-0 Patriot)
vs.
Bowling Green (3-7, 0-0 MAC)
Match 13
Saturday, September 19, 2015; 4:30 p.m. ET
Fitzgeraled Field House / Pittsburgh, Pa.
LIVE STATS
LIVE AUDIO
WEEK 4 - BGSU MATCH NOTES

BGSU'S ROAD TRIP CONTINUES
The Falcons' season long road trip of eight straight matches continues with the Panther Invitational this weekend, Sept. 18-19, in Pittsburgh, Pa. This weekend marks the second of three straight weekends in which the Falcons will play on the road and away from the Stroh Center in Bowling Green, Ohio.

FOLLOW THE FALCONS
All three matches during the weekend can be followed via live stats at www.pittsburghpanthers.com. BGRSO will also be on-hand to provide flagship audio coverage of all three of the BGSU matches at www.falconradio.org. 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 WEEKEND FOES
Overall BGSU is 2-8 all-time versus this weekend's opponents in Pittsburgh (0-8), George Washington (2-0) and Lehigh (0-0). The Falcons haven't played George Washington since 1990 and will be taking on Lehigh for the first-time ever on Saturday, Sept. 19.

POWER 5 PLAY CONTINUES
BGSU will play its third straight Power 5 Conference foe when the Falcons take on Pitt on Friday night at 7 p.m. BGSU is 1-3 versus teams from the Power 5 Conferences this season with the win coming versus Notre Dame of the ACC on Aug. 29.

FOCUS ON THE FALCONS
The tough schedule doesn't get any easier for the Falcons this weekend, as BGSU remains on the road to take on Pitt, George Washington and Lehigh this weekend at the Panther Invitational. BGSU, who is 3-7 overall thus far this season, will be playing in their fourth and final in-season tournament this weekend at Pitt. The Falcons are led offensively by the duo of Jelena Sunjic and Nicole Slimko, who have posted 144 and 125 kills apiece, respectively. In her first full season at the setter position, Katie Scholten has tallied 362 assists, an average of 9.28 per set, while junior middle Alyssa Maloney paces the Falcons with 12 service aces and 41 total blocks.

PREVIEWING THE PITT PANTHERS
Picked to finish seventh in the ACC Preseason Coaches Poll, the Pitt Panthers enter the weekend with a 7-2 record overall with the lone to losses coming on the road at No. 5 Nebraska and at No. 24 Michigan. The Panthers, who are 3-0 at home thus far this season, are led offensively by a trio of players in Kadi Kullerkann, Amanda Orchard and Stephanie Williams who all have over 67 kills on the season. Setters Jenna Jacobson and Kamalani Akeo have combined for 357 set assists on the season thus far, while libero Angela Seman leads the Panthers with a total of 150 digs, an average of 5.00 per set. As a team this year, Pitt hitting .247 overall, while holding its opponents to just an attack percentage of just .152 on the year.

CATCHING UP WITH THE COLONIALS
After starting the season off at 1-3, the George Washington Colonials have righted the ship and gone 6-1 over their last seven matches, including posting wins over Maryland and Georgetown. Chidima Osuchukwu leads the Colonial attack with 182 kills, an average of 4.14 per set, while also providing the first line of defense with a total of 63 blocks at the net. Kelsey Clark has chipped in with 117 kills, while setter Jordan Timmer has dished out 495 set assists, an average of 11.25 per set. Both Maddy Dole and Timmer led GW with 180 and 102 digs apiece, respectively, thus far this season for the team that was picked to finish second overall in the Atlantic 10 Preseason Poll, the highest for the Colonials since 2003.

LOOKING IN ON LEHIGH
Lehigh enters play this weekend at the Panther Invitational with an overall record of 7-4 on the season. The Mountain Hawks, who have won six out of the their last eight matches, were projected to finish second in the Patriot League this season after making an appearance in the championship match in 2014. Lehigh has a trio of players in Leah Turner, Stephanie Slater and Whitney Krantz who all have registered over 100 kills on the season, while setter Amy Matula has totaled 273 assists overall. Ana Vrhel leads the Mountain Hawks with a team-high 16 service aces and a total of 51.0 blocks on the year, while libero Mariah Brantley has tallied 153 digs from the back row.

LEHIGH & BGSU'S COMMON FOE
While this will be the first-ever meeting between the Mountain Hawks and the Falcons, the two teams have a common foe already in 2015 in the Northern Arizona Lumberjacks. Lehigh suffered a 3-0 loss to NAU with scores of 25-19, 25-19 and 25-22 in the season opener. BGSU fell to the Lumberjacks last weekend 3-0 in straight sets by scores of 25-16, 25-19 and 26-24.

COACH'S COMMENTS
"We are looking forward to our last tune up against three more quality opponents before we start the MAC play. Our team is getting better in all aspects of the game even though the scoreboard does not always show it. We are confident that these tough non-conference matches against high level opponents with different playing styles will prepare us to be successful in the MAC, which is ultimately our goal."

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: 20 digs vs. CSU & Loyola; 2 aces vs. Indiana
   * Isabel Kovacic: 9 kills vs. Indiana; 6 blocks vs. CSU;
           3 service aces vs Va. Tech; 10 digs vs. IPFW
   * Jelena Sunjic: 22 kills vs. CSU; 13 digs vs. Loyola
   * Katie Scholten: 49 assists vs. CSU & IPFW; 3 aces vs. IPFW
   * Delaney Arkeilpane: 5 assists vs. CSU
   * Alyssa Maloney: 10 blocks vs. Notre Dame; 3 aces vs. IPFW
                .529 attack percentage vs. NAU
   * Madeline Brandewie: 6 kills vs. IPFW;7 blocks vs. CSU

FIVES SETS ... NO PROBLEM
The Falcons are 2-1 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. 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 once out of their 10 matches. BGSU took the opening set versus IPFW 27-25 in the Falcons' 3-2 win over the Mastodons. In fact, the Falcons have been outscored 255-194 over the first set of play thus far on the year.

MAC PLAY ON THE HORIZON
Bowling Green will wrap up its non-conference slate this weekend at the Panther Invitational in Pittsburgh. The Falcons will jump head first into MAC play next weekend with road contests versus MAC East Divisional foes Ohio and Kent State on Sept. 25-26.

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 .638. At 204-116 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 the past three seasons.

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 open up its MAC slate on the road at Ohio and Kent State on Sept. 25-26. The Falcons will face the Bobcats of Ohio on Friday night, Sept. 25, at 7 p.m. in Athens, Ohio. Bowling Green will then travel to Kent, Ohio to face off with the Golden Flashes of Kent State on Saturday, Sept. 26, at 7 p.m.

###