Falcons Split on Day Two of Hampton Inn Invitational

Saturday, September 5

Bowling Green, Ohio

12:30 PM

Bowling Green State University

2-4

Loyola (Chicago)

3-2

Team	1	2	3	4	Final F
Loyola (Chicago)	25	24	25	25	3
Bowling Green	20	26	19	22	1

Photo by: JD Pooley

September 06, 2015 | Volleyball

Box Score 1 Box Score 2

By: by Kevin Davis, Assistant Director for Athletic Communications

Match 1: Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML)
Match 1: Photo Gallery (JD Pooley)
Match 2: Box Score (PDF) | Box Score (HTML)
Match 2: Photo Gallery (JD Pooley)
Match 2: Photo Gallery (Bianca Garza)
Video: Interview with Coach Tomic

Bowling Green, Ohio – The Bowling Green State University volleyball team split a pair of matches on the final day of play at the Hampton Inn Invitational on Saturday, Sept. 5, at the Stroh Center. The Falcons fell to Loyola (Chicago), the eventual tournament champions, 3-1 in the first session and bounced back to defeat IPFW 3-2 in the night cap.

Junior Jelena Sunjic was named to the Hampton Inn Invitational All-Tournament Team, as the Falcons went 1-2 overall on the weekend and now sit at 3-4 overall on the year after the first two weeks of play.

"I think we definitely had a very high level of volleyball (at the Hampton Inn Invitational). I think that it was great competition as all the matches were competitive," commented head coach Danijela Tomic.

Match 1: Loyola (Chicago) 3, BGSU 1
In the Falcons' first of two matches on day two of the Hampton Inn Invitational, the Bowling Green State University volleyball team bounced back from a first set 25-20 loss to take the second set 26-24 over the Ramblers and tie the match up at 1-1. However, it would by Loyola who would take the third and fourth sets to defeat the Orange and Brown in four sets, 3-1.

The Falcons fell to the Ramblers 25-20, 24-26, 25-12 and 25-22 in the first of two matches on Saturday at the final day of the Hampton Inn Invitational hosted by BGSU at the Stroh Center.

"Loyola was just very good," continued Tomic. "I thought that our team played well just that Loyola was better. We improved from the night before and there was something that we couldn't match against them."

Sunjic posted her second double-double of the season with a match-high 16 kills, on a .316 attack percentage, and a new career-high 13 digs, while both Nicole Slimko and Alyssa Maloney tallied seven kills apiece. Freshman middle Madeline Brandewie recorded five total blocks, while fellow first-year Falcon Kallie Seimet matched her career-high with 20 digs for the match.

Loyola spread out its attack for the four set match, as five different players registered double digit kills in the win. Amanda Cushen totaled a team-high 14 kills, to go along with seven digs, while Morgan Reardon posted 12 kills and eight digs overall. The Ramblers' duo of Maddy Moser and Caroline Holt each passed out 23 assists apiece, while Stephanie Kinane picked up a team-high 15 digs.

BGSU got off to a hot start to open up the match, using a kill from Isabel Kovacic to fly out to a 5-2 lead in the first set, before five Loyola errors and a Maloney spike pushed the Falcons' lead out to five at 9-4 and forced a Ramblers' timeout.

Out of the break, the Falcons had an answer for every Loyola point to stay out in front of the Ramblers at 14-10 on a kill from Slimko. However, four straight points by Loyola, highlighted by two service aces from Caroline Holt, allowed the visitors to tie the set up at 14-14.

Following a BGSU timeout, the two teams traded points until back-to-back kills from Brittany Brown and Cushen gave the Ramblers a one point lead at 18-17 and their first lead since the opening point of the set.

The Orange and Brown took advantage of two consecutive Loyola errors, the second by way of a solo block by Scholten, to retake the lead at 19-18. However, a kill by Gabi Maciagowski followed by back-to-back Kathleen Vogel service aces pushed Loyola out in front by two at 21-19.

The Ramblers closed the set out on a 4-1 run to take the opening set win at 25-20 and an early 1-0 match lead over the home-standing Falcons.

After back-to-back attack errors to start the second set, the Falcons settled down to run off five straight points to take a 5-2 lead on a Garda ace, only to see the Ramblers surge back to tie the set up at 8-8 on another BGSU attack error.

A kill by Sunjic gave the lead back to the Falcons who held on to a slight lead for the next several rallies until a kill from Brown and a spike by Sami Hansen tied the set up at 17-17.

Bowling Green refused to relinquish the lead, as Scholten picked up a kill to put the Falcons back on top at 18-17, where the home team would stand until a Loyola block and a Reardon kill knotted the set up once more at 23-23.

The two teams traded points to put the score at 24-24 before the Falcons put the set away at 26-24 with a kill from Sunjic and an ace from Kovacic to tie the match up at one set apiece.

However, the Falcons fell behind big at 6-0 to start the third set and played from behind for the entire frame, using a kill off the right arm of Slimko to end the scoring drought and then later an ace from Sunjic to cut the Loyola lead in half at 12-6.

BGSU continued to peck away at the Ramblers' lead, using a block from Brandewie and Slimko, a second block from Maloney and Sunjic, two kills from Sunjic and a total of five Rambler errors to get to within in two points at 18-16 and force a Loyola timeout.

That would be as close as the Falcons would get for the remainder of the set, as Loyola used kills from Brown, Maureen Carls, Cushen and Hansen to finish the set out on a 7-3 run to pick up the third set win at 25-19.

With their backs against the wall, the Falcons leaped out to a 4-0 lead on two straight kills from Kovacic en route to storming out to a 13-6 lead on a Scholten service ace.

Succeeding a Loyola timeout, the Orange and Brown continued to hold on to the lead, pushing it out to as much as seven at 16-9 on a Sunjic kill. Yet the Ramblers would not go away, as Loyola chipped away at the BGSU lead to battle back and take its first lead of the set at 21-20 on back-to-back Cushen kills.

A third straight Cushen kill gave the Ramblers a 22-20, as the momentum clearly swayed to the side of the visitors who finished the set out on a 12-3 run to pull away for the 25-22 set win and seal the 3-1 match victory.

As a team, the Falcons hit just .130 overall, 40 kills and 23 errors, while the Ramblers despite hitting only .207 as a team recorded 150 attacks for the match, 19 more than the Falcons' 131 attacks.

Loyola also posted eight service aces to the Falcons' four.

Match 2: BGSU 3, IPFW 0
In what would be a tight match from start to finish, the Falcons overcame losses in both the second and third sets to take the fourth and fifth sets from the Mastodons to come away with the 3-2 match win in the night cap of the Hampton Inn Invitational.

BGSU defeated IPFW 27-25, 21-25, 14-25, 25-18 and 19-17 to pick up the 3-2 match win.

"It was great to have this win. To finish the tournament with a win, especially going into five sets and the fifth set at 19-17," Tomic stated. "This is big. This is big for our young team. Again we have to go through these types of matches to build resilience and to learn how to end these tough matches. I'm proud, I'm very proud of the team to be able to bounce back after two losses and close the home tournament with a win."

Slimko, who was huge in the fifth set for the Falcons, totaled a match-high 20 kills on a .311 attack percentage for the match. Sunjic added 19 kills, while Maloney and Brandewie finished with seven and six kills apiece, respectively, while each posted a solo block and three block assists in the middle for the Falcons on the night. Kovacic recorded a career-high 10 digs, while Garda and Seimet finished with 14 and 11 kills, respectively.

BGSU's Scholten tied her career-high with 49 assists, while the sophomore matched Maloney with a match-high three service aces in the win.

IPFW had four different players finish in double figures in kills led by 13 from Sarah Heckman and 12 from Nicole Rightnowar. The Mastodons had five different players record double digit digs, while the combination of Madison Jaqua and Clair Marshall combined for 44 assists in the five set match.

The Falcons did not look ready at all to start the match, as IPFW ran off seven straight points on six kills and an Oliva Hahn service ace to put BGSU down 7-0 early. However, a kill by Slimko not only halted the Mastodons' run, but also got the Falcons going, as BGSU answered with a 14-8 run to get to within one of IPFW at 15-14 on a kill from Sunjic.

After an IPFW timeout, the Falcons fell behind at 18-15 on a Heckman kill, yet saw kills from Sunjic, Maloney and Slimko, as well as two IPFW attack errors, put the home team on top for the first time in the match at 20-19.

Two more kills from Slimko put the Falcons up 23-21, however, the Mastodons rallied back to tie the set up at 23-23 on two straight kills from Rightnowar.

Back and forth the set went as the two teams' swapped points until another spike from Sunjic and an IPFW attack mistake propelled the Falcons to the 27-25 first set win.

The second set would be a set of runs, as BGSU erased an early 2-0 deficit to pull out to an 11-6 lead to start the frame. IPFW would respond with an 8-3 spurt to retake the lead at 14-13 on a service ace from Hahn.

A kill by Brandewie knotted the score up at 14-14, but that would be the last time in the set, as IPFW pulled out to a four point lead at 21-17 on a kill by Heckman.

BGSU picked up a kill by Ryann Cox and a service ace from Scholten to get within one at 22-21, only to see the Mastodons close the set out with three straight points to pick up the 25-21 set win and tie the match up at 1-1.

The third set proved to be just the opposite as the second set, as BGSU hit -.030 to the Mastodons .333 overall as IPFW controlled the frame from start to finish.

An IPFW error and a Scholten ace opened up the set with the Falcons in front at 2-0. The lead did not last long as the Mastodons ran off five straight points at the start of a 14-3 blitz to take a commanding 14-5 lead on three straight BGSU attack errors and a solo block from Natalie Seiler.

The Falcons tried to claw their way back into the set, getting as close as seven at 14-7, as IPFW ran away with the 25-14 set win to take a 2-1 match lead.

Not deterred by the third set fallout, the Falcons bounced back to take a 4-1 lead in the fourth set on a Maloney service ace.

After IPFW got to within one point at 4-3, BGSU pulled out in front by five at 10-5 before the Mastodons forced their way back into the set to tie the frame up at 11-11 on a kill from Rightnowar.

A spike by Slimko gave the lead back to the Falcons at 12-11, while kills from Sunjic and Brandewie, as well as a block from the duo, helped to thrust the home team out to a five point lead at 19-14 on a solo bock from Brandewie on a Heckman attack attempt.

Refusing to surrender the lead, BGSU used kills from Brandewie, Maloney and Slimko, as well as service aces from Scholten and Garda to take the fourth set at 25-18 and tie the match up at two sets apiece.

The fifth and decisive set would show the Falcons' pure determination on display, as BGSU saw a three point lead disappear, as the Mastodons tied the frame up at 11-11 with the help of three consecutive Falcon errors.

Down 14-12 and with IPFW holding a match point, the determined Falcons got back-to-back kills from Slimko to stave off two straight match points and tie the set up at 14-14.

Slimko would post two more kills over the next four points to help the Falcons fight off two more match points and tie the set up at 16-16.

The never say die Falcons then combated a fifth IPFW match point at 17-16 with a kill from Sunjic, who followed with two more spikes to spring BGSU to the 19-17 set win and the 3-2 match triumph.

Bowling Green (3-4) will return to the court next weekend, as the Falcons will take part in the Indiana Invitational hosted by Indiana University on Sept. 11-12 in Bloomington, Ind. BGSU will play Northern Arizona on Friday, Sept. 11, at 5 p.m. and then will play both Indiana at 12 p.m. and Virginia Tech at 5 p.m. on Saturday, Sept. 12.

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